INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
How going digital is the first
step to sustainability
Sustainability is key for
organisations that want to
stay competitive. A balanced,
holistic approach is best and
that starts by going digital.
Gabrielle Ginér, Head of
Environmental Sustainability
for BT, shares her thoughts.
Going digital isn’t just about making
our working lives easier and more
flexible. ICT solutions have the
potential to help lower global CO 2
emissions
by 20% by 2030.
There are many ways that digital technology
can promote sustainable ways of working.
Going digital means that there’s less need to:
1. Travel. People can work together
effectively even though they’re not in
the same place.
2. Have lots of equipment. Not necessary
once a business has moved to the cloud.
3. Use energy keeping on-premise
hardware online. Organisations simply
won’t need it anymore.
Gabrielle Ginér, Head of Environmental
Sustainability for BT
We’re already seeing some of the
environmental benefits of digital working.
Our products and services helped customers
avoid 11.7 million tonnes of carbon last year.
If you haven’t made the move to digital
yet, now’s the time. With the right solutions,
it’s possible to find a balance between
sustainability, security and efficiency that
works for your organisation.
A balanced, tailored approach
to sustainability
There’s evidence to support a balanced
approach to digital working, with some
roles remaining face-to-face, for example in
hospitality, and others ‘going digital’. Before
Coronavirus, the move to digital working
was typically a slow one. The key to success
was deciding how digital working could add
value and where there was still a need for a
human touch. Under the current lockdown,
many of us have quickly moved to a digital
work environment but once things return
to normal, the right digital working balance
will be found by organisations using digital
technology more flexibly.
Develop the leading edge:
technology, employees,
customers and partners
Sustainability isn’t just about using laptops
to work from home. It’s also about looking
at a business’ entire operation to find out
where they can introduce more sustainable
ways of working. Below, I’ve outlined three
aspects that should be at the top of the
business’ list of considerations.
#1 Technology
Companies with a competitive technological
edge are likely to do better than their peers but
equally, sustainability is an important market
ONCE THINGS
RETURN TO
NORMAL, THE
RIGHT DIGITAL
WORKING BALANCE
WILL BE FOUND BY
ORGANISATIONS
USING DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGY
MORE FLEXIBLY.
differentiator. In fact, it’s becoming so integral
to business that investors see a lack of interest
in sustainability as a risk to their investment.
So, by combining a leading technology
platform with sustainable ways of working,
organisations can lead the way in their market.
#2 Employees
Employees are another key consideration.
In order to reach the carbon reduction
targets of the region, companies need to
recruit talented people who understand
the importance of sustainability. The more
sustainable an organisation tries to be, the
more likely they are to recruit people who will
help them to achieve this goal.
#3 Customers
Like employees, customer focus is also
increasingly shifting to sustainability. We
work with Unilever and it has recognised the
importance of having all its products related
to a sustainability goal, whether ethical,
societal or environmental. •
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