Navigating the Complexity of Sustainability: Five Focus Areas for Business Executives

Today, it’s no longer surprising to hear that companies are working hard to promote ESG, especially sustainability. This term has entered the corporate lexicon, and rightfully so. Following Cop26 (the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference), in order to control global warming within 1.5 degrees, many companies have begun to focus on setting net-zero emission targets and formulating plans to achieve these targets. Cop27 also focuses on this key issue.

Unfortunately, there has been a gap between many companies' external publicity and internal actions. A recent Pure Storage research survey* of an international group of sustainability leaders found that while 70% of respondents were committed to achieving net zero by around 2030 or earlier, only 51% are making progress towards their goals on schedule. 

This gap must be resolved. Businesses have a lot of enthusiasm and willingness to make changes, but they don’t know where to start: Where should senior management focus their attention? Here are five key areas where they should focus and make a positive impact.  

1. Measure all data

Many businesses don’t know their energy consumption costs or statistics, such as power and cooling costs, or how many megawatts they consume per hour. Simply accepting some costs without ever measuring them is not only contrary to commercial best practices, but also does not help to understand where to start to improve environmental sustainability issues. How can a company's managers track or identify improvements if they don't receive positive business feedback from implementing energy-saving technologies? 

Businesses need an integrated, top-down measurement strategy. It is difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding, but it is necessary to measure your own situation. For example, within the data center, which technologies cause the most greenhouse gas emissions? What is its power consumption? How to choose different technologies to improve? If activities are not measured, improvements cannot be made and results cannot be quantified. 

2. Retire old systems 

Once you start measuring, can you clearly grasp the location of the pain points? What can be done to improve energy consumption and reduce emissions. We often hear that companies are struggling to reduce energy consumption due to existing energy-consuming and inefficient technologies. These technologies will not only hinder progress and innovation, but also prevent carbon emissions from being reduced. Fortunately, there are new technologies that can lead to significant energy savings and thus significant cost savings, which is part of the value of implementing new infrastructure. For example, Admiral is a UK customer of Pure Storage. After switching to Pure Storage, their data center power and cooling costs were reduced by 74%, and energy consumption was reduced by 56%. After Italian managed service provider Elmec became a Pure Storage customer, their data center carbon footprint was reduced by 85%, power consumption was reduced by half, and the return on investment was accelerated due to reduced data center costs. 

Not only that, but as companies begin to shift their focus from Scope 1 and 2 emissions to Scope 3 emissions, it is clear that companies need to look not only internally, but also at the energy consumption of external suppliers. Ignorance is no longer an option and mastering the details is a must. Old equipment has a great impact on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, so if this problem can be solved in the short term, it will be very helpful for long-term carbon reduction.  

E-waste is another important consideration, what to do with the product when it reaches the end of its life? Old hardware is usually shredded and destroyed after three or four years, which will cause a great technical impact on the environment. Another approach is to choose technology that has an extremely long life and is designed not to need periodic replacement. This type of technology doesn’t need to be replaced every few years, but can be upgraded to keep it in top condition at all times.  

3. Discuss openly and honestly 

Most companies are trying to figure out where they need the most improvement. Please discuss your progress openly and honestly, otherwise it will be considered greenwashing. It’s not a race to win or lose, it’s all about helping the planet. Hearing what other people are doing is actually really valuable, it helps to collaborate with each other, and you also understand the industry perspective and other different perspectives. 

Internally, the entire business must be involved and invested. We are seeing more and more companies publishing sustainability reports or ESG reports to explain their goals, often with the CEO endorsing them. This document is important because it lets employees and potential customers know what the company is thinking and highlights its priorities. Not only that, but it's also a useful talent recruitment tool, as young people in particular have a strong awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability. 

4. Recruit a sustainability executive

If ESG reporting is a call to action, how can companies turn all enthusiasm into action? We will see more and more roles being created that are purely focused on sustainability. Unifying all the different opinions and actions is not easy, so it is best to have a sustainability executive take the lead. Sustainability executives must ensure that the entire company is aware of and understands the company's overall sustainability strategy so that all activities and changes are most effective.

As the day draws closer for companies to reach net zero targets, the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer is no longer out of reach. This is a growing field with increasing awareness and job roles. 

5. Adopt standards 

There are a variety of related standards, but unfortunately not all of them are compatible with each other. Some are more stringent, and there are differences among geographical regions. Generally speaking, Europe is ahead in terms of awareness and penetration. Adopting well-known standards such as EcoVadis or the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) is a good start because they are already recognized, understood and respected. In addition, the Energy Star certification originally applied to white goods (White Goods) is now also applied to enterprise IT. This certification is not only easy to understand, but can also be used as a reference for consumers when purchasing. Plus, it helps your sales team, your corporate image, and most importantly, the planet. 

Turn passion into action 

Improving sustainability is important for both people and the planet, and it is also an important key for companies to move towards environmental protection. This issue is currently very popular, so the most important thing is to turn this power into action. When companies do this, they are not only doing the “right thing” but can quickly save costs and reduce emissions if they implement the appropriate processes and technologies. 

Hopefully, one day we will be able to talk about these steps and processes no longer as sustainability initiatives, but as standard business practice. We must have an honest discussion about what actions are most effective and where there is room for improvement in the future, not just for the sake of the planet but for the sake of business.