7 steps towards a sustainable future: Promoting responsible innovation in every organization
By: Amit Luthra, MD – India, Lenovo ISG
Over the past decade, the accelerated digital transformation fueled by rapid advancements has fostered remarkable progress and creativity. Today, we are sequencing genomes in minutes, forecasting accurate weather forecasts, and driving autonomous vehicles, among other use cases all of which require faster processing. And that demands high-density data centers which have a growing contribution to environmental challenges led by IoT. On the flip side, innovation will continue to accelerate which requires us to be sustainably aware.
To address the urgent need for sustainable measures and long-lasting solutions, organizations and governments worldwide are actively initiating regulations to reduce carbon footprint and adopt sustainable operating practices. Many enterprises have aligned their sustainability goals alongside their digital transformation objectives and are partnering with like-minded organizations to foster responsible innovation. As revealed in the Smarter Data Management Playbook, 94% of the organizations in India are placing significant emphasis on sustainability.
Recognizing that each organization possesses the potential for sustainable innovation, it is crucial to consider the impact of our actions on the environment and take proactive steps toward promoting sustainability. Keeping this in mind, let’s delve into seven steps that are attributes of every responsible organization on a mission to reduce their environmental footprint and foster a culture of sustainability.
Formulating sustainability goals and plan
Organizations must define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound sustainability goals, which are aligned with the company’s mission and values. These goals can include reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste generation, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting social and environmental responsibility. Once this understanding is established, it is important that they set their sustainability goals within a defined timeframe.
Embracing sustainability practices
To implement the plan, organizations need to adopt sustainable practices across different aspects of their business. This can include using renewable energy sources, optimizing energy and water consumption, reducing waste through recycling and responsible disposal, embracing eco-friendly packaging, and sourcing sustainable materials.
Conducting regular assessment
Comprehensive evaluations can help organizations to understand the environmental and social implications of their practices more effectively. This will empower them to identify areas of improvement and prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact and feasibility.
Carbon Offsetting
To neutralize the number of carbon emissions, organizations can invest in carbon offset projects such as renewable energy development or choose service providers who offer carbon offset services for IT infrastructure. This approach presents a simple and realistic way to achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions.
Data Center Cooling
Heat generation and power consumption in data centers contribute to carbon emissions and implementing efficient cooling solutions can help optimize data center performance while reducing the carbon footprint. Technologies such as water cooling, air cooling, hot and cold aisle layout, and liquid cooling are innovative approaches to achieving energy efficiency and sustainability in data centers.
Asset Recovery Services
Organizations can avail asset recovery services as it provides an end-to-end solution to mitigate the environmental and data security risks associated with end-of-life asset disposal. By utilizing these services, companies can effectively address such risks while also maximizing the value potential of their assets.
Promoting Sustainable Packaging and Product Design
Organizations need to place emphasis on product design that prioritizes energy efficiency and recyclability – ensure that its products are easily recyclable at the end of their life, supporting a circular economy and reducing electronic waste. There is a need to have active efforts to reduce packaging materials by optimizing the design and using more sustainable alternatives.
World Environment Day is a strong reminder that we need to acknowledge and act on our contribution to a sustainable future by leveraging technology. Collectively, organizations around the world should adopt sustainable practices and become more environmentally conscious and responsible.
