Exploring the confluence of tech and sustainability for a better future

Sustainability efforts are gathering steam on a global scale, with governments and organizations levying their might behind measures to formulate and implement policies that can stop or even reverse global environmental damage and create positive impact for local communities. Regulations act as a ‘carrot and stick’ arrangement, where organizations are incentivised for climate conscious policies, while penalties rise for breaking conventions that protect the environment.

Technology leaders discuss how they are helping their organizations adapt to the ramping climate conservation efforts, the need for dedicated sustainability officers, and how regulation can encourage ecological efforts driven by technology.

The Future of Chief Sustainability Officers (CSO)

Recent reports indicate that the role of CSOs is evolving to significantly influence corporate governance and decision-making processes. The number of CSOs has tripled in recent years, and this trend is likely to continue.

Anand Deodhar, Group CIO/ Head IT, Force Motors, highlights, “With sustainability at the forefront of business strategy, Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) are pivotal to shaping the automotive industry’s future. Their role surpasses mere compliance, driving innovation, efficiency, and corporate responsibility. By integrating data analytics, automation, and green IT initiatives, Force Motors can align digital transformation with ESG goals, ensuring long-term sustainability while driving business growth.”

Abhijit Chatterjee, CISO and Sr. Director IT, TCG Lifesciences asserts that Sustainability Officers will be essential, adding that technology teams must collaborate with CSOs to include sustainability into the IT strategy. “This involves improving cloud energy efficiency, implementing green software development, and eliminating electronic waste. The team must cooperate to ensure responsible AI implementation, include carbon accounting into IT decision-making, and promote regulatory compliance.”

Vinod Chandnani, CIO, Patel Engineering predicts that Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) will become increasingly common as businesses prioritize sustainability and environmental risks dominate the global risk landscape.

Tackling Carbon Footprint

Organizations carry a social, economic and environmental responsibility to moderate their carbon footprints, given that organizational load of carbon emissions is disproportionately large compared to civilians and affects those populations far beyond their consumption.

Abhijit Chatterjee explains how hardware and software are optimized for sustainable use. “Effective AI model training is given first priority only then do we deploy smaller, optimized models to save energy consumption. For the energy-intensive datacentres, we’ve switched to liquid cooling, renewable-powered infrastructure, and AI-driven power management to reduce usage.”

Vinod suggests lowering carbon footprint through Cloud Migration and Optimization. “Renewable energy and optimized data centers and cloud resources with right-sizing, serverless functions, and efficient data storage, can help.” Additionally, remote work helps conservation by encouraging video conferencing and remote collaboration tools. conferencing and remote collaboration tools.

Anand Deodhar is centring his efforts on Sustainable IT Asset Management, transitioning to Green Data Centers and optimization from Cloud (tech) perspective, saying, “Initiatives like extending device lifecycles through refurbishment and donation programs significantly reduce IT waste.

“Moving toward AI-powered, highly energy-efficient data centres and using more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind reduces power consumption and cooling costs, enhancing sustainability,” says Deodhar.

Sustainability Mantras for Tech Growth

Sustainability cannot be an afterthought for organizations, instead needing intention, planning and reporting to assess if an organization is meeting its ESG goals.

Vinod Chandnani says, “Collecting and storing only necessary data reduces the energy footprint of data storage and processing. Establish robust monitoring systems to track energy consumption, water usage, and other environmental metrics, with data analytics identifying areas for improvement.”

Anand Deodhar advocates for a ‘less is more’, minimalist technology approach, favouring efficient functionality over a plethora of unneeded tools.

“Reduce IT sprawl by leveraging AI for intelligent workload distribution. Choose carbon-aware AI models prioritizing energy efficiency and optimize computational power. Partner with cloud providers with high green ratings and renewable energy-powered data centres,” he adds.

Abhijit Chatterjee of TCG Lifesciences, a global Contract Research and CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) company, advises, “Match technology choices with sustainability KPIs to guarantee data transparency, be aware of changing laws, and sensible resource use. AI should be leveraged to predict and reduce IT-related emissions proactively rather than just report them.”

Environmental Legislation & Global Compliance

With the tightening of environmental laws, companies must embed sustainability at their core. Anand Deodhar highlights the policies in India pushing businesses toward greener IT infrastructure like E-Waste Management Rules, Renewable Energy Mandates, and Carbon Trading Initiatives.

We also collaborate with eco-conscious suppliers, and implement carbon footprint reduction clauses in procurement contracts, meeting legal requirements while fostering long-term sustainability, as per Anand.

The most impactful sustainability wins can be the implementation of an AI-powered Smart Energy Management System across manufacturing plants.

Anand explains, “Using IoT sensors and predictive analytics, we can Reduce energy costs by 15% through intelligent automation, lower CO₂ emissions significantly, contributing to our carbon neutrality goals, integrate solar energy into plant operations, cutting reliance on fossil fuels.”

With planning, forethought and organizational intent, technology and sustainability can harmoniously coexist, driving sustainability while enhancing operational efficiency.