01/11/2024
In every sector, sustainability is taking centre stage. Every new policy, every new event, every new product – it's all influenced by sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors.
Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have. For businesses of all sizes, it’s a case of keeping up or getting left behind. Increasingly, though, improving sustainability and ESG isn’t a case of moral obligation alone; rather, it’s becoming a core part of business strategy.
Indeed, businesses that fail to embrace ESG best practices risk losing credibility with a customer base that's becoming increasingly conscious of environmental issues like global warming and climate change.
But that’s been the case for some time – what’s becoming more important is how sustainability impacts broader business interactions: investment, recruitment, and business-to-business relations, to name a few. People want to do business with companies that have strong environmental credentials and are seen to actively embrace sustainability.
While implementing ESG best practices can seem like a daunting task, technology can help businesses adapt, excel, and go green. Here’s how:
Most are familiar with the term sustainability – in fact, it’s become part of our daily language. ESG, on the other hand, remains locked up in the lexicon of the corporate world.
Let’s break it down, letter by letter:
What impact does the business have on the environment? This element covers metrics like carbon emissions, water waste reduction efforts, and sustainable resource management across both internal (products, services, operations) and external (supply chain, transportation) channels.
How does the business handle relationships with its people and communities? Employees, customers, and society – it’s important to consider a company's impact on every stakeholder group, particularly in terms of wellbeing, social responsibility, ethics, and equality.
How is the business run? This aspect refers to the systems and practices guiding company leadership, including decision-making, structure, management, ethics, and compliance. With stronger governance comes improved transparency, accountability, diversity and inclusion, performance, and risk mitigation.
Together, these three pillars help stakeholders (that’s investors, consumers, supply chain partners, and others) assess how a business aligns with sustainable and ethical practices, influencing personal and commercial decision-making around that business – namely, investment, recruitment, and business-to-business relations.
Whether we're talking tools and devices or wider systems and resources, it's safe to say technology plays a central role in any ESG strategy.
However, by integrating innovative hardware and software, businesses not only stand to improve overall ESG ratings, but also their operational efficiency, making them a target for investment and partnerships.
Here are three key ways technology can boost ESG:
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. With ESG data-collection technology, companies can collect, analyse, and report on environmental and governance data in real-time: Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions, energy use, expenses and budgets – you name it.
Accurate data helps businesses set realistic and attainable ESG targets, which are informed by concrete findings. Doing so improves transparency for stakeholders while at the same time benchmarking results and performance to help measure future gains.
When we think of sustainability, we often think about changing operations completely – and that’s not always a bad thing. But sometimes just automating current processes can cut carbon emissions, reduce waste, mitigate other environmental impacts, improve energy efficiency, and, in turn, meet ESG goals.
For instance, smart building management systems can adjust environments (lighting, HVAC systems) based on real-time occupancy data, significantly reducing energy consumption while also creating new opportunities for cost savings.
Automating with technology like advanced AI and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, moreover, can also boost governance factors, particularly in terms of risk mitigation, compliance tracking, and commercial transparency – both internally and across the blockchain through partner networks.
Indeed, supply chain management, ethics, and transparency have never been more important (or faced greater scrutiny) – and without technology, it’s nearly impossible to track and manage.
We’ve talked about how technology can improve environmental and governance factors. What about social? Technology can support diversity and inclusion and boost overall employee engagement and satisfaction in several ways.
Remote working technology, in particular, means businesses can expand their horizons – both in terms of who they hire and who they work with. By removing geographical limitations, businesses can benefit from a global workforce, made up of people from varying backgrounds, cultures, and regions, while also providing opportunities for people with physical or personal barriers preventing them from being in the office.
Flexible working models also give employees more autonomy and agency, which can improve overall engagement and satisfaction – two important factors to measure a company's social impact and wider ESG performance.
Sometimes it’s tricky to know where to start. But that’s why expert partners exist.
By partnering with the right people, your business can make strides in terms of ESG, becoming a better place to work and do business with.
As part of our mission to become the world’s number one sustainable drinking water system provider, we’re at the forefront of sustainable innovation; our technology, so far, has helped more than 2.5 million offices all over the world experience water at its best – filtered; boiling, chilled, or sparkling; and with minimal impact on the environment.
Zip Water systems are highly efficient and designed with sustainability in mind. HydroTap, for instance, is made from up to 70% recycled materials and produces 33% less carbon emissions than the standard office kettle over the course of a year. In total, our products help divert more than two billion single-use plastics from landfills every year.
HydroTap's innovative air-cooling system is also 100% water-efficient, which means the only water used is the water poured and enjoyed. By promoting a refill culture at work, together we can help employees say goodbye to single-use plastic for good.
Technology is a powerful tool – but it’s also one that can help companies align operations with modern ESG standards: from automating operations and tracking ESG data to partnering with innovators like us.
As financial institutions, stakeholders, and consumers continue to prioritise sustainability in their decision-making processes, businesses that embrace ESG and technology will be better positioned for success – now and in the future.
zipwater.co.uk
© 2024 Zip Industries
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