Cloud as a crucial component in the acceleration of the ESG process

For many businesses, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and move to the cloud have become a priority. The global commitment to reduce carbon emissions and other climate change initiatives such as building eco-friendly operations, dedication to inclusion and diversity at workplaces among other ESG programme activities it’s no longer a “talk”, it’s a business strategy that is heavily incorporated within corporative planning and financial decisions. 

The operational and also the green benefits of the digital transformation have accelerated the consumption of cloud services including the hybrid cloud model. Businesses can use cloud solutions in advancing their ESG commitments with ease. 

Therefore, the business aims to achieve high sustainability grading as well as greater effectiveness and investor attractiveness should be considered collectively.

Recent business surveys reveal that 74% of the business leaders are engaged in cloud strategy, 56% of the business executives who participated in the study see cloud as a strategic platform for growth and innovation while 53 % of the companies have not realised substantial value from their cloud investments. However, business leaders perceive cloud computing as a critical component in defining and achieving business growth, operational ambitions and green credentials. It is also encouraging to see that business leaders are using, or plan to use, the cloud environments to enhancing their ESG reporting. They see the cloud as a crucial component in the acceleration of the ESG process.

It will not be enough for business executives to show their commitments in cloud service deployment; they also need to be aware that it poses potential challenges which can derail their ESG efforts. Embracing cloud environments in the delivery of new products and enhancement of great customer experience there is an increased demand for energy across the value chain. This calls for special attention to the cloud, cloud providers and in particular data centres. They ought to be designed in such a way that they efficiently provide the much-needed services. 

Adoption of technologies such as liquid immersion cooling in data centres is one of the ways through which businesses can achieve even higher efficiency in cloud computing. This technology reduces the amount of power that is used in cooling data centre equipment. Adoption of such a technology will not only assist a business in achieving greater efficiency in their operations but will also go a long way in reducing data centres running costs and the company’s carbon footprint.

Experts have pointed out that an efficient cloud computing system will enhance ESG reporting through automation of processes, standardisation of data as well as in the provision of transparency. The data which is needed for enhanced reporting is normally obtained from various sources; when cloud capabilities are used, real-time connections are enabled and at the same time data integration and reporting is accelerated.

The use of cloud computing environments and ensuring that data centres are run efficiently can help businesses achieve high ESG levels. Businesses looking to achieve sustainable and responsible investment can use cloud computing capability to achieve their goals.