Climate change is happening at an unfathomable speed. Humanity can neither predict the damage it will cause nor keep track of its pace. Therefore, the best bet is to continue engaging in activities that ensure the carbon footprint is reduced, on a daily basis. While all of us have an equal part to play in establishing a roster that ushers the world towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, tech companies have a bigger role to play. This is not only because they own half of the world’s wealth, but also because they exhaust a reservoir of resources in advancing further in their respective domains. However, the path to achieving this goal is one that is rife with unlocking different levels. Sustainability is one such milestone that needs to be reached fast and reached immediately. It should be at the core of every tech company’s vision and mission statement.
Challenges
It is true that most companies, tech or not, have long shifted away from being hyper-fixated merely on speed, quality, and cost efficiency. The contemporary world is witnessing how companies are taking a different approach to secure a competitive advantage. Sustainability, which previously did not fit the bill, is now an integral part of making a profit and touting your company to the general public. However, embracing sustainability is easier said than done.
As mentioned in Raconteur, Nancy Powell, HP’s Sustainability Manager in the UK and Ireland believes that there is an ensemble of reasons the tech sector has sustainability challenges. Primarily, the tech industry’s extensive product manufacturing contributes in bulk to resource consumption and energy usage, posing a challenge to sustainability goals as technology has become an ever-present element in everyone’s lives. Penultimately, tech companies, despite efforts to deflate their environmental impact, struggle to accurately measure and understand their carbon footprints. This lack of data hampers their ability to gauge progress, communicate their sustainability efforts, and make informed decisions about necessary changes. Ultimately, there is a discrepancy between the environmental goal that the companies set and their actual implementation. A multitude of companies find themselves in a fix when attempting to bridge this gap. This is mostly because there is a lack of leadership culture focused on swift decision-making and efficient execution of sustainability initiatives. Which in turn barricades their ability to tick the boxes to meet ambitious targets.
Being sustainable is a prerequisite for going green
Whether by their own volition or by force, sustainability has already become a key player in the tech (and all other) sector(s). Due to this, several factors are aligning to facilitate developments in sustainability. First and foremost, there is a growing sense of urgency to achieve sustainability goals, driven by commitments to achieve net-zero emissions and increasing demands from stakeholders. Second, there is unprecedented financial and regulatory support for the development of green technologies, exemplified by initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the European Green Deal in the EU. At last, potentially transformative technologies are transitioning from the laboratory to real-world applications, with many demonstrating success at scale. These rapidly altering dynamics present opportunities for companies, including the chance to penetrate new markets and contribute to broader sustainability objectives.
How can sustainability be achieved?
Achieve carbon neutrality. While this is not the only solution, it is an important one. One of the best ways tech companies can become a shareholder of sustainability is by systematically reducing their carbon footprint throughout the entire product life cycle. For instance, as stated in Harvard Business Review, in making strides towards carbon neutrality, OPPO has outlined a comprehensive roadmap focusing on key areas: decarbonising manufacturing processes, minimising products’ carbon footprint, making low-carbon investments, implementing digital carbon management strategies, and adhering to the rules and regulations of developing global climate change standards. Furthermore, in staying true to its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in operations by 2050, OPPO set in place the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations in 2022, forming the foundation for its carbon reduction strategy. What is impressive is that by the end of 2022, their energy-saving and emission-reducing measures had already resulted in an annual reduction of 6,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. To top it off, OPPO’s data centre, the Binhaiwan Bay Low-Carbon Green Data Centre, operates on entirely clean energy.
Reducing the carbon footprint is undoubtedly a major concern of almost all tech companies. However, a shortcoming that many IT organisations have is not having a bird’s eye view of their operations. Limited by tunnel vision, they overlook the bigger picture by paying attention to specific functions only, resulting in them ignoring the interdependencies. To inculcate sustainability effectively, businesses require a comprehensive IR platform with a data fabric and open architecture, abetting adaptability and the use of innovations and automation.
As explained in Forbes, reducing ‘dark’ data which refers to data that is never used, is a key sustainability practice. Tech companies can introduce processes to minimise dark data by revisiting data governance policies related to data retention and archiving. In addition, they can bring forth systems and processes for the automated discovery and archiving of unused data.
A crime that the tech sector has been guilty of for a long time is the e-waste they produce. Therefore, it is vital to extend the lifespan of electronic devices because it will provide both financial and environmental advantages. Manufacturers and third-party providers can contribute to this by offering repair services and helping consumers prolong the usability of their devices. Repair services are often more cost-effective than buying a new device, and they also help contain e-waste. Another strategy is to sell used electronic devices. As illustrated by Counterpoint Research, the demand for refurbished smartphones is on the rise. In 2022, the global secondary smartphone market experienced a 5% year-over-year growth, with refurbished iPhone sales increasing by 16%; a clear indicator that people do not mind opting for used phones as long as they are in good condition.
It is evident that tech companies should promote sustainability. Embedding sustainability into a company’s core values and decision-making processes creates a shared responsibility and commitment among employees, consumers, and stakeholders. A collective commitment as such will benefit everyone involved and the environment, which is indeed a win-win situation.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)