Webinar: Digital Sustainability; The What, Why & How
Driving Value Through Digital Sustainability – Executive Roundtable Recap
We are delighted to share the recording of our recent Technology Executive Roundtable, Digital Sustainability: The What, Why & How.
This session, led by industry expert Tim Prosser Founding Director Sustainably Digital with over two decades of experience across systems integration, enterprise technology, financial services, energy and climate tech innovation, provided a vital exploration of digital sustainability as a critical business imperative.
The Growing Imperative: Why Digital Sustainability Matters
Digital sustainability is no longer a fringe topic; it has emerged as a core business driver, fuelled by regulatory requirements, investor expectations, employee values, and the need for cost optimisation and increased productivity. With over 5 billion people connected and spending approximately seven hours online daily, digital consumption represents an estimated 40% of an individual's carbon budget when aligned with Paris 1.5°C targets.
Organisations must urgently shift their focus from reactive compliance to proactive sustainability strategies that deliver both environmental impact and tangible business value. The global digital sustainability market in enterprise is estimated at US$30.3 billion in 2025, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11–16% through 2027. By 2027, the market size is expected to exceed USD $40 billion.
Our discussion was structured around five key chapters designed to frame the current landscape and define actionable steps:
Chapter 1: Global Digital Sustainability Market 2025 Outlook
We analysed the market framework, which links Demand and Supply whilst highlighting critical factors shaping adoption. Demand is primarily driven by two factors: Risk (Resilience, Regulation & Reputation Management) and Opportunity (Revenue growth and Cost Reduction). The projected growth highlights that while demand is expanding globally across industries, driven by risk and strategic opportunists, the supply side is focusing on building integrated, scalable capabilities and governance to accelerate adoption and value realisation.
Chapter 2: Assessing Your IT Sustainability Maturity
To transition effectively, organisations need a clear starting point. We discussed the IT Sustainability Maturity Assessment—a structured evaluation created by SustainableIT.org—which helps organisations understand their current capabilities and set ambitious, yet realistic, targets for the next 2–3 years.
The assessment evaluates maturity across three broad areas (People, Process, and Technology) and five maturity levels, ranging from Beginning (no governance) to Optimised (sustainability embedded in enterprise governance).
Key findings from 2024 benchmarking show an urgent need for structure: the current average maturity level is 2.3 (Unstructured), yet the target maturity level for 2026/7 is 3.7 (Managed). Participating in this assessment helps organizations identify gaps, benchmark against peers, align KPIs (including cost savings and revenue impact), and receive strategic guidance.
Chapter 3: Navigating the Regulatory Landscape
The regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving, making readiness essential. Australia's Mandatory Climate Reporting, aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework, commenced on January 1, 2025. Reporting is being phased in by group size, starting with Group 1 (ASX 200 entities, with assets >$1B or revenue >$500M) in 2025, followed by Group 2 in 2026, and Group 3 (all listed entities) in 2027.
Given the global context—with similar regulations emerging in the European Union, UK, New Zealand, and California—multinational organisations face a complex compliance challenge. Credible climate reporting relies on establishing clear governance, ensuring board oversight, managing Scope 3 supplier data quality risks, defining accurate metrics across Scopes 1, 2, and 3, and implementing robust internal controls and verification processes to reduce the risk of greenwashing.
Chapter 4: Driving Cultural Transformation with KPIs
The conversation highlighted a cultural shift within IT: research shows that sustainability KPIs are now more effective than traditional cost-saving metrics for reducing IT waste. Intriguingly, over 50% of IT professionals prioritize carbon reduction over purely financial cost considerations, indicating that personal values are driving sustainability efforts more than strict mandates.
Leadership support and governance are critical for credible non-financial climate disclosures. Successful adoption requires defining and weighting sustainability-focused KPIs relative to traditional metrics (like project delivery or cost) and aligning incentives (e.g., energy efficiency or carbon reporting accuracy) with performance reviews and career progression, while also safeguarding data quality and integrity.
Chapter 5: Strategic Next Steps and Long-Term Vision
To move forward, we identified critical actions for the next 12 months:
Maturity Assessment: Participate in IT sustainability benchmarking to understand your relative position.
Regulatory Preparation: Engage with CFO/CSO early to prepare for mandatory reporting requirements.
Team Engagement: Implement sustainability KPIs alongside traditional financial metrics to foster cultural change.
Measurement Foundation: Begin accurately measuring digital carbon emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3.
Looking ahead 2–3 years, the long-term vision involves transitioning from passive compliance reporting to leveraging actionable, real-time insights. This will require capabilities such as hourly carbon calculation periods (rather than annual reporting), product-level granularity for all services, regional geographic breakdown capabilities, API access for real-time sustainability data integration, and comprehensive Scope 3 supply chain emissions tracking.
The success of these initiatives hinges on three critical factors:
Organisational Alignment: Digital sustainability requires cross-functional collaboration (IT, finance, sustainability, executives).
Technology Integration: Leveraging existing FinOps capabilities and cloud optimisation practices as foundational elements.
Measurement and Reporting: Establishing robust frameworks that deliver actionable insights.
We encourage you to use the insights shared in this session to launch a 90-day pilot, update sustainability KPIs, or define ownership for a key energy-efficiency initiative in your organisation.
Watch the full recording (link above) to gain deeper insights into governance, policy, and practical metrics for building a more sustainable and resilient IT future.
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