Introduction
The increasing focus on sustainability and social responsibility is forcing companies to report more transparently on their environmental and societal impact. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) plays a crucial role by requiring companies to deliver comprehensive sustainability reports. IT plays a key role in supporting these reporting requirements and reducing the environmental footprint of business activities. By implementing the right technologies, companies can meet CSRD requirements and make their operations sustainable and future-proof. This article describes how sustainable IT can contribute to achieving CSRD goals and how companies can benefit strategically.
Background of CSRD
The CSRD, adopted by the European Union in 2023, requires large companies to provide sustainability reports according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) from 2025. These reports should provide insight into the impact of business activities on the environment, people and governance. The role of IT in this should not be underestimated, both as an activity on which to report and as an (auxiliary) reporting tool. Making the IT function within a company more sustainable serves several purposes: saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions, operational costs and making (reporting) processes more efficient.
What is Sustainable IT?
Sustainable IT refers to designing, developing and managing IT products and services to minimise the negative impact on the environment and contribute to a circular economy. This includes several aspects:
- Energy efficiency: IT systems can be optimised for lower energy consumption by using efficient data centres, virtualisation and cloud migration. This not only lowers operational costs but also contributes to CO2 reduction.
- Sustainable procurement policy: Selecting sustainable IT hardware and services that meet environmental standards, such as Energy Star. EPEAT and TCO Certified helps companies reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, companies can choose suppliers committed to sustainable production and fair working conditions.
- E-waste and circular IT: Rapid technological obsolescence leads to an increasing amount of electronic waste. Sustainable IT includes strategies such as hardware reuse, refurbishing, and recycling electronic components to minimise e-waste and use resources more efficiently.
- Using renewable energy: IT services can become more sustainable by choosing cloud providers and data centres that run entirely on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.
- Software development with sustainability in mind: Optimising software to consume less computing power and energy contributes to a more sustainable IT landscape. This can be achieved through efficient code, lightweight frameworks and energy-efficient algorithms.
Sustainable IT thus goes beyond energy efficiency alone and includes a broader responsibility to minimise the environmental impact of technology in all phases of its life cycle
Integrating CSRD and Sustainable IT
Besides Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Procurement, which directly contribute to achieving sustainability goals and meeting environmental standards, there are two more topics where Sustainable IT can contribute to the implementation of CSRD requirements:
- Data Collection and Analysis: Sustainable IT can help collect and analyse the data needed for CSRD reporting. Using IoT devices and AI, companies can obtain detailed information on their energy consumption, emissions and other environmental indicators.
- Transparency and Reporting: IT solutions can be used to improve the transparency and accuracy of sustainability reporting. ESG software can help automate reporting processes and ensure data consistency and reliability. Software packages like Fingreen AI, ServiceNow, Diligent or Position Green support AI-generated text, API data integration, automatic data conversion into the prescribed CSRD format and adding the tags required (for audit). CSRD reports therefore not only become more reliable, their preparation becomes much more efficient by using the right software tools.
Examples of successful implementations
- Scaleway[1] : Scaleway is committed to sustainable cloud solutions by running their data centres on 100% renewable energy. They adopt innovative cooling methods, such as adiabatic cooling[2] , which minimises their water consumption. Scaleway also promotes efficient energy management by transparently reporting to customers, giving them insight into their energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
- Leafcloud[3] : Leafcloud does not build data centres but uses existing infrastructure and commits to a decentralised model. They utilise waste heat from servers to heat buildings, thus double the use of energy and reducing waste. This model not only helps reduce CO2 emissions, but also contributes to a more efficient use of energy resources in urban areas. Moreover, supporting local players like Leafcloud contributes to knowledge-building and data sovereignty within the EU, which is crucial for digital independence and sustainable innovation.
Conclusion
The integration of CSRD implementation and sustainable IT offers companies a unique opportunity to both comply with regulations and positively impact the environment. By using sustainable technologies and local, energy-efficient cloud solutions, companies can not only achieve their sustainability goals but also contribute to a more sustainable future with lower emissions and a responsible carbon footprint.
How we can help
We offer companies an integrated approach to achieve sustainable IT and meet CSRD requirements. Our services include:
- Quick-scan: A quick assessment of the current IT environment to identify sustainability opportunities and provide insight into optimisation potential.
- Sustainability assessment: an in-depth analysis of IT infrastructure, supply chain and processes to identify areas for improvement and make concrete recommendations.
- Data model development: designing effective data models to capture relevant ESG data, contributing to transparent and consistent sustainability reporting.
- Architectural redesign: Redesigning IT systems with a focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and minimal environmental impact.
Through these strategic services, we help companies not only comply with legal obligations, but also future-proof their IT landscape, reduce costs and contribute to a more sustainable world.
Goal 17 helps companies in their sustainability transformation by advising on sustainability management and implementing sustainable IT solutions. For more information email:colin.chalmers@goal17.eco or marcel.veenhuizen@goal17.eco
[1] Environmental leadership | Scaleway