Explore the Role of IT in Sustainability Practices
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
With concerns over climate change and sustainability rising, it is important to discern how different aspects of businesses and technology companies are affecting the environment around us. Advancements in technology can come at a cost, which is why exploring more sustainable ways to further innovation is becoming more and more crucial.
Reports show that global greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 50% over the past three decades due to increased fossil fuel combustion. With that, we are seeing an increase in sustainability initiatives globally; 83% of C-level executives increased their sustainability investments over the last 12 months.
Various organizational departments and specific types of companies have taken steps to implement sustainable technologies. Tech has the potential to be a major contributor to sustainability, whether for positive or negative results. Information technology (IT) plays a role in sustainability efforts, especially with the integration of AI and other technologies that require higher levels of energy and thorough governance. Explore IT’s impact and what actions can be navigated to ensure innovations that are of minimal risk to the environment.
Investing in Sustainable Technology Products & Systems
IT departments and IT companies can invest in more green technology that has lower environmental risk. Many types of tech and the systems they run on utilize large amounts of energy and resources, leading teams to explore more sustainable ways of conducting their work and providing technological services.
Energy & Resource Consumption: Technology consumes energy, however, IT teams can ensure that they are consuming the least amount of energy possible to conduct their operations. This might be through clean technology, or green technology, which can not only decrease energy consumption, but reduce costs and waste.
Much of the technology utilized in IT, such as computers, monitors, and phones, require large amounts of resources and precious metals, which can lead to resource depletion and material shortages. It is important to be aware of any critical points within supply chains by conducting assessments and work on incident strategies just in case. This might lead to implementing recycling programs.
E-Waste & Recycling: Some organizations implement recycling or buy-back programs for technological products in order to reuse components instead of throwing them away, contributing to overflowing landfills. Global e-waste generation is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, leading to a growing importance for end-of-life solutions for technology products, such as recycling and recollection. Donations and proper recycling are also crucial options for organizations to consider.
Use of AI: AI utilizes large amounts of energy if not governed properly and utilized responsibly. It also has capabilities to analyze patterns and provide insights into the best ways to optimize supply chains and energy grids.
Proactively Storing Data
Approximately 2,700 data centers in the U.S. accounted for over 4% of the nation’s electricity use in 2025, a figure projected to rise to 6% this year in 2026. With the rise of AI, these data centers are utilizing more and more energy—burning fossil fuels and consuming water for cooling technology.
IT teams have the ability to focus on storing their data within lower-carbon facilities, or those that are operating on renewable energy sources. These large data centers where companies store large amounts of data put out greenhouse gas emissions, causing many organizations to look towards moving their data to a cloud-based, renewable energy model for more efficient access while reducing their carbon footprint.
Focusing on Sustainable Development in Technology
In addition to what IT can do within organizations, there are also sometimes external factors that may contribute to growing sustainability efforts and lend a helping hand in reducing carbon footprints. Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced a partnership with United Kingdom’s Octopus Energy to focus on climate change and sustainability. This renewable energy company committed nearly $1 billion to California projects and companies that are focusing on clean technologies and solutions.
This agreement enables companies to develop the conviction to invest and build sustainably, and to develop using clean energy and nature-based resolutions. In California, greenhouse gas emissions are down 21% since 2000, all while being the world’s fourth largest economy.
A focus on sustainable energy is not something that IT can make happen overnight, but with a strategic and thoughtful timeline, organizations can begin to prioritize more clean energy and technology and reduce their carbon footprint.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
– Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
Comments