Creating A More Sustainable IT Department

By Linda Rosencrance

Scientists from around the world are in unanimous agreement about the paramount importance of addressing global warming, and savvy business and IT leaders are not turning a blind eye to this imperative. Companies are now facing mounting pressures from various quarters, be it governmental bodies, boards of directors, or discerning consumers, all urging them to amplify their dedication to sustainability and take proactive measures against climate change. However, the notion of climate action can seem daunting, especially given the inherent contradiction between consumerism and sustainable values.

One effective approach to inspiring climate action ideas is to observe how other organizations are enhancing their sustainability initiatives, including the transformation of their IT departments into eco-conscious entities.

Within this context, four IT leaders engage in discussions about specific areas where they are prioritizing climate action and elaborate on their endeavours to champion sustainability.

1. Minimizing Technical Debt And Eliminating Redundancy

Abha Dogra holds the position of Senior Vice President of Digital Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Schneider Electric North America, based in Andover, Massachusetts. In her capacity, Dogra plays a pivotal role in spearheading Schneider Electric's strategic initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. She is actively leading the charge in driving digital transformation by applying AI across various facets of the organization, including finance, supply chain, employee experience, digital product offerings, and consumer insights.

Notably, Schneider Electric achieved a significant milestone in January 2021 when Corporate Knights, a prominent media and research company headquartered in Toronto, recognized the company as the world's most sustainable company, a remarkable ascent from its 29th position in 2020.

One of Schneider Electric's primary sustainability objectives is streamlining its application development processes to prevent the creation of isolated applications. This approach is crucial in reducing the need for additional servers in data centers, consequently lowering carbon emissions. As a global entity, Schneider Electric ensures that any technological advancements made within one part of the company can be leveraged across multiple regions, thereby minimizing redundancy. This emphasis on reducing duplication extends to various aspects, including electricity usage, server utilization, data center deployments, and the duplication of labour and effort.

Schneider Electric also maintains a dedicated program focused on reducing technical debt.

Given the company's extensive history and expansive scale, the accumulation of technical debt is a natural outcome. This technical debt encompasses outdated technologies like servers and operating systems, as well as different Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems resulting from mergers and acquisitions.

The accumulation of technical debt not only necessitates more infrastructure, leading to increased carbon emissions but also demands more manual processes. For instance, managing multiple unintegrated ERP systems requires additional manual effort for tasks like financial reporting, leading to excessive paperwork and process latency. The technology group within Schneider Electric is committed to preventing the accumulation of net new technical debt.

They achieve this by carefully managing vendor relationships to avoid redundant product purchases and by thoughtfully introducing new technologies into the ecosystem to ensure scalability and integration across the organization. This proactive approach aligns with Schneider Electric's broader sustainability goals and contributes to reducing its overall carbon footprint.

1.1. Exploring Carbon Emission Data

Narinder Sahota serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Advanced, a software and services company located in Birmingham, England. In his role, Sahota is responsible for overseeing Advanced's expanding research and development facility while driving the company's technology strategy forward. This involves bringing innovative products and services to the market.

Advanced, like many other businesses, is committed to reducing its carbon emissions. To support this endeavour, the company invested in an Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) reporting tool a year ago. This tool has enabled them to assess the outcomes of their initiatives from the past two years in relation to their overall greenhouse gas emissions, which encompass emissions from all company offices, travel, and data centers.

Notably, data centers have a significant environmental impact due to factors like water usage and electricity consumption. The ESG report they generated serves as a valuable resource for evaluating their achievements to date, pinpointing areas where further progress is required. It also establishes a comprehensive baseline for future annual reporting, demonstrating their commitment to transparency and the integration of environmental and sustainability objectives into their overall business strategy.

Additionally, Advanced supports reduced emissions through continued hybrid and flexible working options for their employees. By offering these alternatives, employees can avoid daily commutes, contributing to environmental sustainability. They have also implemented a business systems management platform that facilitates hot-desking, allowing staff to book their desks and collaborate more effectively.

