Why Companies Are Reluctant to Invest in Sustainability

Environmental protection and sustainability are hot topics for politics and business. According to a study by Ricoh, many European companies are not aware of how digital solutions can improve their environmental footprint.

Digitalization is contributing to social change. Sustainability plays a central role in this. Although companies are trying to be more sustainable, many executives don’t know how digital solutions can help them do so. That’s the finding of a Ricoh study conducted by Opinion Matters, which surveyed 1,500 decision-makers across Europe.

Fifty-six percent of executives surveyed in the study struggle to invest in green measures because other business concerns are seen as more pressing. Sixty-seven percent of respondents say they will keep their investments in digitalization unchanged or even increase them, but do not recognize that improving IT infrastructure also has a positive impact on achieving sustainability goals.

At the same time, 67 percent believe their company has a responsibility to respond proactively to global challenges such as climate change. This clearly shows that the pressure from politics and society on companies to increase their ESG performance is definitely there and is also perceived by the companies.

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No investment in digitization

Although executives are aware that they need to do more, only 24 percent of companies have increased their investment in sustainability activities in the last 18 months, according to the study. Yet digital transformation can help companies achieve their ESG goals. However, this realization has not yet reached all executive floors, with only 34 percent of executives perceiving technology as an enabler of sustainable business practices. On the contrary, 71 percent believe that digital transformation is not helping them achieve their company’s long-term sustainability goals.

Executives are less likely to see improving IT infrastructure as a way to drive reductions in a company’s environmental footprint. However, nearly half of all organizations have adopted cloud technologies (45%), hybrid working (45%), and Big Data solutions (42%) – all of which improve business energy efficiency, effectively capture and deliver relevant data for ESG reporting, and foster global collaboration.

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(Featured image by Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels)

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First published in IT-BUSINESS, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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