How sustainability is (or should be) shaping IT decisions in 2023

If you’re doing business in 2023, you can’t escape the topic of sustainability. The pressure is on for businesses to act more responsibly. In turn, most businesses have done so—but to what effect?​

We surveyed IT decision-makers from around the world to understand how sustainability is shaping their decisions—and how much it really matters to their organizations. This white paper outlines some of the data insights that came from that research. If you’d like to dive deeper into the implications of this data, you can read “How to invest in sustainability by investing in technology,” an accompanying white paper where we interpret some of the trends in sustainability strategy and how bringing these efforts closer to technology strategy can help organizations achieve the best of both worlds.

The vast majority of people in business, when asked to look at their own company’s credentials on sustainability will look at themselves favorably. Almost every business claims to have made sustainability a very high priority. And a surprisingly large number will claim maturity in the area. Both things are on par with digital transformation, which is a more accepted and proven universal priority for businesses.

The priority given to sustainability is backed up by the budget that is being assigned to it. There is a fairly even priority between the key objectives we would expect to see. Companies investing in key technologies went up during 2022—although there is an anticipated decline ahead for 2023.

Despite the priority given to sustainability, organizations report a number of barriers or other issues that hinder their ability to deliver on sustainability effectively.

There is a mix of cultural and technological issues affecting sustainability. For some, having the right technology is a challenge. For others there are problems getting sustainability onto the right status level in the organization in order for it to become a natural part of operations. 

When faced with the notion that many organizations are struggling to get to grips with some of the enablers for sustainability, the immediate next question is why? Part of the answer is perhaps that there is a mis-understanding of how valuable sustainability initiatives can be for the business.  

When put in context of the impact on sales potential, for example, sustainability credentials certainly take on a higher value. The credentials of a company and of the products it sells are both equally important for the buyers in making their decisions.  

There are also mounting risks from the perspective of both investors and employees. As younger generations (who place a higher premium on sustainability) increasingly influence investments and are more valuable to organizations, the consequences of losing them because of opaque sustainability policies and performance become greater. ​

Interestingly, the fear over these consequences is notably higher in North America than it is in Europe. This could be a reflection of the faster moving investment and employment markets there as much as an indication of stronger conviction on these issues. 

If there are benefits to be had from clearer plans and better sustainability performance, the next step is to look at what needs to change in order to get different outcomes. 

One of the first things is that the way in which sustainability is operationalized needs to become more coordinated. While one third of companies manage to build sustainability projects into the technology roadmap, but for the majority things are more informal. 

The solution, of course is a complex one. However, we have identified some perceived correlation between investment in digital transformation and sustainability achievements. If companies can find ways to bridge that gap between the two objectives, they can make more of their investments as well as important headway when it comes to sustainability. 

Better digital capabilities can help with decision making and operationalizing sustainability initiatives. Digital maturity is seen generally as supporting sustainability, while coordinated investment is seen as a sign of long-term strategic thinking.