IT firms up the ante on sustainability projects, help clients cut emission

As per some estimates, the global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector emits 1.4% of world's carbon

From reducing their carbon footprint to helping them assess if they’re overbuying their technology and data centre requirements, technology firms are increasingly working on sustainability as a service.

As per some estimates, the global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector emits 1.4 per cent of the world’s carbon.

Technology firms like Capgemini, Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services, Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) and others are now working with clients to help them cut down emissions, have more sustainable infrastructure and even improve in areas like agriculture.

"Many organisations whom we have spoken to in the last one year are trying to build sustainability as part of their contract or evaluation criteria," said DD Mishra, Senior Director Analyst at research firm Gartner.  "Accordingly, the provider evaluation, selection, contracting, and expectation are changing. Organizations who are serious about sustainability are exploring more sustainable suppliers," he added.

In Gartner's CEO survey last year, 5 per cent of the organisations said sustainability was part of their top five priorities. This year, this was around 9 per cent, while nine out of ten organizations want to increase investment on sustainability.

"Previously providers focused on digital transformation, and not societal transformation. Indian as well as global service providers are also getting serious about working with clients on this. We are observing the interest among the IT service providers which are sometimes driven by their own strategy and sometimes the competitive pressure," Mishra said.

Capgemini in June announced a new "Sustainable IT" offering, designed to help clients reduce their IT carbon footprint.

"We work on sustainability engagements that encompass domains of customer experience, enterprise transformation and intelligent industry, by leveraging data and cloud. In delivering our engagements with clients, we have developed a range of sustainability tools, including our Carbon Travel Dashboard, Carbon Calculator, AI Carbon Impact tool, etc. which assists clients to recognize opportunities in reducing emissions through virtual collaborative delivery," said Sandeep Bhatia, MD, Capgemini Invent, India.

The Capgemini Invent business line is engaged in projects in areas that include waste reduction, energy transition, education, digital inclusion, predictive healthcare, employment, poverty prevention and housing.

"Sustainable IT optimizes IT infrastructures, resulting in a variety of benefits such as more efficient asset utilization, reduced total cost of ownership, smaller carbon footprint, and conformance with tightening market requirements," said Ranganath Sadasiva, Chief Technology Officer, Hybrid IT, HPE, India.

Some ways HPE helps clients reduce the negative impact on the environment are- elimination of overprovisioning, a common practice in which companies “overbuy” IT; helping them upgrade faster to the latest, more energy-efficient technologies; and help re-use, re-manufacture components for a second time, as well as help clients extend the life of their current IT equipment, he added.

As an example, HPE in 2020 processed more than 3.1 million units of technology – 1.7 million data centre gear such as servers, storage and network assets, and 1.4 million workplace assets such as notebook, laptops, tablets and printers. Close to 90 per cent of this equipment is remarketed and returned to active use; the rest is responsibly recycled, the firm says.

IT service providers will have to focus on certifications around sustainability, better commitment in terms of KPIs, innovations and intellectual property around sustainable solutions, goalposts and roadmap aligned to faster adoption of Sustainability, focus on UN goals and a well-defined strategic focus, Gartner's Mishra said.

Agreed Bhatia, "Sustainability should not be viewed as a standalone service; it is a business imperative for CEOs now and integral to every operation and communication. We all have the moral responsibility, and the means to contribute to solving major societal questions that are shaping our future world."