Our common future and shared prosperity

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”?

How far we have come; and how far we have yet to go.?

In a recent study from the IBM Institute for Business Value , almost half of CEOs indicate that increasing sustainability is one of the highest priorities for their organization in the next 2 to 3 years, and they are facing increasing pressure from board members, investors, ecosystem partners, regulators, and governments — among other stakeholders — to act with greater transparency around sustainability.?

There is a premium on sustainability and customers are voting with their wallets: Roughly half of global consumers paid more for products branded as sustainable in the last 12 months. Employees are also more likely to stay with an environmentally conscious employer.

However, despite the enthusiasm and the pressure to act, significant obstacles remain. Unclear difficulty in defining and measuring ROI and economic benefits (57%) and a lack of insights from data (44%) are some of the greatest challenges CEOs face on their quests towards achieving their sustainability objectives.

People. Planet. Prosperity

With challenges come opportunities. Recognizing the need and urgency to act, sustainability efforts are gaining momentum among forward-thinking IT executives. Green IT — or environmentally sustainable computing — is becoming a crucial piece in the puzzle in driving the success of enterprises’ sustainability initiatives.?

Demand for digital services is growing rapidly. According to the IEA (International Energy Agency), since 2010, the number of internet users worldwide has more than doubled, while global internet traffic has expanded 20-fold. Data centers and data transmission networks are responsible for nearly 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. With anticipated growth in data-intensive services, in particular, emerging technologies including blockchain, data analytics, and machine learning, the energy consumption and emissions footprint of our digital world are poised to increase.

So what can be done?

From carbon accounting and benchmarking to analytics and action

Building an inclusive and prosperous future will require collective action from all of us; sustainability must be embedded in the DNA for every organization. With intention, the right strategy, the right partner, and the right technology, organizations can reduce their carbon footprint while remaining innovative and competitive.

To better understand where we can drive improvement, we need to understand what needs to be measured and how. Setting the right goals and having a single system of record to integrate and manage ESG data that aligns to the goals are the first steps towards establishing a good foundation and baseline.

With the links between the ESG data and underlying operational systems across the entire enterprise established, relevant data can then be collected and analyzed. And insights can be generated to drive clean energy transition, decarbonization, and other efficiency improvement efforts.

Beyond data centers

Beyond data centers, there are also plenty of opportunities to optimize operations and reduce carbon footprint. Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to a recent Morning Consult poll commissioned by IBM , 29% of companies are planning to invest in green IT solutions, and investments in more sustainable operations and more energy efficient computing are the top sustainability investments planned for the next two years.

“If green IT is the destination, then hybrid cloud is the mode of transport.” IBM Institute for Business Value : IT sustainability beyond the data center study

In addition to driving efficiency with renewable energy and optimized application development, a hybrid cloud approach can also help to optimize workload allocation across the entire enterprise, reducing operational costs and carbon emissions with less idle capacity and unused resources.?

Technology for good

As we start the year anew, I am hopeful for the wins and thoughtful steps taken along the sustainability journey. IBM’s efforts in championing sustainability and responsible computing is a wonderful example. The 2022 SEAL Sustainable Product Award for IBM LinuxONE Emperor 4 serves as a testament to the company’s leadership and their relentless pursuit of innovation to make the world a better place. And the pro bono social impact program, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator , will help to accelerate clean energy projects, providing marginalized communities just and equitable access to sustainable energy resources.

I am reminded of the words from Wangari Maathai , the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize back in 2004. “In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.”?

Our actions of today will influence the choices available to us tomorrow, and the paths our next generation will travel in the future.?

The time to act is indeed now.?

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This article was sponsored by IBM , but the opinions are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions or strategies. Learn more about IBM hybrid cloud and IT sustainability beyond the data center here .