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DSAT: The leading benchmarking tool for digital sustainability

Digital sustainability is a transformative concept that’s reshaping how organizations can leverage digital transformation to drive organizational performance as well as ensuring the long-term viability of our environment and society. 

The DSAT tool compiles scores from over 100 organisations across more than 12 industries to provide an industry-specific benchmark on each of the ten dimensions related to digital sustainability, as well as recommending specific actions to advance to the next stage of maturity.

 

 

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What does digital sustainability mean?

The United Nations views digital sustainability as a two complementary channels towards organisational and societal benefits. On the one hand there is “digitalisation for sustainability”, where digitalisation helps us achieve sustainability goals. This means using innovative digital tools to contribute to achieving the sustainability development goals. On the left-hand side, there is “sustainable digitalisation”. Here, the focus is on designing digital technologies to be more environmentally and socially friendly.

 

 

How it is put into practice? Leading examples

Digital sustainability requires a company-wide coordinated effort across 10 dimensions.

Scientific research from various disciplines offer key insights into the factors that have been found to drive digital sustainability, its outcomes, and actionable strategies for organisations. 

Examples of key antecedents of Digital Sustainability

  1. Organisational Commitment and Leadership
    • Companies like Microsoft and Google have demonstrated that strong leadership commitment to sustainability fosters digital initiatives that align with environmental and social goals.
    • Corporate governance structures and sustainability-oriented decision-making at firms such as Unilever and Patagonia enhance responsible digital transformations.
  2. Technological Infrastructure and Data Governance
    • The adoption of energy-efficient data centers and cloud computing by firms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM reduces the carbon footprint of digital operations.
    • Robust data governance frameworks, as seen in financial services firms like JPMorgan Chase and tech companies like Meta, ensure more ethical and sustainable data use.
  3. Regulatory and Institutional Pressures
    • Compliance with environmental and digital sustainability regulations, such as those followed by European telecommunications firms like Vodafone, drives greener digital practices.
    • Industry standards and certifications, such as ISO 14001 for IT adopted by companies like SAP and Siemens, shape corporate sustainability efforts.

Examples of outcomes of Digital Sustainability

  1. Environmental Benefits
    • Reduced energy consumption and e-waste through sustainable IT solutions, as implemented by Apple and Dell.
    • Lower resource depletion through circular economy initiatives in digital hardware manufacturing, as implemented by Fairphone.
  2. Economic and Strategic Advantages
    • Digital sustainability enhances brand reputation, customer trust, and investor appeal, as demonstrated by Tesla and Schneider Electric.
    • Green IT investments at firms like Intel and Cisco improve operational efficiency and long-term cost savings.
  3. Social and Ethical Impact
    • Inclusive digital design reduces digital divides and promotes equitable access to technology, as seen in initiatives by Lenovo.
    • Responsible AI development at companies like IBM and OpenAI mitigates biases and facilitates fair decision-making processes.

Some key recommendations for organisations

  1. Integrate Sustainability into Digital Strategy
    • Develop and implement sustainability-focused IT policies and guidelines, as well as digitally driven sustainability practices. This requires a tight collaboration between experts in digital and sustainability, to help shape their future practices.
  2. Consider the adoption of Circular Economy Practices within your Supply Chain
    • Extend the lifespan of digital products through repair, refurbishment, and recycling, as practiced by HP and Nokia.
    • Partner with sustainable suppliers and promote green procurement practices, as done by IKEA and Accenture.
  3. Enhance Digital Ethics and Governance
    • Establish transparent data governance and ethical AI and data-driven frameworks, following the example of Mastercard and Microsoft.
    • Foster a sustainability-conscious organisational culture through training and incentives, as implemented by Adobe and PwC.

Through our DSAT you may explore how these and other actions related to the 10 dimensions can help you increase your maturity in digital sustainability.