How are IT departments within large and midsize companies addressing sustainability initiatives and net-zero goals? The 2023 State of IT Sustainability Report, from Dimensional Research and OpenText, offers some key findings.
Here are five things to know from the report:
1. Survey participants: The survey involved 328 leaders and practitioners from medium to large companies worldwide. Participants included:
- Executives (VP, GM, C-level): 20%
- Directors and managers: 67%
- Team members: 13%
Fully 77% of the participants were from IT departments, followed by sustainability departments (8%), sales (4%) and other areas (11%).
2. IT Outpacing Peer Departments: Within companies, 75% of IT organizations are pursuing sustainability, followed by logistics (58%), facilities (57%), manufacturing and warehousing (48%), and several other departments.
3. Current state of IT sustainability initiatives: Fully 50% of companies are still planning or just beginning their IT sustainability efforts. Moreover, 34% of companies have halfway implemented IT sustainability goals, and 11% have mostly implemented those efforts. Roughly 5% have fully implemented the efforts, but some companies are still making adjustments to those efforts.
4. IT purchases and sustainability: Within 47% of companies, most IT purchase decisions involve sustainability considerations. Also, 15% of companies consider sustainability in every IT purchase decision. Within another 31% of companies, sustainability is considered in a few purchase decisions. Finally, 7% of companies don't consider sustainability in IT purchases.
5. Overall IT Sustainability Goal: Fully 41% of companies want their IT to be 100% net carbon neutral. Another 32% of organizations have a sustainability target that falls short of net-zero carbon emissions. Finally 27% of organizations don't have a defined IT sustainability goal.
Dig a little deeper, and the survey covers such areas as:
- The major challenges to implementing sustainable IT initiatives.
- Where software fits into IT carbon footprint monitoring, management and tracking.
Sustainable IT: Where Do Channel Partners, IT Service Providers Fit In?
The report mentioned third-party cloud services and associated sustainability initiatives. But it didn't mention if or how IT departments are leveraging channel partners to address sustainability.
Still, it's clear to us that CIOs will increasingly lean on channel partners for sustainable IT assistance.
