Sustainability and IT: How the two work together in modern business

Sustainability has become somewhat of a buzzword in 21st-century business operations.

It shapes much of the way that organisations think in regard to their output on the environment and is seen as a priority in the minds of consumers when considering which businesses they wish to buy from and associate with.

One area that still causes some confusion, however, is sustainability and IT – what it really means, how businesses can and should prioritise it, and the changes that need to be made to ensure that the two work together in harmony.

How does sustainability link with IT?

To be sustainable is to consider the impact that your action or operations have on the environment, making conscious changes that have a positive impact on your carbon footprint. To be sustainable with your business IT means first acknowledging and understanding the impact of digitalisation and IT on the environment, and then making internal changes to enhance your use of sustainable IT solutions.

Crucially, this does not merely relate to the way that IT devices and hardware are disposed of, recycled, and reused. Yes, the longer the lifespan of a device the more sustainable it is deemed to be – but what many modern technology users are not aware of is that the manufacturing of such devices exudes far more carbon and uses far more energy than running the device ever will.

To be sustainable with your business's IT operations, you need to recognise the importance of the manufacturing, management, and disposal processes you use – making changes across each of these areas that shape your sustainability drive.

How to make sustainability a priority in the workplace

It has been found that around 81% of a single computer’s total energy is used up and exhausted during the building and manufacturing process alone – a stat which highlights an issue with the way we use IT before we even press the ‘On’ switch.

Ask yourself this. When was the last time your business rewarded its employees with upgraded equipment or set out to support remote working by giving every employee their own at-home set-up for consistent working? When your business invests in new hardware, it's putting huge pressure on the environment and expanding its carbon emissions ten-fold – before those new items are even switched on and put to good use.

One of the easiest ways that businesses can reduce their carbon footprint and boost their sustainability drive is to reduce their reliance on new devices and commit to both reusing and recycling hardware. But if it was that easy, wouldn’t everyone be doing it? That’s where the importance of awareness and education comes in.

Raising awareness of the link between sustainability and IT in the modern workplace

A study by Capgemini found that only 34% of those surveyed were aware that the manufacturing of devices generates a bigger carbon footprint than the use of that device across its entire lifespan, and only 43% of senior executives in businesses are actively aware of their organisation’s carbon footprint. This demonstrates a huge lack of understanding and awareness of the link between IT and sustainability, particularly in modern businesses.

In order to create long-lasting links between the drive for increased sustainability in business and internal IT systems, there needs to be renewed focus on awareness and education – both among senior executives and ground workers. This can include small actions that employees can take to improve their own carbon footprint, as well as big changes that organisations can make across their data centres, IT supply chains, and disposal/recycling initiatives.

How to make IT sustainability a central topic in your business

The number one way that businesses can embrace sustainable IT both now and in the future is by recognising the carbon output of every device throughout its lifecycle. By understanding that everything from the build process to user management and disposal has an impact on the environment, we can highlight small changes at each stage that will help boost the sustainable practices of every company.

Work with IT vendors whose manufacturing processes use fewer chemicals and materials
Research green hardware solutions with the support of a reputable distribution company like Quantum IT
Re-evaluate data centre practices – from reducing the temperature in your physical IT and data centres to looking into cloud-based solutions which reduce the need for a physical set-up and infrastructure
Focus on the way you replace the hardware with upgraded devices – looking into recycling initiatives, and reusing and extending the lifespan of devices and hardware where possible

Finally, you cannot hope to make a difference in your business's IT and sustainability drive without the buy-in from colleagues and stakeholders at every level. As such, having a strategy in place that details the actions, big and small, which can be taken by all employees, will help to ensure that every individual is on the same page and committed to the same goals.

For more insight into how to build sustainability into your IT infrastructure and operational model, and for advice on the best hardware and IT solutions to boost your business while cutting back on your carbon footprint, Quantum IT Distribution can help.