Why IT really matters in executing sustainability programs

I wonder if any company has a really good handle on the wide range of policies, procedures, and processes, along with the many individual projects and programs, which relate to sustainability strategies, goals, and metrics. I’ve been asked if I could identify such a company. I’m still looking.

Do companies have good information regarding the results of their sustainability initiatives? Can they report with confidence measures of tangible and intangible benefits? Do they know if they have taken full advantage of tax incentives and rebates available to offset the costs of our sustainability initiatives? What’s been the actual ROI of abatement and mitigation investments? Do buildings with more natural light really improve productivity and morale, and lead to fewer employee sick days? Are there real impacts on productivity, recruiting or employee retention from sustainability programs?

In my experience, it is difficult to pull all the pieces of the sustainability puzzle together. Ask your executives. Ask your board members. Getting consistent, reliable information about sustainability investments, costs, and results is hard. I think it’s hard, in part, because sustainability initiatives are approached separately, sometimes being tacked on top of the business rather than embedding them into the business. The result is well-intentioned but disjointed efforts performed inside functional or geographic silos with hundreds – or even thousands – of isolated activities. This reality is why I am devoting my time, talent, and energy to “IT for Sustainability.” My focus is on frameworks and enabling technologies to help manage sustainability data and to improve the quality of information used to plan, manage, and report on sustainability programs. I believe there are significant impacts for information technology priorities, projects, and plans at least over the next several years.

Every company has to invest resources in sustainability related initiatives – whether or not they actually use the term “sustainability” or fully embrace the concepts of sustainability. This is just a fact of life in the current environment. So, why not do it in a way that creates more value and better manages risk? Decisions about what investments to make, and judgments about whether projects and programs are delivering the desired results, require reliable information. Monitoring of performance and enforcement of policies will require timely and accurate information. An information-driven approach to sustainability can give even the most complex organizations the power of discipline and the benefits of efficiency.

Making sustainability a central tenet in strategy and operations, rather than something bolted on top of existing business processes, will require new capabilities. No one seems to argue with this point. But when it comes to the question about the role of IT in managing sustainability, there is still much confusion and a lack of clarity. Some are rushing to buy new software tools. But few yet have well-thought out strategies and plans for managing sustainability data, or a roadmap for information technology changes to support sustainability. Even companies where sustainability is a strategic priority can fall into this trap. Some companies have invested in new carbon management software, for example, without first creating a holistic sustainability strategy for the enterprise.

I believe that when IT and business leaders take a moment to think things through, address the underlying needs, and together develop strategies and plans, they will seek integrated technology platforms for planning, monitoring, reporting, controls, risk monitoring, and performance management related to sustainability. Why? For starters, they won’t want a variety of new software tools deployed in different parts of the business. And who wouldn’t want a consistent measurement framework throughout the organization?

So how do we get the right conversations started about information technology and sustainability? IT departments have been involved in sustainability for years through “Green IT” initiatives that reduce energy consumption through data center and infrastructure optimization. This has been important and valuable work, producing tangible benefits. I believe it is time to focus on the broader role of IT in helping to execute sustainability strategies and achieve sustainability goals. To help expand the scope of the discussion, we need a new term that goes beyond IT’s energy saving efforts and encompasses IT’s support of sustainability programs, processes and performance throughout the enterprise. I suggest we use the phrase “IT for Sustainability” or ITFS to refer to this broader role. The use of “ITFS” here at Deloitte is inclusive, running the spectrum from our work on green IT to our assistance in automating sustainability reporting, from development of sustainability performance intelligence to more advanced enterprise sustainability analytics.

Without the right approach to information technology, companies will not be able access the relevant, accurate, and timely information they need to make informed decisions about their sustainability strategies. And as rising energy costs, evolving regulations, and increasing stakeholder expectations make sustainability measures even more important, organizations will need new and better information management capabilities to execute and monitor their sustainability strategies, programs, and projects. IT for Sustainability should organizations to measure, monitor, and report on their sustainability performance, allowing them to truly understand the impacts on financial and operational performance.

Lee Dittmar
Principal, Deloitte consulting LLP