Tech firms boost sustainability budgets, with most going on IT

How Sustainable is the Technology Sector? examines the state of sustainability in the technology sector and offers practical steps and guidance on what businesses can do to stay ahead of the game

Technology companies are earmarking bigger budgets for sustainability issues and most of it is spent on IT issues.

That’s according to a new How Sustainable is the Technology Sector? report from top thought leadership company, iResearch Services, which surveyed 550 technology business executives in 11 countries.

Most technology companies surveyed (36%) earmarked between $500k and $1 million on ESG projects in the 2021 financial year, but in the current financial year, the majority of companies (31%) have budgeted either $500k-$1 million or $2-$5 million on sustainability.

Germany is leading in the current financial year among the countries surveyed, but it is set to be surpassed by the UK in the 2023 financial year, with a substantial increase in the average investment planned.

Across all levels of responsibility for a three-year average, the lion’s share of investment is allocated to IT departments (37%) and Infrastructure/sustainability technology (29.6%). Staff training takes up a quarter of the budget (25.9%) and others (7%).

Gurpreet Purewal, Vice President of Sales at iResearch Services, says: “Green IT encompasses the manufacturing, use, management and disposal of equipment. It is generally acknowledged that Information Technology issues globally produce between two and three percent of greenhouse gas emissions, so it is an important factor in sustainability, particularly in tech companies that rely so heavily on IT.”

Looking at budgets across middle management roles, heads of sustainability and core program leads and managers are expecting to spend more on sustainability in 2023.