Powered by
State and local governments are passing legislation for net-zero buildings and infrastructure. Markets are demanding lower carbon footprints and new technology is continually entering the fray.
IT solution providers daily encounter the straightforward, yet complex imperative: Align their businesses more closely to a net-zero carbon-emission world to meet the needs of their customers, their own businesses, and constantly changing government regulations.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and strategies are ever more firmly guiding action.
State and local governments are passing legislation for net-zero buildings and infrastructure, markets are demanding lower carbon footprints and new technology is continually entering the fray.
An effective approach for an IT solution provider to transition their customers into a net-zero environment is to adopt a mindset like cybersecurity. Just as cybersecurity is crucial but often overlooked, achieving net-zero emissions may not seem glamorous, but it is equally important. By integrating sustainability measures into the customer's IT infrastructure, such as energy-efficient hardware, virtualization and cloud solutions, the solution provider can help reduce carbon footprint while optimizing operational efficiency.
It also means moving front and center in a customer’s transformation.
“Companies have begun to develop comprehensive plans for achieving net-zero emissions and to integrate those plans into their strategies,” McKinsey & Co., the business consulting firm, said in a report on net-zero strategies. And as these plans move forward, they will often become a focus from the top down.
“As they initiate action, most CEOs will want to communicate a coherent case for change and take visible ownership of the sustainability agenda,” McKinsey said.
Solution providers should expect significant face time with their customers’ C-suite—whether it's a small business or larger enterprise—as net-zero strategies roll out and continually update. Partners will be critically important in those engagements.
Schneider Electric, for example, is focused on helping you work with customers to reduce energy costs and provide software, hardware and solutions to reach net-zero goals on an everyday basis. The company has created a tiered approach to its mySchneider IT partner program—and with a focus on continual training, tech support and certifications in net zero-critical areas, including IT power, cooling and secure power from SOHO up through the enterprise.
Another resource for solution providers is Schneider Electric’s Sustainability School, the eLearning-based curriculum to provide its partners with baseline education in sustainable IT. More information on Sustainability School can be found here.
“To stay abreast of new developments and emerging possibilities, organizations are likely to need new capabilities, data, infrastructure and talent,” McKinsey states. Solution providers, with the right technology partners, are positioned to provide all of them.
