Digital Transformation and Sustainability: code red

Today we're getting a bit more serious than usual. With the recent publication of the IPCC study on the irreversibility of climate change, that “code red” for the state of the planet that the UN has defined so well (words are always the strong suit of this organisation, hopefully one day actions will be too), We want to relate digital transformation and sustainability., something that isn't always taken into account. 

We've been talking about digital transformation, sustainability, and the VUCA environment (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) in which we operate as if they were long-term predictions, conversation trends, or articles to fill content on the internet and at conferences. While we businesses thought it was something that would take time to arrive or could be managed with loose itineraries, customers had already accepted it, demanding that transformation, adaptation, and commitment to the environment. When our clients spoke, we didn't listen - does that sound familiar... -. 

COVID-19 has been that VUCA environment raised to the nth power, which has destabilised all systems and caused all previous paradigms to be reviewed, including the one arguing how to transform ourselves to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like the one explaining how to face VUCA environments. Right, so we've had a masterclass: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, we've felt it in our own skin and in our own businesses. We must understand that we will always be moving in that sphere, so we have to be prepared, because the challenge of COVID-19 is nothing compared to the challenge posed by this “code red”.  

Anglia MIG Embryonic we firmly believe that a complete digital transformation takes into account the impact on the environment and social well-being. There is no transformation if it is not useful to the organisation's stakeholders and contributes to minimising the impact on the planet. Conceiving it from this perspective implies to act from the heart of the organisation (culture, purpose, people, and infrastructure), going through the capillaries (adapting and transforming strategies and work processes), ending in the skin to connect with our customers and other stakeholders to get to know them better and, above all, to listen to and address what they expect from us. 

Thesustainabilityand thedigital transformationthey are indispensable allies for driving more competitive business models that place innovation and environmental preservation, as well as the customer, at the centre.  

Reasons? The 79% is changing consumers’ purchasing preferences based on sustainability standards. More than half of consumers say they have an emotional connection with products or companies they perceive as sustainable, and 64% say that buying sustainable products makes them feel happy with their purchases (a figure that rises to 72% in the 25–35 age group). This also suggests that environmentally conscious consumers are more loyal. 77% of the companies surveyed by Capgemini state that Sustainability increases loyalty., and the 63% indicates that the profit generated by the brand is increasing. 

Failing to recognise the significant role that sustainability plays in purchasing decisions puts no less than 6% of turnover at risk. 

The consequence of all this must be to create agile and flexible companies, with a startup mentality, companies that are constantly analysing and improving their processes and that are sustainable. Said sustainability must encompass everything from people (starting with leaders), to processes (which help creativity, innovation, adaptation and the constant generation of value by people), communication with society and the technology itself that will be employed. 

In fact, according to an Accenture study, cloud migration can account for up to 65% energy consumption reduction and an 84% reduction in CO₂ emissions. Indeed, with sustainable practices, this reduction could be as high as 98%. 

Companies have a fundamental role to play in achieving these objectives and influencing society and the planet. This is not only achieved through their own example, but by sending messages that resonate with the population to make the planet a better world. 

The conclusion can be summarised as that we have many challenges ahead and little time to resolve them in businesses, society and on the planet, by uniting all these factors.