The expansion of sustainable technology solutions for business The sustainable technology solutions market is expanding. For instance, according to a report by Vantage Market Research , the Global Green Technology and Sustainability Market was worth $10.9 billion in 2021, a value that’s expected to rise to $44.4 billion by 2028.
This growth is tied with heightened demand for companies to operate sustainably, with businesses facing pressure from key stakeholders – consumers, employees, investors, governments and NGOs. For instance, 4 out of 5 consumers say they prefer to shop from brands who care about sustainability and 90% say that we should be more energy conscious.
Sustainable technology solutions are a business asset, which can be used to measure and reduce a brand’s environmental and social impact of operations. In this Green Business Bureau article, we’ll take a quick look at the main players re-shaping industries by supporting businesses operating under a sustainable business model.
6 sustainable technology and software solutions Below we’ve listed 6 top sustainable technology solutions your business can implement to assist you in reaching your green goals.
AI-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) REPORTING AI-driven Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting is more accurate than manual models and can produce results in a fraction of the time required for human calculations. AI-driven ESG can also give businesses real-time updates, meaning organizations can see the impact of sustainability changes made without delay.
AI technology is used to read through documents, analyze keywords, and save data from relevant files, keeping them available when the time comes to report results. The automation of this process saves both time and money while preserving the accuracy of reported ESG data.
IMPACT MEASUREMENT MANAGEMENT (IMM) SOFTWARE Impact measurement management (IMM) software will analyze a company’s positive and negative social and environmental impacts, to then figure out ways to mitigate the negatives and maximize the positives in alignment with an entity’s goals.
IMM software accounts for all areas of business operations, including carbon use, waste disposal, and community service. Businesses that use IMM software utilize data to set future-oriented goals and adopt more sustainable practices.
DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION The digital revolution has made it easier – and more secure – to create, share, store, and edit important business documents. Once more, removing paper from business operations has the potential to reduce office waste by up to 70% , with the average office worker using ~10,000 sheets of paper per year.
Switching from paper to digital documents can be a tricky process. Fortunately, programs that offer optical character recognition can scan physical pages and turn them into digital documents in the blink of an eye. This can reduce the need for paper-based documentation and ensures all users can access to important files using screen-reader technology.
Businesses that switch to digital documentation should consider saving their files in the Cloud. Cloud computing is more energy efficient than maintaining individual servers and allows users to scale their storage space.
REMOTE WORK SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGY During the pandemic, many businesses embraced remote work and decided to close their offices permanently. Remote workers now skip the commute and forgo the heavy carbon cost of driving to work every day. Workflow management software, integration tools, email, screen recording apps, and instant messenger applications are technologies that have supported this shift.
In addition, advancements in remote video conferencing technology has also reduced the need for carbon-intensive conference events and business exhibitions.
However, it must be noted that the sustainability benefits of remote work are limited by the employee’s home-office environment. For instance, for people who commute by car, the carbon footprint benefits of remote work are only significant if the journey is greater than 6km . For shorter commuting distances, or for employees who commute by public transport , working from home could increase CO2 emissions due to extra residential energy consumption. Employees must, therefore, be encouraged to introduce green initiatives into their home. You can learn more about work-from-home sustainability initiatives reading : Work-From-Home Sustainability Initiatives For A New Hybrid Business World
You can use the Green Business Bureau platform to support your remote workforce and assist them in creating a sustainable home office. The GBB platform has a dedicated scorecard section that lists the sustainability initiatives to be implemented by the remote worker .
INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) The Internet of Things (IoT) is an interconnected web of devices like smart home devices and sensors. Businesses can use the IoT to better assess their impact on the environment and reduce their emissions .
The IoT can be used to monitor workspaces and make them more energy efficient. For example, smart climate control devices can detect subtle changes in temperature and make adjustments when necessary. This means less energy is wasted on overheating or cooling unoccupied rooms.
Businesses that deliver their goods to consumers can further reduce their environmental impact by utilizing smart fleets. IoT-integrated fleets use advanced telematics to feed data from vehicles to the head office. This telematics data helps managers plan trips and deliveries to minimize fuel consumption and maximize efficiency . Telematic data can also be used to identify best practices when driving to reduce fuel consumption and optimize sustainability.
DIGITAL GREEN BUSINESS CERTIFICATION SOFTWARE Traditionally, obtaining green business certification was an expensive endeavor. Certification demanded expensive third-party consultants and a long auditing process. Plus, inefficient paper-documentation systems meant green business certification was an inefficient process that lacked transparency with access to data and information lacking.
Digital solutions to green business certification have come as a revolutionary step. For instance, the Green Business Bureau uses a digital platform and a scorecard approach to audit a business, and assess the organization’s performance on key environmental and social dimensions. Information from these assessments is then stored securely in the Cloud. Information is easily retrieved by key stakeholders using a brand’s EcoProfile. Here, stakeholders can view what sustainability initiatives a business has adopted and their goals and targets.
Click here to find out more about the Green Business Bureau .
Sustainable technology solutions are supporting assets helping brand’s reach their goals Technology like the IoT gives business leaders real-time data on key metrics like carbon use and waste production. This data can be used to improve the accuracy of IMM software and improve a businesses’ commitment to ESG schemes. ESG reports can then be produced using a simple and quick automated process, with AI-powered ESG reporting. Office waste can be reduced with digital documentation software removing the need for paper. Remote work software can then be used to support a shift away from the office environment. Digital green business certification software, like the Green Business Bureau can then be used to measure the green credentials of the employee’s home office, to ensure the sustainability of on-premise and off-premise business operations is accounted for.
As you can see, the advancement of sustainable technology solutions means sustainable business development is a more efficient process. It’s now easier to implement initiatives that will reduce an entity’s impact on our natural world while supporting communities, and to measure and track progress as you go.
