Data & Drive

How tech can lead the way in climate stewardship

Technology has the power to “rethink the possible,” as The Virtulab executive director David John Cummins put it, making it a potent tool in the drive for sustainability. By transforming the way industries function, and optimizing their efficiency, tech can provide climate stewardship in the age of decarbonization. It can also clean up its act, with a focus on shifting the enormous amounts of energy devices and data centers consume to renewable sources. As Cummins wrote, “With technology on our side, we can create a sustainable future.”

Climate Management

We know that the climate is changing. We’ve used technology to gather all manner of data on temperatures, flooding, rainfall, and sea ice, just to name a few indicators. With the help of AI, scientists are now performing advanced climate modeling that predicts what environmental changes are coming next and how best to respond. IoT-based environmental monitoring can discover patterns that predict when a weather disaster is imminent, enhancing disaster preparation and response.

Smart farming technology saves water by optimizing planting strategies then delivering water only to where it’s needed and shutting off automatically when crops are sufficiently watered. Among its many applications, Google’s AI for Social Good initiative provides accurate rainfall predictions that help farmers optimize their water usage.

Blockchain technology is bringing visibility across supply chains, letting organizations trace exactly where products and raw materials came from and where they’re headed next. Service providers like Provenance verify sourcing, an invaluable tool for companies trying to live up to their climate pledges across their value chains.

“These technologies signify the harmonious convergence of technology and sustainability. They represent a potent force that has the potential not just to address, but also to reverse some of the most pressing environmental challenges we face today,” Cummins wrote.

Some leading tech companies are looking to do just that. Microsoft, for example, strives to be carbon negative by 2030 and by 2050 to have removed all the carbon the company has ever emitted since its 1975 founding from the environment.

“We will achieve this through a portfolio of negative emission technologies (NET) potentially including afforestation and reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCs), and direct air capture (DAC),” president Brad Smith wrote.

Microsoft’s climate innovation fund is investing $1 billion in new technologies and expanded access to capital for people and products that fight climate change.

Looking Inward

As much good as tech can do for climate stewardship, it also poses challenges. The data centers that power digital transformations consume massive amounts of energy. The Information Technology Industry Council is working to help its members mitigate the environmental impact of data centers through its affiliate organization The Green Grid, which “works globally to create tools, provide technical expertise, and advocate for the optimization of energy and resource efficiency of Data Center ecosystems which enables a low carbon economy.”

As part of its 2030 climate-neutral goal, ITI member Equinix uses renewable energy for more than 90% of the usage in its data centers. Google used machine learning to reduce energy usage at its data centers by 30% and has vowed to make all its data centers and campuses run on carbon-free energy.

Last year, Adobe opened the Founders Tower, a 1.25 million square foot addition to its headquarters in 2023 that is all electric and has pledged to use 100% renewable energy by 2035. The company strategically chose to house its main data center in Hillsboro, Ore., in part because of the area’s mild, consistent temperatures that maximize energy efficiency.

The Founders Tower “is a physical manifestation of what we believe the future of the workplace will be — sustainably built and run, optimized for hybrid, designed for community, adaptable, and resilient to change,” chief people officer Gloria Chen wrote.

Making an Impact

Those companies are just a few of the leaders in tech climate stewardship. Other tech giants are setting their own example for the industry to follow. IBM, which has offices in more than 175 countries, has made a net zero by 2030 commitment. In that same timeframe, Intel has pledged to be net water positive, use only renewable energy, and produce zero landfill waste.

Across the IT sector, CIOs are realizing the power they have in solving the challenges of driving sustainable growth in their organizations.

“CIOs are beginning to see that the same levers used to increase sustainability can also reduce cost, without impacting the quality of experiences and business agility,” Matt Warburton, sustainability lead at IT advisory firm ISG told CNBC.

He advises that CIOs gather as much data as they can about their firms’ IT emissions, waste, and water usage as well as how much energy their data centers use. Using this information, they can set a net-zero goal for their IT departments with actionable strategies and collaboration with technology providers to achieve it.

“They are generally among the most ‘sustainably-savvy’ organizations, with ambitious commitments for their own operations and deep expertise in minimizing IT’s environmental impact,” he said.

An insightful ESG data strategy will set organizations up for sustainable success and put tech at the forefront of climate stewardship.