Sustainable IT with Salesforce: Chart Your Course to a Greener Future
According to a project by the UNFCCC, E-waste contributes around 4.25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With global e-waste anticipated to reach 74 Mt by 2030 ( almost double the 2014 numbers), it's the organizations’ collective responsibility to move towards sustainability.
The great thing is that there's positive change on the horizon!
“ As per a report, about 71 percent of global CIOs (Chief Information Officers) of top tech companies are actively planning to reduce their companies’ carbon footprints in the next few years.”
This surge in interest reflects not just a growing environmental consciousness, but also a response to the increasing pressure for sustainable IT practices by regulatory bodies, customers, and investors.
Salesforce is one of the only few organizations that has a dedicated solution in Net Zero Cloud giving businesses the power to track their carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) and take corrective steps to move towards sustainability.
As a Salesforce PDO partner, Concretio too has been an active contributor toward sustainability enabling our partners to embrace sustainable IT practices with our solutions and consulting.
We’ll touch on everything from sustainable IT goals and solutions to how we at Concretio are embracing Green IT and helping others too in this global initiative as we dive deep into this blog.
How IT is contributing to Carbon Emissions?
A study suggests that information and communication technologies could contribute to 14% of the world's carbon footprint by 2040, highlighting the environmental impact of global IT in the future.
Global enterprise technology emission by industry (Source: McKinsey)
So what’s making the IT sector's environmental footprint so vast? Here are the top 3 contributors to carbon emissions from IT:
Data Centers
End-User Devices
E-waste
Data centers gobble up energy for both operation and cooling and their demand increases with cloud storage. Even beneficial technologies like AI require significant computing power, further boosting energy consumption.
On top of that, the ever-present devices we rely on – from computers to smartphones – contribute heavily to emissions throughout their lifecycle. As per a report by McKinsey and Company, end-user devices are a much bigger emitter of carbon than data centers, stressing the need for sustainable IT practices across organizations.
From manufacturing with its resource extraction and transportation to frequent device upgrades, day-to-day use, and the toxic burden of improperly disposed e-waste, the impact is undeniable.
End-user devices cause more carbon emissions than data centers (Source: McKinsey)
Sustainable IT: Key Goals and Best Steps to Achieve Those
Sustainable IT, also sometimes referred to as Green IT, focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of Information Technology across its entire lifecycle. This includes everything from the manufacturing and use of devices to their eventual disposal.
Here are some key areas where organizations can set goals for sustainable IT:
1. Optimize Resource Usage
Improper resource optimization results in higher energy consumption, more e-waste, and increased hardware maintenance costs.
With strategies like server consolidation and virtual desktop infrastructure, you can squeeze the most out of existing resources. Extending equipment lifespan is yet another way to optimize resource usage.
Benefits?
Lower energy consumption, reduced e-waste, and potentially lower hardware costs.
2. Minimize Energy Consumption
Higher energy consumption from your IT infrastructure means higher carbon emissions. So how can you reduce energy consumption?
Start by choosing energy-efficient devices and employing power management software. Explore game-changing solutions like utilizing renewable energy sources like solar or wind power to fuel your IT infrastructure. Additionally, efficient cooling solutions in data centers can significantly reduce energy use.
Benefits?
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy bills, and a more sustainable IT footprint.
3. Reduce Waste or Harmful Emissions
E-waste is a bigger contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce the harmful impact of electronic devices, prioritize e-waste recycling practices that focus on the proper disposal of electronic devices.
Using sustainable, non-toxic materials in IT equipment manufacturing can be a great enabler to reduce harmful emissions. Moving towards paperless operations and cloud-based solutions such as Salesforce can further help minimize the environmental footprint associated with paper production and disposal.
Benefits?
Reduced environmental impact, minimized risk of hazardous materials leaking into landfills, and cost savings through responsible disposal.
4. Foster a Culture of Sustainability
Developing a culture of sustainability in your organization requires everyone’s contribution. To achieve that, educate and empower your employees with knowledge about sustainable IT practices, encouraging them to adopt eco-friendly habits.
Integrate sustainability considerations into every aspect of IT, from procurement and operations to disposal processes. Finally, establish metrics to track progress toward your goals and identify areas for continuous improvement.
Benefits?
Improved brand reputation, reduced cost, risk mitigation, innovation, and efficiency.
How Salesforce is Helping Companies Become Sustainable?
Many companies prioritize sustainability with ambitious goals to shrink their carbon footprint. However, to do this, you need measurable data and most importantly a cloud-based solution that keeps an eye on your emissions and tracks them from time to time.
Cloud-based tools such as Salesforce Net Zero Cloud can help you move towards sustainability. This powerful tool is designed to help businesses track, manage, and reduce their environmental footprint.
Here is how it empowers businesses, helping them become sustainable:
1. Tracks emissions across the value chain: Net Zero Cloud helps you measure your Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Scope 1 covers your direct emissions, Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from purchased energy, and Scope 3 encompasses all other indirect emissions across your entire supply chain. With a clear picture of your environmental impact, you can identify areas for improvement.
2. Executive-Ready Dashboard Data: With NetZero, one can track energy patterns and emission trends; and then evaluate environmental impact with rich data visualization and dashboards.
3. Track Carbon Accounting Audits: NetZero offers preloaded datasets from reputable sources like the U.S. EPA and IPCC which can be used for accurate carbon assessments. Additionally, the platform helps measure Scope 3 emissions by aligning procurement spending with relevant reporting categories defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
How Concretio is Contributing Towards Sustainability?
Surely, NetZero is a great enabler for companies wanting to track carbon emissions and optimize energy consumption. At Concretio, we’ve been contributing to Sustainable IT with NetZero Cloud and beyond allowing businesses, our employees, and our customers to save time, resources, and cost.
Numerous Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and professionals are already achieving remarkable results with our solution - Salesforce Tool Suite (Chrome Extension) developed by keeping sustainability in mind. This solution helps ISVs and developers save 100+ hours every month by performing repetitive tasks such as debugging logs, SOQL queries, and metadata reports in one go.
With over 11.5 thousand monthly customers, we have been highly fortunate to help so many businesses become productive and reduce hundreds of thousands of hours of emissions with our solution over the past decade.
Conclusion
Sustainability is an opportunity to create a positive impact on the planet and your business. Cloud-based solutions such as Salesforce empower businesses to achieve their sustainability goals, build brand trust, and unlock new opportunities in a sustainability-focused future.
At Concretio, we’re committed to contributing to the Salesforce partnership ecosystem with our range of innovative solutions and practices.
Further Reading
FAQs
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IT contributes significantly to global carbon emissions, with data centers, devices, and e-waste being major culprits.
Sustainable IT practices help organizations minimize their environmental impact and become more responsible stewards of the planet.
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Optimize resource usage (e.g., server consolidation, virtual desktops) to reduce energy consumption and e-waste.
Minimize energy consumption through energy-efficient devices, power management software, and renewable energy sources.
Reduce waste and harmful emissions through e-waste recycling, sustainable materials, and cloud-based solutions.
Foster a culture of sustainability by educating employees and integrating sustainability considerations throughout IT processes.
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Salesforce Net Zero Cloud helps businesses track, manage, and reduce their environmental footprint.
It tracks Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, providing a clear picture of environmental impact.
Net Zero Cloud offers dashboards and pre-loaded datasets for easy data visualization and carbon accounting audits.
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Concretio promotes Sustainable IT practices beyond Net Zero Cloud.
Their Salesforce Tool Suite helps ISVs and developers save time and resources, reducing their environmental footprint.
Concretio's solutions have helped businesses save hundreds of thousands of hours of emissions over the past decade.
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