Under new EU legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies will soon be obliged to conduct their business in an ecologically and socially sustainable manner. Training and learning partners adesso and XU believe that the subjects of digitalisation and sustainability should be addressed in parallel, as only then can companies maximise the innovation and sustainability potential of digitalisation while reducing the risks of digitalisation to the environment and society as a whole.
If the pace at which processes and applications are being digitalised continues unabated, forecasts indicate that data processing could account for 14 % of global emissions by 2040, equivalent to the amount currently generated by the United States. Considering sustainability from start to finish – throughout the digital transformation process, from design and implementation all the way through to operations and end-of-life strategies – is essential to any efforts to reduce the digital economy’s carbon footprint and make the industry greener.
Learning about digital sustainability
Digital processes and IT infrastructure have yet to be sufficiently analysed and optimised with sustainability in mind. To remedy this, strategic partners XU and adesso are now offering the jointly developed online qualification programme Digital Sustainability by adesso, which imparts essential knowledge about sustainability in the IT sector. The four-hour interactive course is part of the XU School of Sustainability, established by XU together with climate action partners ClimatePartner and provided through XU’s online education and exchange platform (www.xu.de). The experiences of both partners from collaborating with other companies have shown that many employees and decision-makers lack the necessary knowledge to sufficiently incorporate sustainability into digital projects.
