A key priority today for any ethical company is reducing its environmental impact and contribution to climate change. In the technology sector many companies have set ambitious targets in order to become carbon neutral, and technology itself can often be a catalyst for this change.

1. Ingredient For Digital
Transformation
Why Sustainability Is An Essential

2. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
Text
Introduction
Introduction
A key priority today for any ethical company is reducing its environmental
impact and contribution to climate change. In the technology sector many
companies have set ambitious targets in order to become carbon neutral, and
technology itself can often be a catalyst for this change.
Why Sustainability Is An Essential Ingredient For
Digital Transformation

3. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Big Data, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are all being put to use in
innovative applications that can contribute to making the world cleaner and greener. They can
also be used to drive human progress, improving diversity and fairness in industry, which we
know will always have positive implications for both business and wider society.
I recently had the chance to speak to Dell’s Director of Global Social Sales Strategy and
Customer Engagement, Louise Koch. As a company that sells 200,000 electronic devices every
single day, Dell has a huge responsibility when it comes to minimizing the impact its activities
have on the environment. As well as becoming carbon neutral by 2050, it has recently
developed what it calls Progress Made Real, a set of 22 goals to be achieved by 2030 that
include a 50% reduction in carbon emissions. Together, the goals constitute four “pillars” which
are advancing sustainability, diversity and inclusion, transforming lives, and ethics and privacy.
Working within this framework, the aim is that by 2030 Dell will take back and recycle one
device for every new device it sells into the world. On top of this, all of the materials used for
packaging, and half of the materials used to create its products, will be recycled.

4. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
As Louise tells me during our conversation, “This is far more than a fancy Power
Point, this is really about a long-lasting positive impact for people and planet –
it’s also about leveraging our competencies and our reach as a global company
to do more good in the world.”
All of it follows on from work that has seen Dell reduce the energy
consumption of its products over their entire lifecycle by 80% over the past
eight years. Achieving this has required coordinated efforts between its core
design and manufacturing operations as well as its upstream supply chain and
downstream user base.

5. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Another tech company that is taking sustainability and social responsibility very seriously
is Intel, which plans to achieve 100% renewable energy across all operations by 2030,
ensures ethical business practices, and works with their customers and partners to
transform product energy use and apply technology to reduce computing-related climate
impacts across the global economy.
Both Intel and Dell are supporting and encouraging their customers in their own efforts
to improve the world. One example is a partnership with Intel aimed at helping the
citizens of the Great Barrier Reef with their Great Reef Census. This is a crowd-sourced
effort to collect more data on the condition of the barrier reef, by harnessing the network
of tourist boats, fishing vessels, divers and even superyachts that pass through the
350,000 square kilometers of ocean that it covers. It involved developing tools that allow
images to be captured and submitted in real-time. This requires robust, low-power
devices that can stand up to the extreme conditions while operating at sea for long
periods of time. The data is used to identify hazards threatening the reef ecosystem, and
more efficiently plan interventions and regeneration activity.

6. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
It is also helping to reduce the carbon footprint of data centers around with world, as can
be seen in its collaboration with Windcloud, with the aim of creating the world’s first
CO2-absorbing data centers. A factor that is important here is the ability of Dell’s
PowerEdge servers to run at a warmer temperature than other server hardware –
reducing the need for cooling, and therefore decreasing energy requirements. The heat is
also used to cultivate an algae farm on the data center roof, in order to further cut carbon
emissions.
These are both powerful examples of technology being used to tackle very large-scale
problems, by creating solutions that can rapidly be replicated across the world, wherever
they are most likely to benefit.

7. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
As far as human progress goes, a realty exciting initiative that Dell is taking a lead with is
something that is called their Solar Learning Labs. These are basically self-contained
classrooms built inside refurbished shipping containers, capable of generating all the
power they need to run from solar panels fixed to the roof. Each Solar Learning Lab
contains 12 computer workstations and all of the connectivity and networking hardware
needed to get them online. So far Dell as deployed 21 of these mobile, self-contained
classrooms, in partnership with the charity Computer Aid International, and they are
helping provide an education to children in remote communities across Africa, Latin
America and Australia.
Louise tells me that through this program she herself has become involved with
mentoring a 13-year-old girl from Johannesburg with dreams of becoming a doctor.
Access to Solar Learning Lab resources mean that this ambition, which would previously
have been almost unimaginable for someone with her background, is now an achievable
possibility – very inspiring!

8. © 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Technology can be hugely transformative, and I’ve always believed that those
with access to it also have the responsibility to ensure it is used to tackle the
biggest and most urgent problems facing our people and the planet. Everybody
understands the dangers posed to the environment by carbon emissions and
climate change, and at the same time we are becoming more aware of the
importance of diversity and fairness when it comes to building strong
organizations and indeed societies. My hope is that seeing companies like Dell
and Intel tackling these issues head-on, will inspire individuals and other
organizations to create their own innovative solutions to the problems we’re
facing.

9. Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2020 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

10. Title
Subtitle
Be the FIRST to receive news,
articles, insights and event
updates from Bernard Marr & Co
straight to your inbox.
Signing up is EASY! Simply fill out
the online form and we’ll be in
touch!
© 2020 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved