Infovista is committed to addressing and reducing our environmental impact. Responding to part of the United Nations blueprint highlighting 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we are focusing on ‘Climate Action’ as a key priority. By 2040, it is expected that the information and communications technology sector will account for 14% of the world’s carbon footprint.
Earth Day is an annual calendar event that provides the opportunity to reflect, educate and connect with nature. It also allows us to celebrate the companies and individuals already making a difference in their communities and beyond. We continue to be inspired by initiatives already implemented that target climate change. As businesses are moving towards creating more sustainable ways of working, the reduction of carbon emissions remains a prominent topic.
Climate change is a universal issue that continues to have a significant global impact. Caused by our everyday activities, the science remains unwavering. The carbon in our atmosphere has already triggered a temperature increase of one degree centigrade in the past century. Already a cause for concern, any further increases in temperature has the potential to irreversibly damage our ecosystem. A matter that, although troubling, is impossible to ignore.
The scientific community compels us to listen and act. The negative impacts of climate change will likely be felt by marginalized communities much sooner than the wider population: indigenous peoples, displaced vulnerable groups due to war or famine, and populations inhabiting arid or semi-arid land. To assist these communities as well as our neighbors around the world, it is a shared responsibility to apply policies to tackle carbon emissions.
Software and the environment
As a software company, why should we care about the environment? The answer primarily lies in two parts. One, the industry needs people to design, develop and deploy software solutions. Where there are people, there is also the potential for energy intensive machinery, computer hardware systems and infrastructure. Second, software is streamlining future connectivity and IoT in a way that benefits such a multitude of businesses that the positive impact is likely to be felt in even remote parts of the world. By assisting in the deployment of technologies such as 5G, we are creating increased opportunities for a more environmentally efficient network.
Taking 5G as an example, the Columbia Climate School predicts that “5G technology with IoT will be able to increase efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable more use of renewable energy”. For instance, sensors installed within 5G enabled devices, appliances, factories and residences will allow for the remote monitoring of energy use. An innovation that also gives these devices the ability to switch on, boost power and shut down when not needed. This increased analysis means that energy consumption levels are optimized for when these devices are being actively used, which increases efficiency and saves energy. The overall data is so encouraging that the latest projection from Ericsson states that by 2030, IoT could cut carbon emissions by 15%.
At Infovista, our role in protecting of the environment becomes clear. We are passionate about creating a network for the future, and we will continue to invest in new technologies and innovations that will help us achieve this. Looking towards the future also means looking at our greenhouse gas emissions as a workplace, and how we address them going forward.
But we’re also at pains to reduce our direct impact...
Collecting our greenhouse gas emissions data
By collecting data from our global offices, we can create targets and measure our outcomes against them more effectively. At Infovista, we’re demonstrating a commitment to a sustainable workplace. We focus on reducing carbon emissions across the company through investing in greener development of our products and solutions, as well as adapting our way of working following the pandemic.
Since July 2019, we have measured the CO2 emissions produced by our activities in our seven major locations (France, the UK, Sweden, the USA, Canada, Malaysia and the UAE). Tracking specific indicators provides clear statistics of the carbon dioxide emissions produced from the following areas of the business:
- Office commuting;
- Business travel; and
- Corporate car fleet.
The date range of the data collections begins before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the unforeseen nature of the crisis, it allows us to examine the stark environmental impact our business activities were having prior to COVID-19. Though the pandemic has had a devastating effect on the economy and disrupted businesses around the world, the way we have responded to it provides a glimmer of hope for a greener future.
Infovista’s CO2 commitments
As part of our long-term goals, we aim to make a positive impact on the world by leveraging the power of technology to build sustainable and trusted relationships. We are actively reassessing priorities to create a business environment that reduces our emissions for our customers, partners and employees. In doing so, it is important to establish a clear, actionable metric to ensure we are accountable for delivering on our pledge:
In a post COVID-19 setting, we aim to reduce our CO2 emissions by at least 30% compared to H2 2019.
To reach that goal, we’re setting these local and global initiatives in motion:
- Our current corporate car fleet will consist of a majority of hybrid or electric cars by 2022.
- We will reinforce our global Work-From-Home policy.
- We are re-evaluating our travel guidelines to ensure, once travel restrictions are lifted, our people travel responsibly.
We encourage our employees to take part in whatever way they can. Recycling more, shopping local, even deleting emails are small actions that every individual can adopt to make a difference. As we continue to move on to a clearer pathway of what we can expect post COVID-19, we will be able to adapt and re-evaluate our efforts.
Where are we now?
Our latest CO2 emissions report includes some encouraging statistics, which we’ll announce on our social media channels shortly.
