How Tech Deployment Can Turn Climate Commitments Into Action – And Profits

CEOs can turn their technology investments into a one-two punch that delivers business results and protects the planet.

Fueled by a surge in employee, customer and investor pressure to act on climate, and the near universal recognition of how a warming planet threatens the global economy, businesses are stepping up their climate commitments in a big way. This was especially true in September, when hundreds of companies announced their intentions at Climate Week, and in August when the Business Roundtable unveiled its new take on the purpose of a corporation: to “serve all its stakeholders” and “protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses.”

These commitments – and the adoption of purpose in corporate America – are certainly  reasons for encouragement. Unfortunately, the reality is that “when… aspirational rhetoric is paired with middling financial performance, there is rarely a happy ending,” noted New York Times columnist David Gelles. In other words, purpose doesn’t work without profit.

A new report out this week, Business and the Fourth Wave of Environmentalism, suggests one possible answer: CEOs can turn their technology investments into a one-two punch that delivers business results and protects the planet.