How To Reduce Your Environmental Impact Through IT

Julie Starr • June 10, 2020



The bigger the company, the more likely it is to have a high energy consumption from it’s IT infrastructure.  You might think that this is a necessary evil of modern technology but, if you are a business looking to reduce its carbon footprint, then there are a number of things you can do to lessen your impact on the environment. 

Upgrade Your Hardware

If you’re still using old-style CRT monitors and archaic printers, then they are not very energy efficient and are using far more power than they need to.  They cost more to run and more to leave on standby, plus, they aren’t very efficient and in today’s workplace, are probably slowing down your employees. 

Upgrading to the latest hardware will increase productivity and save energy as modern computers and peripherals use a lot less power to run. 

If you aren’t sure what changes you need to make, get in touch with your IT support partner , they will be able to advise you on the most appropriate new equipment and also arrange for the existing equipment to be recycled or disposed of legally and safely.  You can be confident that it won’t simply end up in a landfill if there are components that can be recycled.   

Set Your Office IT To Power Down At Night

How many times have you worked late, and as you left the office, spotted monitors still powered on or PCs left on standby rather than being switched off? It’s a common sight in workplaces all over the world. You might think that because they are on standby, they aren’t using much power.  While the amount of power is minimal, multiply it by the hundreds of machines in your office and it soon starts to add up. 

If you work in a large company, that could be hundreds of pieces of equipment left on every single night.  

Have your IT team, or IT support company set a rule that turns off all hardware at a certain time in the evening.  Over the course of the year, that can save you a small fortune in energy costs.  You don’t have to worry about suddenly losing power if you’re still working, the system will know that your computer is still active and your work will be safe. 

Opt For Digital Storage Solutions – There are more reasons now to go paperless than ever before, and one of these is to do with your storage. Not everyone has the ability to store all of their files in-house, and so they end up renting storage units to store documents that, for the most part, will never get seen again. It’s a good idea to buy your company custom USB drives. Not only is it safer to store everything digitally onto a USB drive, it just makes it easier to access the relevant files you need. That way, you don’t need to waste time, money, or resources sifting through mountains of documents to find what you’re looking for.

Move To The Cloud

There are many benefits to moving to cloud computing. You save money on servers and infrastructure, as well as space and power needed to run it.  You will also need an on-site IT resource to run and monitor it.  

 People often focus on financial savings on hardware and staffing costs. Cloud computing is also much better for the environment.  

A study on the environmental impact of cloud computing was conducted by Microsoft entitled ‘The Carbon Benefits of Cloud Computing: A Study on the Microsoft Cloud’.  The study showed that cloud computing (Microsoft’s) had 98% lower carbon emissions than traditional on-site data centers.  

The popularity of cloud computing has also led to a process called dematerialization. This is the replacement of physical (and high-carbon) items with virtual data. All in all, there are a lot fewer pieces of hardware and physical media produced. 

This virtualized storage can also make the paperless office one step closer.  The ease of accessing and storing files makes it much less likely that people will print out and physically store information. 

Cloud data providers have come to realize that businesses want to reduce their carbon footprint , so they are starting to power their data centers from energy retrieved from renewable sources such as wind, hydropower, geothermal and solar. 

Annually, cloud computing can save billions of dollars and reduce emissions by millions of tons.  It really is a win-win. 

Implement A Remote Working Policy

Employees spend a long time commuting back and forth to work every day.  Unless they walk, cycle or use an electric vehicle, then they are going to be using transport that has an impact on the environment.  The average employee, working Monday – Friday spends between 4.5 – 10.7 hours per week commuting . 

There are many advantages to working at home from both a productivity and wellbeing standpoint, but you’ll also be reducing the carbon travel footprint of your employees.  In a survey by Regus, 91% of people said that they were more productive when they worked from home . 

You do not have to go fully remote, but even allowing employees to work from home one of two days per week will have a massive impact on the environment.

