Business leaders see the benefits of investing in IT for
sustainability, with 88% planning to increase investments in IT for
sustainability over the next 12 months
90% of executives surveyed believe AI will positively
influence sustainability goals — yet more than half of
organizations aren't leveraging AI for sustainability
Significant perception gap between top execs and their staff
on sustainability expectations
ARMONK,
N.Y., Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM
(NYSE: IBM) today released its first-ever State of
Sustainability Readiness Report 2024, revealing that 88% of
business leaders surveyed are planning to increase investment in IT
for sustainability over the next 12 months. The research showcases
that over half of respondents across a range of industries see
investing in technology for sustainability as an opportunity for
growth, not just cost mitigation.
Despite business leaders' view on sustainability-related IT,
however, the report reveals that action is not matching ambition —
especially when it comes to AI technology.
The State of Sustainability Readiness 2024 report was conducted
independently by Morning Consult and sponsored, analyzed and
published by IBM. Interviews were conducted between April and May
of 2024 with 2,790 business leaders and decision-makers across 15
industries and 9 countries. The report also includes case studies
at the intersection of sustainability and technology from Water
Corporation (Australia),
Downer Group (Australia &
New Zealand), and
Neste (Finland).
The untapped potential of AI
Almost universally, respondents had a positive take on AI's
potential for sustainability: 9 out of 10 surveyed executives agree
that AI will positively influence achieving their sustainability
goals. However, the report found that 56% of organizations are not
yet actively using AI for sustainability. This discrepancy may come
from budgetary constraints, as survey respondents identified
financial planning as the top challenge to investing in
sustainability. According to the report, 48% of IT for
sustainability investments are "one-off" rather than funded from a
regular operational budget.
To responsibly tap into the potential of AI, organizations also
need to account for the energy use it demands—something leaders are
trying hard to mitigate. This new trend of AI adoption is
galvanizing organizations to employ more sustainable practices,
such as optimizing data processing locations, investing in
energy-efficient processors and leveraging open-source
collaborations. These strategies can not only reduce the
environmental footprint of AI, but also enhance operational
efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Finding the right AI talent is
also an issue: staying staffed with experienced workers amid
current skills shortages is in the top three sustainability
business challenges leaders are facing, according to the
report.
"Businesses see huge potential for AI to boost both their
sustainability efforts and their bottom line, and it is exciting to
see those incentives aligned," says Christina Shim, Chief Sustainability Officer at
IBM. "Leaders should stay thoughtful about minimizing environmental
impacts while adopting AI, but the data shows a lot of opportunity
for progress on both sustainability and costs."
Difficulty Measuring Sustainability
As organizations continue to embed sustainable practices and
technology into their operations, one key question remains
unanswered: How do you measure sustainability? Surveyed leaders
mostly looked to resource efficiency, citing renewable energy
consumption, total energy consumption and recycling as their top 3
KPIs for sustainability outcomes. (IBM similarly measures those
areas through consumption of megawatt-hours of energy, percentage
of electricity consumed worldwide from renewable sources, and
percentage by weight of waste from landfill and incineration. Learn
more about IBM's Impact Report here.)
The report also revealed that measuring sustainability KPIs is a
top-three current challenge faced by respondents. Fifty percent of
business leaders noted that their data to measure sustainability
KPIs isn't mature, which can make the reporting process even more
challenging.
"Whether organizations are looking to begin their sustainability
journey or already have experience in the matter, collecting and
accurately classifying their data is critical to develop more
sustainable practices," says Kendra
DeKeyrel, VP, ESG & Asset Management Products Leader at
IBM. "This research shows that business leaders understand the
importance of a data-driven approach to sustainability – and are
willing to invest in technology to accelerate this process."
Over half of respondents agree that reporting and compliance is
challenging for their organization, yet only some (29%) of
respondents identified improving accuracy of reporting as one of
the top 3 benefits they would most appreciate from implementing new
technology. Organizations like Ikano group, for example, are seeing
the positive outcomes of investing in solutions to automate ESG
data capture and analysis. They were able to capture and track over
15,000 data types for CSRD reporting in turn saving thousands of
manhours on the reporting process.
Perception Gap Between Executives, Staff
The report also revealed a significant disconnect between top
executives and their staff when it comes to sustainability
perceptions and expectations. C-suite executives are more
optimistic than their vice presidents and directors when it comes
to bolstering climate resiliency. Indeed, 67% of top executives
surveyed viewed their climate resiliency efforts as proactive,
compared to just 56% of lower-level decision makers. This disparity
spans topics including financial risks, physical infrastructure
risks, and supply chain risks.
Actionable Recommendations
IBM's State of Sustainability Readiness Report provides key
recommendations to business leaders and organizations eager to
confront sustainability challenges. Among them:
- Invest in the AI tools that are right for your
organization – For example, generative AI can provide insights
that help identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and
create scenarios and algorithms for more sustainable business
practices. This can provide organizations the insights needed to
address climate crises and turn sustainability ambition into
action.
- Lean in on data to lessen the perception gap between C-suite
and lower-level decision makers – As top challenges to
sustainability continue to evolve, organizations should collect
data from across their business to better understand the difference
in perceptions between C-suite and lower-level decision makers.
Leveraging data analysis and reporting tools can uncover blind
spots and maintain visibility and alignment across the
organization.
For the full report, visit
https://www.ibm.com/think/reports/sustainability-readiness
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and
consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries
capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business
processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their
industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in
critical infrastructure areas such as financial services,
telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud
platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital
transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's
breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing,
industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and
flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's
long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility,
inclusivity and service. Visit ibm.com for more information.
Media Contact
Agustina Begalli, IBM Software
Communications
agustina.begalli@ibm.com
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