Key Takeaways
- Over 95% of CTOs are actively involved in driving sustainability in their organizations
- 84% of businesses consider sustainability in R&D decisions, but only 38% have formalized sustainability within their standard decision-making frameworks
- Energy efficiency is a top priority for sustainability investment, driven by its direct link to operating costs and potential for quick savings
- AI is central to sustainability efforts, but data availability and quality are major barriers to its adoption
- Sustainability delivers the greatest impact when it is engineered, funded, and governed like core technology, rather than treated as an add-on
Introduction to Sustainability in Technology
The role of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in driving sustainability has become increasingly important, with over 95% of CTOs actively involved in sustainability efforts. According to a new study by Kearney, CTOs are embedding sustainability across daily digital operations, and it has become a core technology responsibility. The study, which surveyed 600 CTOs from global organizations, found that sustainability has moved from a policy ambition to a practical technology challenge that affects costs and efficiency. This shift is driven by the growing recognition of the importance of sustainability in business, and the need for organizations to reduce their environmental impact while also improving their bottom line.
Sustainability Investment and Energy Efficiency
When it comes to sustainability investment, CTOs are prioritizing energy efficiency, with renewable energy, energy efficiency, cloud optimization, and AI-driven energy management being key areas of focus. Energy efficiency is delivering the strongest results to date, driven by its direct link to operating costs and potential for quick savings. In fact, reductions in energy use can translate quickly into savings and margin improvements, making it a key area of focus for businesses. This is in contrast to circularity, which ranks last for investment, reflecting weaker short-term business cases and slower returns. The focus on energy efficiency is driven by economics rather than ideology, with CTOs recognizing the importance of reducing energy costs and improving profitability.
The Role of Sustainability in Design and Decision-Making
Sustainability is shaping technology strategy and R&D decisions, but not consistently. While 84% of organizations include sustainability considerations in R&D investment evaluations, only 38% have formalized sustainability within their standard decision-making frameworks. Where sustainability is embedded into formal frameworks, it acts as a design constraint, shaping architectures, vendor choices, and long-term technology roadmaps. However, where guidelines remain informal, sustainability considerations can undermine budget discipline, delivery speed, and performance, increasing the risk of missed targets. This highlights the need for organizations to formalize their sustainability considerations and integrate them into their decision-making processes.
The Importance of AI in Sustainability Efforts
AI is already central to sustainability efforts, but execution gaps persist. More than a third of CTOs (38%) cite data availability and quality as a major barrier, while 31% point to legacy infrastructure. The study concludes that sustainability delivers the greatest impact when it is engineered, funded, and governed like core technology, rather than treated as an add-on. AI has the potential to accelerate sustainable solutions, but success will depend on getting the prerequisites right, including data availability and quality. As Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director at Kearney, notes, "It’s not AI or sustainability – it’s AI for sustainability. But success will depend on getting the prerequisites right. Scattered and incomplete data will become a problem when you use it to make decisions, even more so with AI."
The Overlap of Sustainability and Technology Agendas
The sustainability and technology agendas have clearly begun to overlap, with business economics at the intersect and CTOs as key actors. The data shows that the adoption of sustainable practices accelerates when it aligns with economics, which is very promising to see. As the sophistication of business cases increases, we will see more overlap, more agenda alignment – and more momentum. This highlights the importance of CTOs in driving sustainability efforts and the need for organizations to integrate sustainability into their technology strategies. By doing so, businesses can reduce their environmental impact while also improving their bottom line, making sustainability a key driver of business success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study by Kearney highlights the importance of CTOs in driving sustainability efforts and the need for organizations to integrate sustainability into their technology strategies. With over 95% of CTOs actively involved in sustainability, it is clear that sustainability has become a core technology responsibility. By prioritizing energy efficiency, formalizing sustainability considerations, and leveraging AI, businesses can reduce their environmental impact while also improving their bottom line. As the sustainability and technology agendas continue to overlap, we can expect to see more momentum and adoption of sustainable practices, driven by the recognition of the importance of sustainability in business.