Where to begin?   Your IT footprint

Sustainability is under increasing pressure across operations and business practices. Awareness is growing that IT plays a significant role in an organisation’s ecological footprint: from energy-hungry data centres to the impact of e-waste. Customers, investors, and legislation are placing greater responsibility on organisations to make IT greener and more sustainable. But how do you tackle this in practice? Maaike Maranus, Director of Sustainability at Conclusion, offers a starting point.

Maaike begins by addressing a persistent misconception: sustainability is still too often seen as something imposed externally: a checklist of rules, ESG criteria and compliance requirements to which businesses must adhere.

“The word ‘sustainability’ has taken on the wrong connotation. It’s not just about legal obligations or electric cars and veggie burgers in the company canteen,” she explains. “It’s essential for healthy business operations and the future of the company. Resources and energy are becoming increasingly scarce—and therefore more expensive. Companies that act early by using resources more efficiently, recycle or switch to alternatives are better equipped to absorb rising costs and stay competitive. Moreover, understanding dependencies gives you greater control over business continuity.”   

“Consumers, and business partners too, are increasingly choosing companies that take sustainability seriously. Sustainability should not be a condition on the side, but a core part of strategy. To me, sustainability is primarily about the long-term viability of your business. It’s not a moral gloss. It is common business sense for anyone who wants to remain relevant in the long run. Building a future-proof, and therefore sustainable, IT landscape is part of that.”  

So, where do you start? “A solid approach always starts with measurement. Establish a baseline of greenhouse gas emissions from your IT landscape, ideally including historical data. For example, from 2019 to the present, to reveal trends and anomalies.” Such a baseline is more than simply the sum of energy consumption: it maps out where the greatest impact lies - from power-hungry data centres to software that demands excessive computing power.

“By identifying these hotspots, you can more precisely determine where to find the levers for decarbonisation,” Maaike says. AI plays a dual role in this. On one hand, it increases energy consumption, especially during this phase of rapid adoption and expanding data centre capacity. On the other, AI can help improve efficiency, for instance by automatically distributing server loads, optimising cooling systems, or continuously refining software.

With insights from the baseline, you can develop policies and monitor their effects: quarter-by-quarter, year-by-year. “Impact rarely becomes visible within a few weeks. It takes time to implement structural improvements, gather data and identify patterns. And don’t underestimate how ‘new’ energy-intensive AI still is in the sector, and how little we know about its long-term footprint. But ultimately, hard, reliable data is the only thing that truly provides insight into your footprint. And that means you have to start measuring.”

The next big step in making businesses more sustainable is data storage. “Limit duplicate files and choose green data and cloud platforms that work with a single version of the truth, rather than countless copies.” She cites Snowflake is an example—a cloud-based data warehouse where datasets only need to be stored once, rather than twenty times. This is known as zero clone copying. “It may seem like a detail, but for large organisations it makes a huge difference in terms of storage, cost and energy.”  

Another buzzword of the moment is the martech diet. A simple but effective concept: remove tools and systems that aren’t being used. “It sounds obvious, but most companies have far more tools and functionalities than they actually need. Clearing them out contributes to sustainability, makes infrastructure more efficient and is often appreciated by employees. Combine these choices with more conscious data use within teams, and you create a culture where data is managed purposefully rather than stored mindlessly, leading to significant savings in energy and infrastructure over time.”  

Another simple yet effective measure: extending the lifespan of laptops and other equipment. According to Maaike, laptops and phones can often be used for an extra year without issue. This delivers immediate benefits: fewer new devices need to be produced, transported and eventually disposed of. It also means existing resources are used more effectively, thereby reducing the pressure on the supply chain. Refurbishing or repairing devices mid-cycle keeps them technically and visually appealing for the next user.  

 Every organisation knows that successful change hinges on employee engagement. “That’s especially true for sustainability. The good news is that employees are often intrinsically motivated to work sustainably. Make use of that. Give them space to contribute ideas, for example by setting up working groups where initiatives can take shape.”  

By implementing the measures above, your organisation shows it’s taking concrete steps towards sustainable operations. “That in turn creates all sorts of positive side effects. Employees see what’s happening and get involved. They understand that small actions, like switching off unused dashboards or powering down idle devices, contribute to a larger sustainability goal and enhance the company’s reputation. It also saves costs and reduces dependencies. In this way, employees directly contribute to the company’s success and long-term viability.”

Maaike concludes: “Sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin. Sustainability is such a broad and complex concept. But just pick one aspect and start. One sustainability initiative often triggers a butterfly effect throughout the organisation. And that’s the beauty of it.”