Enterprises may be missing out on cost-effective, easy wins in achieving sustainable IT goals, according to data from Gartner. A survey of 200 senior leaders across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific revealed that while companies are working on sustainable IT projects, they are sometimes overlooking more cost-effective initiatives. In fact, some of the most cost-effective sustainable IT initiatives have adoption rates of less than 30% among organizations.
Gartner’s distinguished vice-president analyst, Kristin Moyer, noted that while senior leaders are making progress on sustainable IT initiatives, there is room for improvement in their approaches and strategies. The survey found that executive leaders have completed an average of nine sustainable IT initiatives across datacentres, cloud, digital workplace, data, and software categories. However, the adoption patterns suggest that they may not always be implementing the most cost-effective initiatives.
The research aimed to evaluate enterprises’ actions and impacts as they work to reduce IT greenhouse gas emissions. The resulting 12-page report aims to assist senior leaders in maximizing the budget allocated to support such initiatives.
IT initiatives
The report highlights six sustainable IT initiatives that enterprises can adopt, which are cost-effective but often overlooked by senior leaders, with a focus on datacentres. Senior leaders have completed an average of 3.2 datacentre initiatives that can positively impact their sustainable IT strategies. Common initiatives include adopting renewable energy sources, removing “zombie” equipment, and migrating applications and workloads to the cloud.
However, there are two additional actions that senior leaders could take, which are less commonly adopted but could have a significant impact: right-sizing the facility’s uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and upgrading its cooling system. The report emphasized the underutilization of enhanced cooling, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. UPS rightsizing, though less adopted, can achieve moderate GHG reduction with low investment.
Another area for substantial sustainable IT gains at a lower cost is through promoting the purchase of refurbished IT assets. Refurbished assets reduce carbon and energy impact, as well as labor and procurement costs. The report advised conducting an analytics-driven assessment before replacing devices to avoid premature disposal, which can lead to wasted resources and increased e-waste.
Building closer relationships with IT suppliers can also enhance sustainability efforts. Engaging vendors on sustainable software and IT practices is crucial, as vendor emissions often contribute significantly to IT-related greenhouse gas emissions. Collaborating with vendors to develop and use solutions in more sustainable ways can help reduce scope 3 emissions.
Lastly, implementing sustainable user experience (UX) changes on customer-facing sites and apps can further enhance IT sustainability. For example, avoiding autoplay videos on websites can improve sustainability without sacrificing user experience.