In line with their sustainability goals, Advanced aimed to source 100% renewable electricity for all their buildings in 2021. They successfully transitioned their two largest workplaces, the head office and regional headquarters, to renewable electricity in August. Despite acquiring additional businesses, they have managed to reduce overall emissions across their combined operations since 2018. This achievement is partly attributed to consolidation efforts and a heightened focus on utilities, resulting in significant carbon savings of 70.8 tCO2e against their 2020 greenhouse gas totals.

Furthermore, Advanced has implemented digital initiatives like smart printers in all their offices, reducing energy consumption and encouraging employees to minimize printing. They are also making strides in promoting electric vehicle (EV) usage, recognizing its importance in reducing carbon footprints. To address concerns related to charging infrastructure, they have already installed EV charge points at their head office and regional hub in the U.K., with plans to expand this infrastructure to their other locations. These efforts collectively demonstrate Advanced's commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

1.2. Looking To Partners

Mark Rees serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Xero, a renowned provider of cloud-based accounting software located in Wellington, New Zealand. In his role, Rees holds the pivotal responsibility of charting the technological direction and strategy for Xero. He leads multiple critical teams within the company, including those responsible for platform development, security, data management, engineering, and architecture. His mandate involves enabling Xero's platform to drive innovation, foster growth, and achieve operational excellence.

At Xero, the commitment to sustainability permeates every aspect of their operations, extending across the entire value chain, which encompasses suppliers, customers, and partners. The company places a strong emphasis on setting clear targets that align with their sustainable energy initiatives. These initiatives encompass various aspects, including workforce development, environmental responsibility, and community engagement. To ensure that their partners also contribute to these sustainability efforts, Xero has adopted a different approach to collaboration.

For instance, their cloud services vendor, AWS, has publicly pledged to achieve 100% renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure by 2025. Xero actively collaborates with AWS to explore ways to optimize their infrastructure utilization, aligning with their sustainability goals.

Xero has taken steps to enhance its ability to manage and reduce its carbon footprint. They have implemented Salesforce's Sustainability Cloud, a tool designed to simplify and streamline the calculation and assessment of carbon emissions. This technology assists Xero in measuring, analyzing, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions accurately. Their ultimate aim is not just to offset their carbon footprint but to optimize it, reducing their environmental impact effectively.

In embracing a focus on improved environmental practices, Xero acknowledges the need for holistic thinking and enhanced collaboration. They recognize that achieving their sustainability objectives can no longer occur in isolation within the IT department. Instead, it requires close cooperation with every facet of the organization to ensure alignment and support for the broader efforts to promote sustainability. This approach underscores Xero's commitment to making meaningful and lasting contributions to environmental responsibility.

1.3.Streamlining Data Centers

Tony Kerrison holds the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and serves as the executive responsible for core technology infrastructure at Bank of America, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. His team plays a pivotal role in the design, construction, and operation of end-to-end technology infrastructure tools, overseeing critical systems and platforms across the entire enterprise. Additionally, they are responsible for determining the architectural framework of the bank's technology infrastructure.

Bank of America has set ambitious sustainability goals, including achieving net-zero emissions before the year 2050. This commitment encompasses all aspects of the organization, including their data centers. Since 2010, the bank has made substantial progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its data centers by 52%, achieved through energy conservation measures, space consolidation, and transitioning to a more environmentally friendly utility grid. The bank has also made significant strides in decreasing water usage in its data centers, reducing it by 57%, primarily by adopting modular data halls and replacing evaporative coolers with air-cooled chillers.

Despite the substantial growth in digital banking activities over the past few years, Bank of America has managed to reduce its electricity and water consumption compared to a decade ago. In 2010, data centers accounted for 17% of the bank's energy consumption and 7% of its water consumption. These figures have now decreased to 12% and 3%, respectively.

Looking ahead to 2030, Bank of America has established new sustainability goals, with data centers playing a crucial role in their strategy to achieve these objectives. One significant aspect of their strategy is the virtualization of the private cloud. They have already met their goal of migrating 80% of their workloads to the private cloud by 2019. Additionally, they have implemented modular data halls in several data centers, designed with environmental considerations to reduce their carbon footprint and enhance sustainability efforts.

These initiatives reflect Bank of America's commitment to advancing sustainability within its IT department and throughout the organization as a whole.