Business Transformation Summit 2023: Digital transformation helps firms achieve sustainability goals

Digital transformation today has emerged as an important strategy for businesses seeking to achieve sustainability goals.

Until a few years ago, Indian businesses were not properly aware of terms like sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and chief sustainability officers were almost unheard of. Today, leading enterprises have demonstrated success when investing in sustainability initiatives. Likewise, with every company undergoing digital transformation using high-end technologies and computing power, both terms have become rather interdependent, experts at the Business Transformation Summit 2023 held in Jaipur on October 13–14, organised by TechCircle, said.

Jainee Nathwani, Head CSR & Sustainability, United Breweries Ltd, said, "Sustainability in the digital age is no longer a fad or afterthought. In fact, a well-strategic digital transformation will support businesses in making sustainable investment decisions and impact the community in a more positive way."

Sandeep Chandna, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tech Mahindra, added that the disclosure of the company’s ESG data sets, on the other hand, will yield superior results over its competitors in the long run.

"Unlike in the past, ESG has evolved from a specialised reporting system for financial investors to a key term for how businesses or brands measure the impact of these factors on their products and stakeholders," he said.

While environmental factors consider aspects of climate change, energy, carbon emissions, and more, governance, meanwhile, evaluates accounting methods, transparency, and the management of conflicts of interest, among others.

The speakers agree that comprehensive digital transformation not only allows a business to function faster and more efficiently, but it can also change the perception of how businesses solve problems. The same is true for ESG. Focusing on this will help businesses become more attractive and grow stronger.

As businesses are already investing substantially in technologies such as big data, AI, mobile platforms, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, integrating these with energy-efficient and other sustainable solutions would reduce the cost of capital and business risks.

Besides, it will enhance shareholder position and create opportunities to access long-term capital while improving operational efficiency and corporate reputation. The trend is becoming apparent among businesses in the financial sector and banks’ strategies in particular, noted Chandna.

Needless to say, the economic hurdles induced by the pandemic have further supported the sustainable development trend. Nathwani said that every stakeholder would want to know where a company stands in its sustainability quotient and how it can be improved. Investors have also become more inclined to invest based on the evaluation of ESG criteria instead of traditional financial criteria.

The role of a chief sustainability officer is also constantly changing, said Chandna. Sustainability leaders should partner with CIOs and CTOs for ESG success by collaborating on tech selection, prioritising the right data, and implementing the strategy in the right manner. While the regulatory environment is often unclear, experts believe that the future will see a stronger framework and more holistic energy-efficient solutions and reporting structures, leaving room for better collaboration and implementation of sustainability strategies.

In an interview published on May 11, Abhijit Roy, Global Head, Energy and Utilities Domain at Happiest Minds Technologies, also mentioned that enterprises need to leverage smart technologies to build a sustainable ecosystem that makes them more agile, secure, and resilient.

Data published by Bloomberg Intelligence in September last year further estimated that global ESG assets could surpass $41 trillion for the whole of 2022 and reach $50 trillion by 2025.