ACCOUNTABILITY AT C-LEVEL IS ESSENTIAL TO STEERING GREEN STRATEGY AND SECURING BUY-IN TO ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS AND POLICIES THROUGHOUT AN ORGANISATION .
E D I T O R ' S Q U E S T I O N
Sustainability and its link with strategic IT infrastructure is firmly on corporate agendas this year . Most marked in the data centre industry where environmental targets are a business-critical priority , green considerations are also rippling out to end customers that are increasingly taking environmental impact into account in their IT choices . With broad ramifications for the IT industry , it is inevitable that sustainability is fast becoming a board-level focus , often with CIOs at the rockface .
Accountability at C-level is essential to steering green strategy and securing buy-in to environmental goals and policies throughout an organisation . Notably , data centre professionals must deal with challenges from customers on green credentials to stay competitive , along with handling pressure to comply with government regulations – all of which need sponsorship from the top .
In the EU , businesses that signed up to the Climate Neutral Data Pact have only one year left to deliver on a range of sustainability performance standards . This is driving a sense of urgency to implement ways to reduce energy consumption , optimise power management and further explore renewable energy sources ; the success of many of these initiatives depends on a cohesive and focused approach that can be facilitated by an experienced CIO . New mandates will also have a profound impact in shaping the industry ; in the UK , many of these will stem from the government ’ s 2050 net zero target .
Nor are data centre industry customers completely free of responsibility for the planet – in forthcoming years , increasing numbers of businesses will need to justify their own carbon neutral efforts . For example , it is already mandatory for
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ACCOUNTABILITY AT C-LEVEL IS ESSENTIAL TO STEERING GREEN STRATEGY AND SECURING BUY-IN TO ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS AND POLICIES THROUGHOUT AN ORGANISATION .
around 12,000 large companies in the UK to document efforts to improve energy efficiency within the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting ( SECR ) framework .
CIOs can drive major decisions towards such requirements ; for example , transitioning IT operations to more environmentally friendly business models including IaaS and SaaS .
Achieving the right balance between power , compute demands and sustainable operations will test even the most experienced IT professionals in the data centre industry over the next few years . CIOs in this industry can champion areas such as compliance , along with securing investment for innovation to drive more efficiencies and provide more operational insight
on sustainability for customers . If senior executives throughout the IT supply chain rally on net zero targets , there is more opportunity to succeed .
TERRY STORRAR , MANAGING DIRECTOR , LEASEWEB UK
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