Thought Leadership
Although sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant for the majority of companies, only a fifth make targeted use of technologies to reduce their ecological footprint. German companies, on the other hand, are making noticeable progress in the use of AI.
Sustainability is strategically important for 84 percent of companies surveyed worldwide – yet only 21 percent actively use technology to minimize their environmental impact. In the latest Ecosystm Global Sustainability Barometer studies, Kyndryl, provider of IT infrastructure services, and Microsoft examined how companies are using technology to achieve sustainability goals. The results show: There is significant, often untapped potential that many companies are leaving untapped.
German companies rely on IT to reduce environmental impact
In Germany, awareness of sustainable business practices has increased: 41% of companies now consider sustainability to be very important for their strategy – an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year. Almost half (46 percent) use IT technologies specifically to reduce their environmental impact, but only six percent make sustainability the sole focus of their technology use.
AI is becoming a driving force for sustainable innovation
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly central role in the sustainable transformation. In Germany, 78% of companies use AI to monitor energy consumption and emissions – a significant increase of 38% compared to the previous year. The focus on these specific fields of application shows that AI can make a big difference if it is used in a targeted manner.
However, the use of AI for predicting and preventing natural disasters has declined (from 35% to 22%), indicating changing priorities in its application. Companies recognize that they can achieve their sustainability goals with AI – but success depends largely on efficient data integration.
Data and compliance challenges slow down progress
Data integration remains one of the biggest hurdles to the meaningful use of AI in sustainability projects. 67% of the companies surveyed reported difficulties in merging relevant data from different systems. Compliance requirements (56%) and high initial investments (46%) pose additional challenges.
Although German companies are increasingly collecting data for sustainability purposes, 22% are not yet using it for analyses or strategic decisions. Only a minority of 21% draw insights from this data that are incorporated into the corporate strategy – valuable potential remains untapped here.
The right measures for an efficient sustainability strategy
For companies to improve their sustainability efforts, they should take a number of steps to realize their full potential. In doing so, they should consider the following guiding principles:
- Technology must play a central role in strategic planning. In the coming year, companies should therefore integrate technology into their strategic planning in order to transform their abstract goals into concrete plans.
- Companies should redefine the role of AI. By integrating AI-powered scenario planning and climate risk mitigation, they can take a holistic approach to environmental responsibility and better prepare for future challenges.
- Companies should proactively use a range of business data to gain a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of their environmental impact, enabling them to make informed sustainability decisions.
- Companies should also involve cross-functional teams, particularly from finance and technology, to make sustainability a key business priority.
Data integration and cross-functional collaboration as the key to success
In summary, the study shows that companies around the world recognize the strategic importance of sustainability, but only a few are consistently using technology to achieve their environmental goals. In Germany in particular, there are positive trends in the use of AI, but the efficient use of the necessary data remains crucial. Companies therefore need to focus more on data integration and cross-functional collaboration to make informed decisions for sustainable progress.
(ds/Kyndryl)
