Almost 60% of technology firms said they have no Net Zero ambitions, according to a global study by tech solution firm Nash Squared.
In its 25th annual Digital Leadership Report — which took data from over 2000 respondents in 86 countries — the company found that nearly half of global tech leaders (47%), including over one quarter (28%) from publicly listed companies, have no plan to meet a Net Zero target.
Power and utilities, government, and transport/logistic were the top three industries with companies that have a target in place, meanwhile healthcare and telcos join technology firms at the bottom-end in terms of industries lacking targets.
As the UN climate change conference, COP28, is about to commence, the report also found less than half (47%) of global tech leaders said their board recognise technology is crucial to improving sustainability. This figure has only risen slightly from 2021 (43%) and 2022 (44%).
The report also found that for those tech leaders that have a Net Zero plan in place (53%), a third are due to achieve their target by 2030, with a further 18% setting their sights further into the future. For those who have set themselves a target, over half (59%) expect to reach it.
“Although it’s very disappointing that almost half of boards do not recognise that technology is crucial to reducing their carbon footprint, there is good news from those that do recognise it and are working towards a Net Zero plan; with well over half expecting to reach their target,” said Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared.
“Those in heavier industry sectors such as power and utilities and transport/logistics leading the pack in working towards Net Zero. But this begs the question of how accurately different sectors are estimating their impact on the environment.
“Organisations from industries such as technology and telecommunications need to alter their opinion that it is just certain sectors creating the fumes and chemicals impacting the planet.”
One thing without question, according to White, is that tech leaders will need to find innovative ways of using the technology that they have to commit to a more sustainable future, “as a miracle solution isn’t just over the horizon”, he said.
“The current economic situation may not be helping, but we need to move Net Zero off the ‘corporate governance’ agenda, and into actual working practices and operations on the ground.”
The report suggests that technology has an important role to play in helping organisations lower their carbon footprint, such as reducing the need to travel and delivering data insights to improve performance.
There are also small ways in their use of technology that organisations can lower their carbon impact. For instance, the report says that the average carbon footprint of an email is 0.3g CO2e — but if it has one image or an attachment it is around 50g CO2e, so just leaving a logo off a company email can make a difference.
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