EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
In the last 10 years , sustainability has developed from being a special interest for a few engaged individuals to becoming a major risk area for owners , boards , CEOs and management teams . With the global need for urgent action on climate change , supported by growing concern from citizens and consumer expectations , sustainability initiatives have also become a business necessity for future success . With increased digitalisation and dependence on IT technology in organisations , sustainability is a top priority for CIOs . mobile devices , display products , imaging equipment and data centre technology . Change must be made and putting a halt to linear patterns of buy-usedispose into landfill is part of the change for good . p
Positioned as they are at the helm of technology innovation , CIOs have always held a role of being an agent of change . Today they have a real opportunity to act as a key player in the climate emissions challenge and create a lasting legacy for good . To achieve this , it is no longer enough for CIOs to simply act as IT investment advisor , they must also be an enabler for more sustainable business practices .
There are lots of reports on the increased footprint of all the IT services we are using , which is , of course , key to lowering the climate emissions and other environmental and social impact of our IT . But there is also lots of possibility for decreasing the footprint of an organisation through a smart use of IT services . Digital meetings instead of travelling is an obvious example , but there are many other less obvious ones .
Sustainability initiatives have also become a business necessity for future success .
My view is that CIOs need to work on both these aspects for positive results and credibility . A great place to start is to ensure that IT services and devices have an environmentally and socially sustainable life cycle , and not just optimised for low cost . The businesses and organisations that have been aiming for sustainability the longest are now looking into circular business models – such as Products-as-a-Service ( PaaS ) – for their PCs ,
SÖREN ENHOLM , CEO , TCO DEVELOPMENT
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