Intel Rallies CTO Executives Toward Sustainability, Green IT, Net-Zero Business Strategies

Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) have the potential to become the greatest driver of sustainability in an organization, according to Intel research. But CTOs face tall challenges as they strive to leverage technology "to affect the sustainable transformation of their entire organizations," Intel CTO Greg Lavender said in a prepared statement.

Among the additional research findings to note:

• 70% of senior IT leaders believe their organizations require a significant change or complete transformation to become net-zero businesses.
• 82% of senior IT leaders say that technology strategy and sustainability strategy must become increasingly aligned if their organizations are to reach net zero and become more sustainable businesses.
• 80% of senior IT leaders believe organizations are heavily reliant on technology and their CTOs to make their businesses more sustainable.
• 70% of senior IT leaders believe their organizations will not be able to reach net zero without the support and action of their IT functions.

The survey -- organized by Intel in partnership with Man Bites Dog, and research body Coleman Parkes -- interviewed 1,520 senior IT leaders, 250 CEOs and 250 chief sustainability officers representing 11 different sectors across 22 markets.

Sustainable CTO Messaging: Intel's Next Moves

So what's next? Intel plans to bang the Sustainable CTO drum consistently and loudly. In a prepared statement, Intel Corporate VP and Digital Transformation Officer Motti Finkelstein said: “The new role of the sustainable CTO will play a crucial part in an organization’s transition to net zero, but CTOs can’t navigate the challenges they will face alone. We aim to help CTOs on their sustainability journey and outline the roadmap for organizations to achieve their sustainability goals.”

Added Intel CTO Greg Lavender in a separate blog about the research findings: "This new model of CTO must land “tech zero” (greener information technology) and use technology to affect the sustainable transformation of their entire organization to be “tech positive” (a greener business). Both tech zero and tech positive provide business-driven value to power growth and win in the new economy."

Intel's Sustainable CTO effort includes an advisory board to "identify best practices to help organizations determine the best path toward becoming tech positive, given real-world business demands," the chipmaker said.

Advisory board members include:

• Rimma Iontel, chief architect, Global Telco Team, Red Hat;
• Denise Lee Yeh, vice president of Engineering Sustainability Office, Cisco Systems;
• Sunil Joshi, vice president and chief technology officer, Hybrid Cloud Services, Americas, IBM;
• David Bernstein, distinguished cloud architect, Roche;
• Selda Gunsel, vice president, Fuels and Lubricants Technology, Shell;
• Brent Collins, senior director, Data & Emerging Solutions, WWT (World Wide Technology); and
• Emily Martin, executive vice president, Converge Technology Solutions.

Aligning Green IT With Net-Zero Business Goals: Intel Opportunities and Challenges

Dozens of technology and energy companies now pitch sustainable partner programs across their business ecosystems and supply chains. Among the key reasons: Sustainability is a Top 10 business priority for CIOs, according to Gartner.

We'll be watching to see if or how the Intel Partner Alliance program evolves to help partners promote green IT services to CTOs, CIOs and chief sustainability officers.

It's a safe bet the competition will be fierce. Indeed, Intel rivals such as AMD and Nvidia increasingly emphasize energy efficiency, power management and supply chain management as differentiators in the market. And while Nvidia revenue is surging amid strong demand for chips that run artificial intelligence applications, rival Intel continues to face multiple financial and business hurdles.

Still, Intel is on to something with this Sustainable CTO messaging, we believe. Stay tuned for updates.