Tag: sustainability

Millennials will go for sustainable IT

millieniansHP managing director George Brasher thinks that moving to sustainable IT will be a money spinner for the channel.

Brasher recently spoke to the Sustainability Summit where he said that more socially aware millennials will begin to exert dominance over IT decision making and he thinks that partners to get on board with device-as-a-service and other sustainable IT initiatives.

HP has pledged over the years leading up to 2025 to reduce its supply chain-related greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent and involve at least 500,000 of its factory workers in worker skills development.

Brasher said this is because HP is responding not only to global “mega-trends”, such as the growth of the global middle class and rise of the sharing economy, but also increased pull from customers.

Those born between the early 1980s and late 1990s, the millennials, are typically more socially and environmentally conscious than those who came before them and – crucially – will soon make up the majority of IT decision makers, he pointed out.

Environmental requirements were starting to show up as part of tenders and customers are calling for it.

Millennials will be more than half of the IT decision makers in a decade, and they really value it. Employees are also calling for it. They really value it as part of being prideful of the place they work, and, again, this is especially true of millennials, Brasher said.

Channel must be emission transparent or risk losing customers

earthcropIf big vendors and other large firms don’t become transparent about their energy usage and carbon emissions, they may start losing contracts with ecologically minded companies, according to sustainability data reporting site Ecodesk.

Ecodesk named CA Technologies, Eurostar, ISS, Compass Group, PepsiCo, Mitie, and GlaxoSmithkline as examples of companies that are now measuring and posting data on sustainability – thanks in part to mandatory legislation, as well as part of risk mnagement for investors, and CSR initiatives.

By doing this, not only are they more ecologically sound, they are also making cost savings. As a result, they are extending sustainability programs to the supply chain – where there are also ost savings to be made.

Ecodesk’s CEO, Robert Clarke, said in a statement that the channel is a big player in energy use and carbon emissions. When margins are consistently squeezed, it’s important to stand up and listen to customers – or risk losing contracts. “Any business that can measure and report will find its own cost benefits and be able to trade on progress to boost business relationships and viability,” Clarke said.

According to Ecodesk’s data, just half already have calculated or intend to calculate energy and carbon emissions for customers over the next 12 months. Although 17 percent pointed out this would not be a possibility for various reasons, such as company policy or privacy, the rest out of the 1,300 sample did not commit or weren’t sure where to go.