Digitalization and technology play a crucial role in helping businesses achieve their strategic business and sustainability goals. Chief Digital Officers and IT leaders drive the implementation of digital strategies. While digitalization provides a competitive edge and supports a sustainable transition, it can also increase environmental impact.
Matter Advisory, a strategic advisory within planetary boundaries, and Trail Openers, specializing in sustainable digital solutions, have partnered to advance resource-wise digital strategies. Our goal is to help businesses leverage digitalization sustainably, efficiently, and profitably.
Nearly all new business opportunities and innovations require the activation of corporate strategy, the creation of a digital strategy, and digital development. Our aim is to ensure solutions are sustainable from goal-setting to implementation.
Finland is the first country in the world to create a climate strategy for the IT sector. In addition, the Technology Industry has developed a roadmap for carbon neutrality. These tools help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and enhance positive handprint.
The ICT sector accounts for up to 4–10% of global energy consumption and 2.1–3.9% of greenhouse gas emissions*.
As AI and other technologies become more prevalent, the environmental impact of digital solutions continues to grow. However, businesses often overlook these impacts in decision-making. To drive digital business initiatives in the right direction, Matter Advisory and Trail Openers have jointly developed the Resource-wise Digital Strategy.
Companies must at the same time consider customer-centricity, sustainability, AI, data-driven approaches, and digitalization. This presents a challenge for which the Resource-wise Digital Strategy provides a clear approach. IT solutions shift from being a cost to an investment, with clear business rationale and a calculated payback.
Companies can make informed choices that align with their strategic business, customer experience, impact, and environmental goals while minimizing and acknowledging the environmental footprint of digital solutions. The Resource-wise Digital Strategy also serves as a framework for data and AI development, ensuring that individual experiments align with key development areas. As cost pressures increase, resource efficiency helps reduce lifecycle costs. Developing a successful business requires dialogue, co-creation, and capability-building across business, IT, and sustainability functions.
The development of a Resource-Wise Digital Strategy examines multiple aspects:
A Resource-wise Digital Strategy often delivers a fast return on investment. According to Trail Openers’ experience and research**, simply optimizing and streamlining digital services can reduce digital service emissions by 20–40% on average. Trail Openers has achieved emission reductions of up to 90%. Software audits can reveal costly yet unnecessary systems that no longer serve business objectives. Increased visibility allows these to be phased out or optimized.
Together, we assess the impact of different scenarios on business, considering both benefits and savings. A Resource-wise Digital Strategy enables long-term decision-making that supports sustainable business growth and unlocks new business opportunities.
Get in touch and drive your business forward sustainably!
Want to learn how we can support your business and environmental goals? Get in touch, and let’s discuss how a Resource-wise Digital Strategy can help guide your business toward a more sustainable future.
The author is one of the founders and CEO of Matter Advisory, Mariann Karimaa, [email protected], +358 40 450 3343
The co-author is Ville Nordberg, the founder and CEO of Trail Openers, a determined and enthusiastic trail runner, and a proud father of two teenagers.
