Increasing concerns about the effects of climate change and socio-economic disparities have made environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance a front-burner issue for organizations around the globe.
But ESG is not just a program for the organization as a whole. It also has implications for each area of the business. And one of the most important areas is the information technology (IT) function. IT leaders are critical for enabling a business to attain ESG goals through technology adoption. At the same time, they need to embed sustainability within their IT operations to achieve compliance and positive, measurable results.
Nevertheless, ESG efforts within IT often remain disconnected from the core IT strategy. The key challenge is integrating sustainability across each IT initiative so that the IT strategy and road map accomplish business and ESG goals.
IT leaders who seek to embed sustainability in their IT strategy need to address an array of challenges. These range from reducing their carbon footprint, overcoming cybersecurity threats, complying with evolving regulations, and meeting the ever-changing demographic and social norms.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations are reconsidering their IT strategies, especially companies that have been using legacy systems for decades. Those systems are often energy-intensive and difficult to use to achieve social goals or full regulatory compliance. As digital transformation evolves, business leaders must ensure that their IT strategies and road maps can achieve balanced growth and meet ESG goals. To achieve this objective, chief information officers need to understand and evaluate every aspect of their IT strategy and embed sustainability in every IT initiative.
Our full report explores these issues in depth. It explains why a multifaceted approach to integrating ESG initiatives within an IT strategy will facilitate balanced growth, mitigate risk, lead to higher economic returns, and help achieve sustainability goals. The full report demonstrates that, with an increased focus on ESG, companies are increasingly aligning business growth, IT strategy, and sustainability to gain a competitive advantage, mitigate risk, and implement ESG best practices.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of our report, Integrating ESG with IT Strategy. The full report is available at no charge for subscribers or non-subscribers.
