Sustainability historically had a peripheral role in conversations about strategy. Important yes, but often an afterthought to growth and efficiency.
Now that is changing. Green tech digital transformation is quickly becoming the differentiator, as opposed to something that is merely expected or required.
Customers and investors are both paying attention to how companies operate now versus in the past. An organization with energy intensive systems, but no clear sustainability initiatives, is now beginning to face difficult questions from both customers and investors that they did not encounter just a few years ago.
Small choices can lead to significant change. Energy efficient cloud infrastructure instead of traditional infrastructure. Lean web design that improves site loading times and reduces bandwidth consumption. Changing to more efficient data processing methods. These may not seem like major changes in isolation, but collectively they will have an enormous impact.
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However, with the increase in questions being asked regarding both the validity of sustainability as a strategy, and the perceived lack of accountability of some organizations, caution is warranted. For instance, an organization can produce a beautiful sustainability report and generate incredible excitement amongst stakeholders; however, if the organization’s operations have not changed, then stakeholders will likely begin to lose faith in the organization.
The good news, from many perspectives, is that green transformation inherently aligns with efficiency. Reducing energy usage results in reduced operational costs. Streamlining processes results in waste reduction. The incentives of should continue to converge.
Of course, there will always be trade-offs. Some green tech requires an up-front investment, which may not be practical for every organization. The long-term return on investment is evident; however, the short-term pressures may be more difficult to manage.
Ultimately, sustainability should not be thought of as a separate category within an organization’s digital strategy. Rather, sustainability will become one of the main filters through which organizations will make decisions about their digital strategies.
