- Analytics leads the digital technology range of use in sustainability services engagements. Over half the engagements of the leading 18 services firms leverage analytics; see our market analysis for more. It has a role across the processes underpinning sustainability: measuring, monitoring, reporting, visualizing, and taking new insight from data for decision making at all levels of an organization.
- But, considering the essential need for technology to underpin the processes and strategies that will allow organizations and systems to align to the global sustainability context (see our outline here), that almost half do not leverage analytics, and the vast majority use no other digital technologies… there’s work to do. Especially when you consider we’re looking at a sample from the 18 leading consulting, technology, and services firms who make technology a cornerstone of their work.
- Cloud is critical for decarbonizing computing storage and operations (making hosting and running more efficient). The renewable energy powering much of cloud providers’ operations is also helping decarbonize the technology itself. Cloud and platform providers are positioning their solutions as destinations for integrating, visualizing, and analyzing sustainability data. These solutions can also act as a tie-in point for all manner of processes and technologies.
- Automation will need to play a big role in ESG reporting as it becomes more and more standardized. It can also act as a tool to improve the efficiency of all manner of sustainability business processes.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) can and must play similar roles to analytics—but is yet to see the same level of use. Internet of things (IoT) technology will continue to have a growing role in connecting processes and gathering data—especially in industrial settings. Blockchain, despite promising much in terms of decentralization and assurance, is yet to see scale in sustainability services engagements. Quantum and 5G will certainly play a role in the future (we welcome all guesses on when that future will be) across complex computing (e.g., climate modeling, risk analysis, and management) and in connectivity and IoT enablement, respectively.
The Bottom Line: All manner of technologies and innovation efforts must play their role in sustainability. Digital is no different. Throughout the strategies and processes that will have to enable sustainability, organizations will have to rapidly reposition and invest in technology, as well as collaborate with as many ecosystem partners as possible. Current levels are nowhere near enough.
Explore the HFS Pulse Dashboard
Take a look at the breadth of data in our Pulse Dashboard, which showcases data about current and future demand trends for technology and business services and related emerging technologies. See more here.
