Organizations Struggle to Meet Sustainability Goals Despite Prioritization: Hitachi Vantara Survey

Sustainability has become a top priority for eight out of ten companies worldwide, with ambitious emissions reduction goals being established, as per the recent survey from Hitachi Vantara. However, the survey also highlights that the actual progress towards these goals may not be as significant as perceived, despite 73 percent of Indian businesses claiming to be “on plan” or “ahead of plan” in terms of carbon reduction targets.

Key findings from the Indian market indicate areas of concern:

• 40 percent of organizations lack a sustainability strategy and implementation plan.
• Indian businesses do not anticipate achieving net-zero carbon emissions until 2054 on average, citing challenges in complying with sustainable data regulations (49 percent) and limited access to critical sustainability data (42 percent).
• Only 1 percent of organizations expect their data center’s carbon footprint to increase by 21-30 percent in the next two years, while 58 percent anticipate no change.
• Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director-India at Hitachi Vantara, emphasized the ethical obligation of Indian firms to reduce carbon emissions and acknowledged the struggle to establish a concrete roadmap or strategy to meet sustainability goals. Tiwari emphasized the importance of data and appropriate technology platforms in driving sustainability transformation and gaining a competitive advantage.

Decarbonizing data centers emerged as a critical factor in achieving overall sustainability goals, according to 44 percent of Indian businesses surveyed. Furthermore, 45 percent believed that failure to decarbonize would lead to increased costs, and 30 percent anticipated difficulties in attracting IT talent. Despite slow progress in reducing data center footprints, 34 percent of respondents considered creating an eco-friendly data center a top priority. Datacenter decarbonization was also identified as an area where firms required external assistance (39 percent) and technological solutions (37 percent).

Notably, the survey revealed a discrepancy in awareness among C-suite executives regarding the importance of data center modernization. While 43 percent of CEOs and 41 percent of CIOs recognized eco-friendly data centers as effective in reducing carbon footprints, only 22 percent of CFOs and 25 percent of Chief Sustainability Officers shared this perspective.

The survey highlighted the significance of achieving eco-friendly data maturity, with leaders demonstrating greater commitment and progress in sustainability measures. For instance, leaders assigned higher importance to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption (68 percent) compared to other respondents (53 percent), and more leaders (27 percent) were ahead of their carbon reduction plans than others (19 percent). Furthermore, leaders aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2036 and net zero by 2047, several years ahead of their counterparts.