ESG

Carbon credits are already a rapidly growing market, and will soon become a crucial component – alongside the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – in achieving carbon neutrality across all industries.

Amid increased global competition and continued market turbulence, acting now when it comes to innovation, investment and sustainability will not only be crucial to meeting the future needs of customers and stakeholders, but could mean the difference between market dominance and imminent irrelevance.

Over the years, ESG – the environmental, social and governance framework used to evaluate a company’s performance and sustainability – has evolved from a niche concept to a mainstream consideration for businesses. Now, this vital strategic imperative, if acted upon without delay, heralds stronger stakeholder engagement, greater resilience, and a longer, healthier life for the company.

New EU legislation means that providing reporting on your organization’s CO2 emissions will soon be mandatory. Finding efficient ways to do this is crucial – and a good place to start is with specialized technology, which can help to calculate carbon impact in just a few clicks.

The global challenges posed by climate change, resource scarcity and social inequality are becoming increasingly urgent. With pressure growing from consumers, investors and governments to operate more sustainably, businesses must adapt to this new reality by changing their business models and value propositions – not only to remain competitive, but to ensure their own survival.

As the UK energy industry collectively works towards the government’s ambitious emission reduction targets, robust digital strategy and unified data principles will be the bedrock for successful cross-sector modernization.

Organizations seem to be putting the recent past behind them and growth is back on the agenda. Despite continuing uncertainty, supply chains are now willing and able to make a greater positive contribution by being more responsive and agile.

Businesses across all industries have been forced to find solutions to a rapidly evolving market environment since the outbreak of coronavirus. For many firms, the economic challenges of Covid-19 have heavily disrupted their supply chains. But supply chain finance has provided a valuable lifeline during this highly turbulent time. Now, many innovations are emerging, offering enormous value for banks, buyers and suppliers.

As the business landscape grows ever more uncertain and disrupted, CFOs need to reinvent themselves so that their focus increasingly falls on fostering innovation and promoting adaptability, rather than solely on accounting, compliance and safeguarding assets. Those who can become comfortable in today’s climate of upheaval and change will discover new opportunities in what will be an increasingly key leadership role.

Recent research from NTT showed that over 90% of organizations recognize the value of employee experience to their strategy, or as a crucial strategic differentiator, but just 25% fully agree that the value of EX is understood and embraced across the enterprise. Forward-looking organizations have moved ahead with secure-by-design digital transformation to enable hybrid working – and are reaping significant rewards. But can leaders, managers and employees agree on what the future of work should look like?

Being able to recognize a consulting organization’s ethics, reflected in their culture, greatly influences their clients’ ability to trust them. It is therefore the remit of the individual consultant and the organization to ensure they are engaging clients with the best intent, that they don’t falsely represent themselves, that they charge fairly, and conduct their business with integrity.

Companies that want to differentiate themselves will have to take a long, hard look at their practices around safeguarding customer data. Practices need to comply with the relevant laws, of course, but they also need to be rooted in ethics. Risk governance technologies make it easier than ever before for companies to be both compliant and ethical – and prove to customers they can be trusted.

In the last decade we have seen a genuine move towards a more holistic approach to the role of business in society. When we use who we are and what we know to serve others, we create a sense of meaningfulness that increases happiness, connectedness and impact, both on a personal and organizational level. And when companies decide to walk the talk and lead with purpose, there is no limit to what can be achieved.

As one of our oldest institutions, banks have a pivotal role in shaping our local communities and even our global society. Going beyond being customer-centric, some banks are embracing being people-centric – looking after and enhancing the community they serve. By placing sustainability at the core of their strategic practice and relationship building, banks can build trust with all customers, and in particular the younger generation.

We are facing a continuing erosion of trust in the institutions of capitalism, globalization and democracy. But with a focus on regeneration, instead of just responsibility and resilience, businesses can plot a course through this period of disruption and systemic change.

Today the global operating environment stands on shaky foundations. Technology is changing at unprecedented rates, and with significant political and economic instability, uncertainty defines interaction, experience and strategy. To build a future that can withstand this complexity, organizations need to put trust at the forefront of their engagements and operations.

Actionable intelligence from rich data gives you immediate competitive advantage. Once you trust these insights enough to devolve some decision-making to automated systems, then you are on the way to being a data-driven enterprise.

The world is changing beyond recognition. Society is increasingly demanding that companies address sustainability as part of their transformation to a post-pandemic world. Sustainability is now firmly on the C-Suite agenda and it’s at the heart of NTT DATA’s vision for the future.

Business and nature are eternally and irreversibly linked. Corporations that transform their business models will gain a competitive advantage over those that do not advocate for nature. To take a leadership position in this realm, companies must Assess, Commit, Act and Advocate.

