Earth Day is observed around the world each year on 22nd April. At Advania, we believe sustainability should be a priority for organisations every single day. We know that technology plays a big part in the future of the planet – in this blog, we take a look at why it’s important and how we are working towards a sustainable future.
The world is becoming more environmentally conscious, with sustainability at the top of many IT leaders’ minds. However, it’s not only down to individuals but also organisations in all industries to take responsibility for reducing their carbon footprint and adopting sustainable practices – and a big part of that is focused on the tech that we use every day.
Why is sustainable technology important?
Many organisations have already set ambitious net-zero carbon targets and are working on offsetting their emissions following in the footsteps of tech leaders like Microsoft and Google committing to sustainability pledges. A Gartner survey found that sustainability has grown to be a top priority for IT leaders and for the first time, ranking in their top ten priorities. And while green initiatives can help you achieve those goals, thinking sustainably about how you use your IT also comes with wider benefits.
More efficient use of energy and resources
By shifting your servers to the cloud and consuming IT as a service, you only use what you require. This means that you don’t have to overprovision equipment just in case you might need it. You can expand or contract your cloud services depending on your usage, so computers aren’t sitting idle.
Reduced hardware waste
Migrating your on-premises servers to the cloud gives you the power to manage your hardware infrastructure according to your needs and changes in business strategy. You can reduce your procurement and use of hardware, cutting back on the amount of e-waste your organisation produces.
Data centres powered by renewable energy
Moving to cloud computing can significantly reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the energy consumption of data centres. Cloud computing providers are increasingly using renewable energy to power their data centres, which can help reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint, which can be evidenced in the Emissions Impact Dashboard for Azure.
Sustainable cloud computing with Microsoft
How can you make your organisation’s computing stack more sustainable going forward? Simply by adopting cloud computing with Microsoft, you are already reaping the benefits of Microsoft’s investment into a more sustainable future.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, highlighted how partners like us at Advania play an important part in helping you achieve this: “This is the decade for urgent action. For Microsoft and for all of us to take bold steps forward to address our most pressing challenges. We hope you will join us on this journey.”
Cloud computing can put you on the right track towards achieving sustainability goals: the Microsoft cloud is as much as 93% more energy efficient and 98% more carbon efficient than often over-provisioned, on-premises compute and storage resources.
In 2020, Microsoft announced its commitment to a number of sustainability pledges to become carbon negative by 2030 and negate the impact of historical carbon emissions since 1975 by 2050. Since then, the company has also pledged to become water positive and zero waste by 2030.
Microsoft’s approach to sustainability demonstrates its commitment to reducing the environmental impact of technology and working towards a more sustainable future.
Ensuring our sustainability goals align with our partners
As one of Microsoft’s leading partners, we take great inspiration from its approach to sustainability – and we know that our strong partnership is not only based on our capabilities but also our shared commitment to improving our world for everyone. At Advania, we stand by the idea that technology should be a force for good, benefitting communities and the environment alike.
We’re proud to be a signatory of the Microsoft Partner Pledge, which unites partners who share Microsoft’s values to make more possible for people, industry and the wider society.
It’s not only our partnership with Microsoft that plays a part in this. We ensure that other partners we work with share the same values, too. We want to work with the most innovative and disruptive organisations because we recognise that making a change in the world will not happen from our efforts alone – it’s about a shared vision.
No matter where your organisation is on its sustainability journey right now, we can leverage the power of the Microsoft cloud to help you minimise environmental impact, drive value and digital transformation.
