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Sustainability

Sustainability Business Checklist for IT

April 19, 2023
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Although 90% of business leaders think sustainability is important, only 60% of companies have a sustainability strategy.

In the new modern workplace, the demand for digital transformation creates a major opportunity to create a more sustainable future that benefits all in our society.

Taking the moment to reflect on the planet through global campaigns such as the recent Earth Hour in March, helps organisation take a valuable step towards the big picture of sustainable growth. When we reflect on ourselves and our business practices, we can find the small and large changes and improvements that help us become part of the solutions, through sustainable practices and ideas.

Sustainable technology solutions to drive business long-term growth.

Here are some of the ways organisations can review their sustainability journey:

  • Understand your supply chain

It’s important to understand where you purchase your products and services and consider how you can help reduce greenhouse emissions. Partnering with a reseller or organisation that focuses on ethical or environmentally friendly products can ensure your organisation is equipped with sustainable resources and equipment which drive the right values within your company. For example, some organisations like Lenovo and Logitech are driving major changes to packaging to devices by offering non plastic alternatives.

  • Keep stakeholders up to date
When you adopt new changes or policies within your organisation, it’s valuable to share your achievements as it can also inspire others and bring new learnings from your experiences. Communicate within your business and outside your business across your social media, communication with partners, public announcements and annual reports as some examples. Your ideas and innovation can invigorate a sustainability focus across other organisations too.
  • Look to the Cloud for bright opportunities

Incorporating cloud services such as Azure into your business can bring sustainable benefits for your organisation. It can improve energy efficiency by up to 93%, and be up to 98% more efficient in carbon footprint than local servers. If your organisation is not fully ready to switch the cloud, you can look at hybrid models that still achieve your business goals and support hybrid work models whilst being more energy efficient and reducing energy consumption and emissions.

  • Consider your energy usage

Today, we are seeing an increasing range of sustainability or environmentally responsible technology released in the market, including our centerpiece of hybrid work today – laptops. Consider ESG ratings and the manufacturing process, where we are truly seeing innovation and creating bear fruit such as reused plastics incorporated into hardware models. It shares an important message to your workforce too about your company values and sustainability mission.

  • Sustainable Product Lifecycle Management
Whilst holding on to your technology until it dies might appear to be a cost-effective approach, it comes with its own set of risks including security concerns, hardware outages and maintenance costs. It’s time to effectively manage your device life cycle with recycling, repurposing and smart disposal practices for a stronger ecosystem. Furthermore, your device could be given a second life when donated to a different user, rather than sitting unused or inefficient within your business.
  • Paper is so yesterday

How much paper is your organisation using? How much of that paper printing can actually go digital?

Much of the paperwork in businesses can be optimised by moving to eco-friendly digital platforms and digital project management tools such as Adobe where you can schedule tasks, organise, share and sign without paper. It is said that the cost of using paper is 30x the purchasing cost. Think of the planet and take the green initiative within your organisation.

Businesses play a critical role in helping the world move towards a more sustainable journey. Regardless of what industry or size of business, there’s room to improve operations and sustainability standards.

Speak to our Virtu team today to book a consultation on improving your sustainable IT procurement and management plan.

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