Guest contributor |
Despite the global population becoming increasingly aware of the detrimental effects of climate change and environmental destruction, the progress made towards addressing these challenges has been slower than expected.
According to the United Nation’s 2024 Emissions Gap Report, there is a “massive gap between the rhetoric and reality”, and the worldwide effort to restrain the temperature increase to 1.5C will remain a distant dream if countries don’t start delivering on their environmental commitments.
We are witnessing a similar trend in the enterprise world, with 84 per cent of organisations placing high strategic importance on achieving sustainability goals, according to the Kyndryl-Ecosystm 2024 Global Sustainability Barometer Study. The report, which reflects on the perspectives of 1,355 global sustainability leaders surveyed from 20 countries and nine industry groups between August and September 2024, also found that only 19 per cent of businesses have implemented concrete sustainability initiatives.
Several factors contribute to this wide gap between enterprise intent and action. They include limited integration of sustainability into business strategy, the limited availability of resources and skills, and lack of coordination among key internal stakeholders.
While it’s encouraging to see more CEOs getting involved in defining organisations’ sustainability strategies, they must build a culture of synergy and collaboration, especially in finance and sustainability teams, and leverage the power of technology to translate their vision into measurable outcomes.
Technology, especially data analytics and artificial intelligence, is becoming a powerful catalyst for driving action and predicting future risks. Most teams are focused primarily on using this technology to track their environmental impact and, while that’s an essential area, organisations are missing out on a bigger opportunity to use technology to transform their overall environmental footprint and predict their future potential.
The Kyndryl-Ecosystm study highlights several of the areas where technology can significantly impact sustainability initiatives. For starters, it found that only 21 per cent of organisations globally recognise the dual role technology plays in reducing their carbon footprints and advancing broader sustainability goals. If organisations start to examine how they can integrate technology into their strategies, they can soon turn abstract goals into actionable, data-driven plans.
Secondly, while 54 per cent of businesses incorporate sustainability goals into existing reporting processes, only 19 per cent fully utilise their data for strategic planning and decision-making.
Most organisations now have a robust data platform with a variety of inputs, and if they begin to integrate their sustainability data with operational and financial data, they can discover the insights needed to deliver on commitments and drive resilience. Not only will this help them get an integrated view of their operations, but it will also help establish authentic baselines and set realistic goals.
Finally, whilst anyone can pick up an AI tool and start using it, knowing how to use it efficiently can provide immense potential for sustainability.
The study reports that 55 per cent of organisations believe AI will significantly impact their goals. However, 62 per cent currently limit their use of AI to simply analysing historical data for monitoring and reporting. If organisations invest in and leverage AI-powered scenario planning and climate risk mitigation, they can adopt a more holistic approach to environmental responsibility.
The 2024 Global Sustainability Barometer Study underscores the importance of bridging the sustainability-technology divide and provides valuable insights for business leaders looking to drive meaningful change. By examining the roles that strategy, data and AI play in achieving sustainability goals, not only will organisations be better equipped to take the next steps in their sustainability journey, but they will have the information they need to trigger real change.
The integration of technology into sustainability strategies is key to unlocking the full potential of sustainable business growth. It’s time for organisations to leapfrog from sustainable technology to technology for sustainability.
Faith Taylor is chief corporate citizenship and sustainability officer at Kyndryl
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