Leading the Pack: Proven Strategies to Elevate Your Company to the Top

By Julie Starr • December 30, 2024
It starts with understanding what is happening in your industry, so you can be a leader. This includes studying current market trends and identifying stakeholders and their strategies. Understanding where your business fits in the marketplace will give you a way to claim it. When you stay abreast of industry trends and consumer preferences, you can better forecast changes to help make your business more adaptable. 1) Crafting a Clear Vision The first ingredient for a winning organization is fundamentally to have a well-defined vision ; — This is the guiding star that keeps teams aligned, and drives innovation and resilience in tough times. Leaders craft a compelling vision, which paints the picture of how they see their company evolving in the future and why it matters — its purpose that both employees and stakeholders will align with. Begin with the end in mind—Identify your company's core values and what you uniquely contribute to create a vision. This vision is much more than just profits; it also includes a focus on quality, customer service, and making a difference in society. Involve the right people in shaping this vision to make sure it reflects a shared ideal and is realistic. Drive the vision clearly and regularly across all levels of an organization. Bring it to life through storytelling to illustrate how each position makes direct contributions toward achieving the larger mission. Culminate in embedding the vision into what some call common operating procedures, its presence felt at even a level of day-to-day decision-making within strategies and actions along with performance metrics. A vision, well-articulated and written in a compelling way can inspire your team to work differently than the competition and maintain momentum for years to come. It is the plan that takes ambition out to walk and places a company at the vanguard of its industry. 2) Prioritizing Innovation To remain competitive and at the front of the pack Innovation is a key focus for all businesses demanding new ideas, thoughts & ways. In the world of constantly changing marketplaces, innovation makes sure that your business is not just adjusted to change but responsible for it as well. To take your enterprise up a notch, innovation needs to be the one core principle that trickles through every pore in your company. This begins with creating a culture where creativity and risk-taking are welcome. Give permission and means to employees of all levels who wish to try out new things without being afraid of failing. This kind of openness accelerates involvement and reveals white space for breakthrough progress. Leadership support: Leadership weighs in by encouraging new ways of thinking; providing resources, and celebrating successes as well as failures from which to learn. Making innovation one of your strategic priorities requires an ongoing commitment to researching solutions, developing technology, and training human resources. Listen to the industry and customers to see what is needed next. Similarly, collaboration —whether internally with other professional areas or externally with partnering organizations casually called "open innovation"— amplifies the possibilities to discover new opportunities by contrasting different viewpoints and knowledge from professionals specialized in diverse sectors. Ultimately, make sure to measure and iterate on your innovations. Develops metrics for tracking the effectiveness of new initiatives and ensure they best align with company goals. Making innovation a strategic imperative your company distinguishes itself as an industry leader which is preparing to survive disruption and take advantage of opportunities for ongoing high performance. 3) How to Create a Powerful Brand Identity In a saturated market, you need a strong brand identity. The brand you create should reflect what your company stands for in terms of values, mission, and unique selling propositions. You need to be able to maintain consistency, on your website and social media platforms even down customer interactions It increases brand loyalty and improves the trustworthiness of your business. 4) Providing World-Class Customer Service To see the customer satisfied and happy is key to growth. Outstanding customer service results in repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations. Pay close attention to their complaints, respond quickly, and go above the call of duty to make your customers happy. Satisfied customers are the champions of your brand and can help build loyalty. 5) Leveraging Technology Today, in a rapidly moving business world to become an industry leader, your competitors would need technology. Technology catalyzes innovation , efficiency, and customer satisfaction. So first things first, find relevant technologies that match your business goals. From automation to artificial intelligence or advanced analytics, the proper utilities can automate processes cut costs, and make data-driven business decisions a snap. Adopt data-driven approaches to get a detailed understanding of your customers and the market shifts while ensuring that you operate with accuracy, helping your business be more predictive. In addition, a technology-first approach really improves customer engagement. Gain loyalty with an engaging digital application and custom journeys. Make an investment internally in tools to facilitate collaboration, agility , and workforce productivity so your team can remain relevant in a compressed technology landscape. Technology adoption for success in the modern Needless to say technology is changing fast and the only way we can keep up with this change is by thinking ahead. Keep your team up-to-date with the latest emerging technologies and industry innovations. Work WITH specialists to get the solution implemented and scaled correctly. 6) Fostering Employee Engagement You need to invest in your employees. Active, driven teams are typically a more productive and innovative team that is invested in achieving organizational objectives. Create an encouraging workspace — Celebrate wins, provide growth opportunities, and encourage communication open. Employees who are happy tend to be employees that work more effectively in a company. 7) Expanding Your Network Networking for the journey to reach your company at the top level is a need you are not talking about which is required as part of Business Strategy. Building a solid network opens up pathways for partnership, creativity, and scalability leading your business to be an industry leader. Start by building relationships in your niche. Take part in conferences, trade shows, and networking events to link with peers influencers, and potential partners. Such interactions often result in mutual benefit with contributions to shared resources, partnership, and insight. Your network should not only consist of the most direct people in your industry. Interact: with related professionals, academia, and even  emerging markets. New viewpoints on business puzzles can emerge through varied professional networks. Thwart idleness using online channels and interacting with a larger part of the professional community, for instance, most people on LinkedIn will accept your connection request so use that to keep contacts through time. 8) Delivering High Quality and Reliability Consistency in delivering state-of-the-art products and services is a must. You have to be able to convince the customers they can trust you and your company when it comes to fulfilling their expectations. There are industries like manufacturing that include specialized solutions such as metal plating services in their offers to demonstrate knowledge and dependability, requiring these types of industry having a good position in the minds of customers. 9) Adapting to Market Changes Two of the key traits necessary to lead firms successfully are flexibility and adaptability. Track market behaviors and be ready to adjust your tactics as needed. By embracing change, and seeing it as an avenue for growth rather than an obstacle- companies are far better equipped to survive in dynamic environments. 10) Emphasizing Sustainability Sustainability is not just a trendy buzzword anymore… it's becoming increasingly relevant to the way organizations must manage themselves. Business that promotes the environment and community, not only make a better world but also attract informed customers. In your operations, embody the sustainable practices you preach, and do not be afraid to trumpet how green-friendly they are. 11) Investing in Marketing and PR A strong marketing and public relations effort is key to increasing your company's visibility while establishing credibility. Create an integrated marketing plan (digital advertising, social media engagement, and thought leadership content) Having a powerful online presence combined with all the positive media exposure can go a long way in how your brand is perceived. 12) Performance Metrics Monitoring As you keep moving forward, it is vital to ensure that your company remains on the ball. Progress to your end goal and hopefully areas of improvement will be identified using key performance indicators (KPIs) Having data will help you make the right adjustments based on reality without having to rely on them as much, which keeps even more momentum. 13) Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is the foundation for sustained success in leading the pack. It involves fostering a culture of learning, regularly assessing performance, and refining processes. Encourage feedback, embrace change, and invest in employee development. By consistently seeking ways to enhance efficiency, quality, and innovation, your company stays agile and competitive. This commitment to ongoing growth ensures long-term excellence and positions your business as an industry leader. In conclusion, rising to the highest of your company means a thoughtful blend of innovation, flexibility, and presenting execution. Understanding your market, building a strong brand, and investing in both employees and customers can make you the pioneer of an industry. Be it using the latest technology or providing metal plating services , keep your immediate goal as value – and get solutions. When you have this vision and a hunger to get better, your company will lead the pack — but more importantly other companies (and people) will want to follow in its footsteps.
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