CIOs need to balance tech with business sustainability

Mella Nomi

May 05, 2022

As CIOs explore new technologies that will help them meet their sustainability goals, investors also want proper governance when it comes to managing climate risk.

The growing dynamic behind corporate sustainability means that employers will be responsible for assessing and developing plans to reduce a company's carbon footprint and will need to be vigilant to support them in fulfilling these tasks that new technologies are taking on.

While there are a number of new technologies that can help companies measure, monitor and report carbon emissions, experts such as analyst Abhijit Sunil Forrester Research have warned that the same technology could cloud a company's carbon footprint, if not used properly.

Edge computing, which processes data close to the original source, and IoT devices, for example, can help provide more accurate measurements of a company's carbon footprint. However, the technologies contribute to a larger amount of e-waste and spread a larger carbon footprint across the company, Sunil said.

“Although technology has developed tools to help us take steps and actions to reduce carbon emissions, there are general digital trends that, if not deployed at the right scale and for the right use case, put the digital world at risk organization. ".

As CIOs and entrepreneurs explore technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and carbon metering, as well as corporate sustainability goals, Sunil says it is important to consider appropriate use cases to avoid spreading corporate carbon footprints.

Find the right use case

According to Sunil, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of a given technology, CIOs must carefully define the use case and what they want to achieve before proceeding with the technology.

This implies understanding the “inherent carbon footprint” of the technology used to achieve the goal of sustainability.

Sunil said if the CIO identifies the appropriate use case and scope for deploying this technology to offset their carbon footprint, it could be beneficial to the company's sustainability goals.

Although technology has developed tools to help us measure our carbon footprint and take action, there are general digital trends that, if not deployed at the right scale and for the right use case, pose risks to the overall carbon footprint. could represent a country's footprint. Organization.
Abhijit Sunil Analyst, Forrester Corporation

According to Sunil, existing environmental monitoring tools help collect data on business processes, products and services that use more carbon emissions, such as

Public cloud offerings from companies like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform can leave a significant carbon footprint.

These tools "help IT leaders make decisions that need to be made in the public cloud and on-premises," Sunil said.

As CIOs and IT leaders evaluate the use of technology to achieve sustainability goals, corporate investors want to show that a company cares about its sustainability plan.

Investors want to see the Climate Risk Management, TCFD report

At the Data Sustainability Summit presented by software company Crux Informatics, Citigroup, a global financial services company, outlined its vision for sustainability, including creating a governance structure of specific teams working on environmental, social data, and government and climate risk reports. . . Citigroup's board of directors oversees the work of both teams.

"Our governance structure is evolving in response to demand for our climate strategy and global purpose," said Davida Heller, Citi's director of sustainability strategy. "There is great involvement and collaboration as we examine the process of understanding these goals and then how to develop and define them."

Governance structures are a clear signal to investors that companies are taking their sustainability efforts seriously, said Jennifer Grzyk, director of responsible investment at Victory Capital Management, at the Data Sustainability Summit.

Grzech said this governance structure should show how the company is addressing and managing the issue of climate risk. Oversight of the Board of Directors with appropriate experts, as specified by Citi in its governance structure, is an important piece of the puzzle for investors.

Reporting frameworks are also important, Grzech said, adding that the Task Force on Climate Financial Disclosures (TFCD) advises companies to follow the climate risk reporting framework. The recently proposed climate risk disclosure standard by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is consistent with the TCFD framework.

Mackenzie Holland is a reporter covering important federal technologies and regulations. Before joining TechTarget, he was the general correspondent for Wilmington StarNews and an education and crime reporter for Wabash Plain Dealer .