As awareness of the climate crisis grows, businesses across every industry are looking for ways to increase sustainability, reduce their carbon footprint, and join the mission for net zero. As CSR and ESG become board room discussions, leaders across departments are looking for ways to contribute to these collective goals.
Recent years have seen the marketplace flooded with thought-leadership from sustainability experts, discussing ways corporations can embrace greener business practices. But what about your IT department? That information can be more difficult to find (unless you’re a frequent reader here on the DEX Hub!). If you’re looking for some inspiration or insightful new perspectives on sustainable IT, we’ve pulled together this list of some of the top voices to follow on sustainable IT.
Rainer Karcher, Global Director IT Sustainability, Siemens
A familiar voice here on the DEX Hub, Rainer Karcher has made sustainability the explicit focus of his IT career. In his role at Siemens, he focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of IT operations. Across his many speaking engagements and social media posts, Rainer demonstrates a clear passionate for inviting everyone into the process of embracing sustainability. He often shares actionable steps to lower the carbon footprint of IT practices, both on the individual employee level, and across the entire organization.
Listen to Rainer’s top tips for increasing sustainability on the personal and organizational level on this episode of the DEX Show.
Kate Brandt – Chief Sustainability Officer, Google
For those interested in the sustainability of data centers, give Kate Brandt a follow. In her role as Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, Kate leads sustainability across worldwide operations. Follow Kate for insights on sustainable data centers, quantifying carbon emissions, and the circular economy.
Gerard Lavin, Field CTO EMEA, Citrix
Gerard Lavin speaks about pathways toward sustainable business models and the importance of sustainable approaches to global IT. His recent speaking engagements included discussions on merging technology with education to deliver sustainability and why IT can be at the forefront of tackling climate change. He also talks about finding a healthy work-life balance and digital transformation.
Paul Polman & Andrew Winston
Although not solely focused on sustainable IT, these two voices are a must-follow for any executive looking to prioritize sustainable business practices without compromising shareholder value. In their recent publication, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, they explore the many ways business leaders can help avert climate disaster through sustainable business practices. As part of this project, they examine real-life examples from some of the world’s leading enterprises who took the leap toward sustainability.
Page Motes, Head of Global Sustainability, Dell Technologies
Bringing it back to IT professionals, Page Motes leads global sustainability at Dell, with a focus on promoting the circular economy. She often talks about e-waste reduction, with a special focus on device recycling. Follow her to keep up to date with the latest innovative approaches to IT’s place in the circular economy.
Lubomila Jordanova, Co-Founder & CEO, Plan A; Co-Founder, Greentech Alliance
Lubomila Jordanova is a strong advocate for green tech and using technology to address the climate crisis. Through her work with Plan A and the Greentech Alliance, she advocates for, promotes, and facilitates technology approaches to carbon accounting, carbon reduction, and ESG. She’s also a fantastic advocate for Green IT awareness, promoting other voices within the sustainability space on her Linkedin feed.
And if you’re hoping to hear more from Lubomila, watch this space for an upcoming episode of the DEX Show!
Jessica O. Matthews, CEO, Uncharted
Here is a suggestion for the municipal IT leaders in the crowd. Jessica Matthews is an entrepreneur, serial inventor, and founder of Uncharted, a startup focused on creating smart infrastructure solutions that can provide data-driven, sustainable access to resources for urban residents. It’s a novel approach to sustainability that has a lot of people excited. Follow Jessica to keep up with sustainable approaches to smart cities.
Dave Best, Global Head Strategic Enablement, Delphix
Last on our list is Dave Best who, along with being the Global Head of Strategic Enablement at Delphix, is also the VP at SustainableIT.org, a new nonprofit 501c3 focused on advancing sustainability through technology leadership. Follow Dave for insights on DevOps, data compliance, and sustainable approaches to global IT.
That’s all for the list! Hopefully you found some new voices to follow as you ideate and implement your own sustainable IT approaches. Addressing the climate crisis requires a concerted, communal effort, and businesses large and small have a role to play. IT leaders, in particular, have a real ability to enact change within their organizations through innovative approaches to hardware management, e-waste policies, and data management. Hopefully, with inspiration from some of the people on this list, we can make sustainable IT part of boardroom conversations and use technology to address our changing climate.