As we navigate the rapidly-changing business landscape, soon the only lasting competitive advantage that companies have will be the sustainability of their operations and their readiness to develop products and services that positively impact the world around them.

Understanding what needs to be done to decrease emissions is one thing, but putting it into effect is something else. Sustainability technologies that enable businesses to take action do exist – corporations must now be willing to use them.

With strong pressure in B2B coming from supply chain and investment funding to be able to prove sustainability goals, robust data is vital. Despite the complexity, organisations must work towards the big picture of data collection and analysis within their business now, to be in position to take the opportunities that carbon emission data can provide.

R&D into new forms of power generation, such as solar and wave power, might always attract the most attention, but the teams and individuals running the operational side of businesses also have the opportunity to make a difference. Significant change can come from internal optimisation.

There is money to be made from nature-positive transitions. Recent moves and initiatives from governments, regulatory bodies and the finance sector are opening up new doors for opportunity. When more companies get onboard, we’ll begin to see real change towards emissions targets.

Enabling technologies have given us the power to harmonise natural and economic systems. There are now lucrative opportunities for corporations to translate complexities into solutions for biodiversity protection, pollution prevention, public health improvements and job creation. Welcome to the era of the Bio-Economy.

A more detailed framework is needed to understand how we can develop a sustainable society. The five capitals model expands on current assessments to include our dependence and impact on nature and the resources needed to achieve the SDGs. Luckily, there are already protocols in place to help integrate the capitals into operations.

Sustainability reporting and standards are so important. Customers want to know that the companies they work with have clearly defined sustainability goals and mandates. Companies need to be prepared, need to recognise the value of sustainability in achieving their long- and short-term goals.

We need to radically rethink our systems to live within our limits on this planet. By adopting a circular economy, businesses can decouple their footprint from the value they deliver to society.

Education is not just a fundamental right for everyone: it’s also a pathway to a better quality of life, playing an instrumental role in attaining many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Through sharing skills such as cybersecurity, businesses can spread knowledge and help to shape more resilient, informed future global citizens.

The next generation have not only grown up as digital natives but as truly global citizens, connected like never before to people and events all over the world. Threats to our very survival, as well as an equitable and prosperous future, are felt more sharply by Generation Z than any others before them. Protect their future – and in the process, your organisation’s future too.

One of the UN’s Global Goals is that of Sustainable Cities and Communities, to make these urban areas safe, resilient and inclusive as well as reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. On the Danish island of Rømø, NTT DATA Business Solutions is employing a versatile data platform to analyse and forecast flows of people, holidaymakers’ buying habits, water and energy consumption, traffic flows, weather information, and data from the web – making Rømø a truly ‘smart island’.

The aviation industry is facing its greatest performance test to date – addressing the challenges of climate change in an economically weakened state. Rethinking the way we make decisions, holding fast to a century of achievement and continually improving one’s own solutions are the guiding principles to industry transformation.

The future belongs to businesses who are acting now to weave environmental, social and corporate governance criteria into everything they do. With business-societal interactions changing as we emerge from the pandemic, the challenges we face can help rather than hinder progress if we remain committed to reform and innovation.

More than a legal obligation to meet governmental targets, consumers, employees and investors are all pointing towards a sustainable future. We can see that sustainability presents a number of profitable opportunities. So, the question is: can you afford to be left behind?

We don’t have time to think conceptually about sustainability operations anymore – we must act. Results on the ground are what we need to move the needle, but many leaders aren’t sure how to get started. With this toolkit, you can put theory into practice now.

The risk to your business of doing nothing to move toward sustainable operations might be the greatest risk you can take in this volatile environment. The potential for disruption by government and market forces has businesses asking: Why has it been traditionally difficult to make the case for sustainability, and how can I bring sustainability into my organisation?

Today, there is no lack of critical issues that are holding back the take-off of electric mobility. Here are the issues to be solved for a more sustainable tomorrow. Translated from Italian

The European Green Deal’s ambitious decarbonisation goals are a chimera without the contribution of small and medium energy users. This disruptive change from consumers to prosumers will only happen if we find the way to engage them with technology, digital tools and new energy markets. Energy communities are one of the most promising initiatives to foster this vital change.

The circular economy not only allows us to live within planetary boundaries, it can deliver superior returns, new growth opportunities and access to preferential credit lines. The finance sector is increasingly getting behind this framework and is supporting businesses in their transition with significant growth in funds.

New norms are emerging. Social movements, such as Black Lives Matter or Fridays for Future, urge companies to position themselves politically; and new legal frameworks and standards such as GDPR push companies to rethink the ways they develop products and services. As the responsibilities of companies grow and change, making sure that ethics, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability are built into every process is essential for both consumer and company.