ESG strategy: The power of business networks in the IT industry
In light of current and upcoming climate disclosure regulations, companies, and their entire supply chains, need to take positive action on their sustainability plans immediately – and must put collaboration at the core of this.
In his recent article for Computer Weekly, IT Sustainability Think Tank: Hitting ESG targets relies on the power of partnerships, Cervest’s Founder and CEO, Iggy Bassi, focused on who businesses should be collaborating with when creating a solid IT sustainability strategy. He makes it clear that collaboration is one of the foundational building blocks of any ESG strategy.
“Climate risk affects every single person, enterprise, and community. Although individual assets are owned, their risk is shared. If data centers in Dublin are underwater, the knock-on effects will be felt right across the network, not only at the sites affected. Collaboration – with colleagues, suppliers, and clients – has to be at the heart of an effective approach to climate.” The saying: “It takes a village”– has never been truer. Working together, internally and externally, alongside suppliers and forming trusted partnerships with clients is critical to future progress.
Iggy continues: “Coeus Consulting’s recent CIO and IT sustainability survey found that 90% of IT leaders were aware of the need to meet sustainability targets – yet those same leaders were often confined to tackling “low-hanging fruit” such as recycling and cloud hosting. “Organizations could be missing a trick here, relegating technology’s contribution to sustainability to a ‘support’ role,” the survey concludes.”
Sustainability and resilience in the IT sector
In wake of our increasingly volatile climate, IT leaders should look to new technology to build a robust ESG strategy that encompasses both adaptation and mitigation strategies. Cutting-edge climate intelligence is pivotal and can provide much-needed insight into climate hazards and the risk they pose to the assets an IT company relies on, both now and in the future. Climate change is an urgent matter and IT heads must plan for it now, as it’s already making a serious impact globally.
We’ve seen severe weather conditions becoming more prevalent, such as the recent flooding in Seoul, extreme heatwaves in the UK, and global supply chain blockages – these weather events are part of the new climate normal. Moreover, the technology industry relies heavily on international goods, physical assets, suppliers, and utilities, making it highly vulnerable to our increasingly volatile climate. For example, drought can cut off water transport networks, floods can damage goods stored in warehouses and extreme heat can put more pressure on electrical grids than their built to withstand. It must be a high priority for IT leaders to forecast and plan accordingly for the ongoing climate crisis, otherwise, the consequences could be dire.
ESG strategy innovation
IT leaders and portfolio owners have the chance to transform their organizations and sustainability progress with the help of science-backed climate intelligence. Asset-level insight on the climate hazards affecting a company’s portfolio is a paramount part of ESG strategy. Having a comprehensive, actionable climate insight empowers organizations to make resilience decisions about physical properties and suppliers, such as which buildings need redesigning or retrofitting and identifying weak links in supply chains.
How does climate intelligence help businesses?
IT leaders and portfolio owners have the chance to transform their organizations and sustainability progress with the help of science-backed climate intelligence. Asset-level insight on the climate hazards affecting a company’s portfolio is a paramount part of ESG strategy. Having a comprehensive, actionable climate insight empowers organizations to make resilience decisions about physical properties and suppliers, such as which buildings need redesigning or retrofitting and identifying weak links in supply chains.
EarthScan: granular climate intelligence
Seeing clearly where climate risk and opportunity is across IT assets is a fundamental step in sustainability and business planning. Cervest’s flagship product EarthScan™ provides climate intelligence to make confident, informed decisions that enhance the resilience of assets. It provides a dynamic holistic overview of physical climate risk across multiple climate hazards and climate scenarios. Informed by the latest climate science, long and short-term decisions can be made at the asset or portfolio level, allowing IT companies to take targeted interventions to mitigate climate risk across its entire business network.
A value chain is only as strong as its weakest point. Earthscan’s data can easily be downloaded, added to reports and shared across departments, with stakeholders, and externally, for collaboration on new climate strategy actions. It’s not only the ESG team that needs to act in this climate crisis now and in the future– it’s everyone – it affects every person, community, and business . That’s why having a powerful, extensive and collaborative climate strategy is essential .
Sign up to EarthScan to discover how climate intelligence can enhance your ESG strategy.
Share this article
Our latest news and insights
Accenture and Cervest collaborate to bring innovative solutions to clients seeking resilience amid increased climate risk
Read moreWhat is climate intelligence and why do businesses and governments need it?
Read more