CIOs need to play bigger role in driving the public sector sustainability agenda

There is a compelling argument for those in operational and IT roles to become more involved in driving the environmental sustainability agenda, not just implementing it.

 

That's one of the main conclusions of a new piece of research from K2 Advisory which polled over 100 organisations across the private and public sectors about their sustainability policies and practices. The study – conducted in association with outsourcing firm Steria – found that while 68% of respondents said they believe that environmental sustainability can genuinely improve performance, a startling one in five (22%) also believe that the organisational ownership of sustainable initiatives is too fragmented.

 

The study results also suggest that vital processes are lacking to implement an effective approach. Worryingly, the study also revealed a fundamental lack of understanding of IT’s role in helping reduce carbon footprints. There is no standardised view regarding ownership of the environmental sustainability agenda across organisations: 30% of respondents said the chief executive was the principal owner; 10% indicated the management board; and 20% indicated HR as the sustainability ambassadors. Only one per cent cited IT.

 

This is missing a trick, according to one of the study's authors, Dr Katy Ring, K2 Advisory Director. “Technology is a key enabler for any organisation’s ability to move to a more sustainable corporate governance structure. Within the sustainability agenda ICT is not simply there to automate existing ways of operating. It is there to collect and present data. But most importantly technology should be used proactively to change ways of operating,” she noted. “ICT is not just able to help organisations with their internal environmental sustainability initiatives. It can also be used to enable industries, consumers and citizens to reduce their carbon emissions.”

 

Among the examples of this in practice suggested by the K2 report is the ability of ICT to monitor energy consumption and provide consumers and citizens with interactive ways to be more accountable for their carbon reduction; provide ways for consumers and citizens to share data so that behaviours can be changed; and monitor supply chains by integrating data from different sources.

 

 

Having a sound sustainability policy in place is increasingly essential in the public sector. The K2 research notes: “According to the UK Government ICT Strategy, published January 2010, ICT globally emits comparable levels of carbon to the aviation industry, and emissions continue to grow. Recognising this, the Greening Government ICT Strategy has set two challenging targets which support delivery of mandatory SOGE (Sustainability on the Government Estate) targets: government ICT will be carbon neutral by 2012, and carbon neutral across its lifecycle by 2020."

 

But only a third (31%) of all organisations surveyed said they currently measuring carbon output, with a further ten per cent planning to commence this activity in 2010. Whilst an unsurprising 76% of respondents said they are motivated by environmental sustainability as corporate social responsibility initiative, another 24% have ‘green envy’ and are motivated to act in response to what other organisations are seen to be doing.

 

This latter response can be avoided, suggests K2 Advisory analyst Kate Hanaghan. would speculate that where operational functions (i.e. IIT) of the organisation are responsible for sustainability, there is less emphasis on doing it in order to ‘out-do’ or keep up with the competition, and more emphasis on purely achieving reduced carbon output and energy usage,” she suggested. “For organisations to really excel in becoming more sustainable there has to be a significant link into the IT department.”

 

It's a message echoed by Steria. "It is encouraging to know that CIOs recognise environmental sustainability as being vital to the long-term success of their organisations, and that most have taken initial steps to effect more sustainable business practices," said John Torrie, CEO, Steria UK. "However, much more work is needed, particularly in the areas of IT standardisation, virtualisation and resource management, if [we] are to make real progress in areas with the greatest, performance-enhancing potential. [ICT is one of the] disciplines that holds the key to unlocking new business models that will make it easier for organisations to adopt low carbon technologies."

 

The full K2/Steria report - Understanding senior executive attitudes towards sustainability, IT and organisational performance– can be downloaded here.