IT – Where Net Zero Means Everything

Technology has been at the sharp end of much of mankind’s progress. While most have benefited us as a race, too many have been to the detriment of our shared home – the Earth. So, it is logical that tech should help redress the balance.

In an industry that is only just becoming reconciled with its role in contributing to global climate change, it’s important to support initiatives that conspicuously attempt to redress the balance. Net Zero: A Digital Journey is a great example. 

We have mentioned before – and on many occasions – that Purple Crane wears our green credentials as a badge of honour. So, we were happy to attend the recent launch event at London’s Barbican for #NetZeroDigital. 

It was the perfect showcase for what could – and indeed should – galvanise IT into walking the talk often heard at high-profile events specifically created to drive change but produce so little tangible evidence of it. The Net Zero launch overlapped with the latest COP conference which once again ignored more opportunities than it took. 

It’s a luxury the world can’t afford, and we are increasingly loath to allow our politicians to do so. As the launch video for Net Zero explains, a planet divided by geo-political schisms can at least agree that our mutual, gradual destruction benefits no one. Most also concur that the science behind the climate crisis has all the proof we need. 

1.5 degrees of separation

The takeout from so many warnings is that to avoid irreparable damage to society – and the shared space on which we all depend – keeping global temperatures to within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels is non-negotiable. A lesson not learned at most COP conferences. 

While that requirement seems equally not open to discussion, securing iron-clad commitments to act to day to ensure we even have a tomorrow is maddeningly difficult. 

Sometimes, it’s easier to take the initiative rather than follow someone else’s. That’s the thinking behind Net Zero: A Digital Journey. This joint venture between BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and strategic content creator Content With Purpose (CWP) has launched a digital series that explores the key, leadership role the IT industry can take in climate crisis response. 

It’s a two-pronged approach where the sector can innovate in creating digital solutions that support mitigation and adaptation in our customers’ businesses, while simultaneously embedding sustainability into our own.

The cause of – and answer to – global warming?

While technology is by no means the biggest culprit in climate change, the UN accords IT with adding up to 3% to global carbon emissions, and the industry’s record at redressing the balance is mixed at best. IT must recognise its own role in accelerating greenhouse gas emissions to the point where interventions must be dramatic and arrive yesterday. 

That’s where media-led initiatives like Net Zero: A Digital Journey can really help. It’s not just a wagging finger, list of things to do approach. The interviews, podcasts, films, online articles, and documentary offer a ‘how to’ for the IT industry in responding to the climate crisis; it is a ‘digital first’ approach to creating the solutions to support mitigation and adaptation, whilst embedding sustainability into its own practices.

Every industry and country across the planet needs to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet climate targets. At least, in technology, we have both the means to drive change through increased efficiencies and showcase the innovations and best practices that will enable others to do the same.  

Learn more

Let your digital journey to Net Zero begin today. There’s more here. 

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