Using ICT as a driver of your Sustainability Strategy
Any leading Australian organisation determined to have a long-term, successful future should be focused on improving sustainability. Organisations should recognise that it is now time to take responsible action and provide solutions that improve three key things: operational resilience, commercial sustainability and environmental sustainability.
No organisation, however, would be interested in introducing sustainable solutions without being able to quantify the environmental, commercial and social benefits.
There are easy, expedient and cost-effective ways for organisations to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases by adopting existing ICT technologies such as video conferencing, teleworking, web contact centres and fleet and field force management solutions. Download the Sustainability brochure
Telstra can help you quantify the strong commercial, environmental and societal benefits potential which can potentially be realised using ICT as a driver of sustainability strategies through sophisticated ROI tools. These are explored in the joint Telstra-WWF white paper ‘Using ICT to drive your sustainability strategy'.
| The Sustainability Outlook 2009 Report* by UBS Investment Research published the one most frequently asked question from clients: whether the ensuing economic downturn will undermine environmental concerns in general and climate change ‘reactions’ in particular? The answer was unequivocal – sustainability will become more mainstream, the world in the next 15 years will need to structure its growth differently from the last 20 years and that sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant to society, governments, firms, and therefore also shareholders |
Sustainability is a bottom line necessity
In the current macro economic environment, clearly corporations need to be resilient in managing risk and maintaining a secure operating environment. In addition, they need to ensure business continuity in case of operational failure caused by exogenous factors and still meet commercial commitments to deliver profitable returns. And, now more than ever, corporations need to consider environmental sustainability and the actions needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - all whilst achieving sustainable commercial outcomes that will satisfy customer, community, employee and shareholder expectations.
With the onset of government policy, carbon pricing increasing energy costs and the imperative of maintaining market relevance, credibility and competitiveness, large organisations need to deliver a successful sustainability strategy that visibly contributes to the bottom line. And they are starting to see sustainability as a critical element of their strategic direction, a way of engaging and retaining their employees, and a platform for enhanced shareholder value.
| The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), proposed to come into effect nationally in 2010, which will place a price on greenhouse gas emissions, and ceilings on the amount of emissions that can be emitted by industry sectors – an imperative for Telstra’s enterprise and government customers. |
Benefits of a successful sustainability strategy
With the pressure to be environmentally, commercially and socially responsible while remaining competitive, organisations are looking for solutions that enable them to develop a winning sustainability strategy which helps deliver, rather than compromises, their efficiency and productivity imperatives.
What if pursuing an energy-saving agenda actually offered fresh opportunities to fuel growth?
What if the benefits of introducing sustainability initiatives and solutions extended far beyond reducing an organisation’s environmental footprint?
* UBS Investment Research (December 2008). SRI & Sustainability Outlook 2009. Julie Hudson & Shirley Morgan-Knott