Why Sustainability Is the Next Priority for Enterprise Software
- by 7wData
Over the next four years, the EU will roll out carbon tax policies and already investors are flocking to companies with well-documented, data-backed ESG policies and commitments. Businesses are making significant investments in staff and expertise, with the number of roles in sustainability up 91% over the last five years in the UK alone. The future of how we do business must be environmentally sustainable, and integrated technology solutions will help us make this adjustment.
These signs give me hope -- but when it comes to how businesses and industry tackle sustainability, we are still only at the beginning. To meet market and consumer demands, every enterprise will need to evolve their sustainability programs into being just as accurate and rigorous as that of financial accounting. Similarly to the The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 mandates practices in financial record keeping and reporting for corporations in the US, we can expect laws and consumer expectations around sustainability impacts to follow suit.
In the same way that SaaS platforms, cloud computing, and digital transformation have changed how enterprises sell, hire, and invest, we’re on the cusp of similar changes within sustainability. For example, as recently as the mid-2000s, interviewing for a new corporate job meant printing out resumes, distributing paper benefits pamphlets, and signing forms that had been Xeroxed a half-dozen times. Today, numerous human resources software companies offer streamlined digital solutions for tracking candidates, onboarding new colleagues, and managing benefits. When large organizations are faced with a high volume of data in any area of their business, digitization is the inevitable solution. Enterprises have come to a similar tipping point in their need for sustainability software today. With the rising demand to track and prove ESG commitments, digital solutions are now being built into the fabric of enterprise sustainability reporting. Importantly, these solutions will help scale progress on climate change.
Over the last decade, I’ve seen firsthand how data-first sustainability efforts have helped major consumer brands take inventory of their environmental impact and then inform key decisions to transform their footprint.
Looking ahead, we can expect sustainability technology to be the next wide-scale enterprise investment. Leaders who have paved the way like Nike and VF can provide helpful lessons to businesses just beginning to take a serious look at their environmental impact.
[Social9_Share class=”s9-widget-wrapper”]
Upcoming Events
Strategies for simplifying complex Salesforce data migrations – Free Webinar
27 March 2024
5 PM CET – 6 PM CET
Read MoreYou Might Be Interested In
EU Act ‘must empower those affected by AI systems to take action’
4 Apr, 2022Independent research organistion the Ada Lovelace Institute has published a series of proposals on how the European Union (EU) can …
Cutting through the noise: 10 tips for choosing the right low-code platform for digital success
23 Sep, 2021To keep up with growing customer expectations in a digital age, organisations are needing to rapidly adapt their internal processes …
What’s the role of the chief technology officer in digital transformation?
23 Aug, 2018The role of the CTO is at times all encompassing. In relation to digital transformation, Simon Wakeman, MD of Deeson, …
Recent Jobs
Do You Want to Share Your Story?
Bring your insights on Data, Visualization, Innovation or Business Agility to our community. Let them learn from your experience.