Looking Beyond the Low-Hanging Fruit for Digital Sustainability

Are we at a point where the number of businesses genuinely wanting to reduce their environmental impact is growing? It feels that way. Though I’m also aware I operate in an echo chamber of people who, like me, talk a lot about the ‘opportunity’ that a cleaner transition presents.

Still, the numbers back it up. UK business sustainability spending is projected to grow 260% between 2018 and 2030. Understanding how our products and services affect the world has shifted from good intentions to shaping critical transformation. Clean energy, new materials, and shifts in how businesses operate are pushing a transition on the scale of the Industrial Revolution.

Digital transformation sits right at the centre of this. It’s pushing us to rethink what we do, how we do it, and what success looks like. Brilliant things are already happening in the digital space. But there’s a real danger that businesses are limiting themselves to surface-level changes - and missing out on the deeper opportunity.

Three levels of digital sustainability.

I think about digital transformation for sustainability in three layers. They’re not the catchiest labels, but they help frame where most businesses are, and where they could go.

Hygiene: building a clean foundation.

The first step is cleaning up your digital operations. If you design, build, or host digital products - websites, apps, emails, software - the baseline is eliminating the harm those things cause.

That means hosting on servers powered by clean energy. Writing energy-conscious code. Regularly purging unnecessary data. Building software for longevity so it doesn’t force premature hardware replacement. Setting procurement standards so any new technology meets sustainability criteria from the start.

These are the foundations. Essential, but only the beginning.

Upgrade: embedding sustainability into workstreams.

The next level uses existing projects as vehicles for sustainability progress. Every time you update a core system, there’s an opportunity to embed new goals alongside the usual business objectives.

Overhauling inventory management or PIM? Use it to start collecting emissions data across your supply chain. Updating your ERP? Integrate features that encourage sustainable behaviours - car-sharing options, smarter transport suggestions. Connecting systems? Link emissions data to financial systems so you can see the cost-benefit picture clearly.

This layer is about being opportunistic in the best sense. Using work that’s already happening to achieve more than one thing.

Transform: rethinking the model.

This is where the real shift happens. Not just improving what exists, but creating new, sustainable revenue streams from the ground up. Using digital to eliminate harmful practices and promote behaviours that benefit the world.

Sharing economy platforms that connect people rather than just selling products. Circular design that prioritises reuse, refurbishment, and recycling. Digital nudges rooted in behavioural economics that subtly guide users towards better choices.

Technology is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. It can accelerate the behaviours we need and help us move past the ones we don’t. But only if we’re willing to look beyond the low-hanging fruit.

Where to start.

Most businesses begin with hygiene - and that’s fine. But the organisations making the biggest impact are the ones who treat it as step one, not the destination. The opportunity in digital sustainability isn’t just about doing less harm. It’s about using technology to do genuine good.

If you’re exploring how digital transformation can support your sustainability goals - whether that’s cleaning up existing operations or building something new - that’s the work we do every day. Learn more about our Sustainability & Circular Economy work.

Further Reading

• Ten Ways to Use Technology for a Cleaner Future
• What is Scope 1, 2 and 3?
• Are We Missing the Point With Technology?