The Customer Experience Company

CSR & SustainabilityTechnology companiesDr. Shefaly Yogendra and Namrata Rana

Companies that take the lead on “sustainability” will be market makers rather than market takers The Business Case for Sustainability, World Economic Forum, January 2009.

As sustainability begins to rework the soul of the organization, the roles of the CIO and the organisation’s IT nerve centre become central to companies.

Competitive advantage may be gained variously from green or sustainable IT enabled supply chains, or from social or community initiatives.

Strategic capability in sustainability is increasingly an important measure of corporate success. ”

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The CIO and the IT departments are increasingly being asked to provide crucial input into the sustainability impact of various company initiatives

The internal and the external faces of the organisation are inextricably linked. ”

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Shouldn’t sustainability be a measure included in assessing the performance of DQ top 20 companies?

The question we asked as we read through the DQ Top-20 was

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After all there are key trends that are shaping the world around us.

Policy trends will force your hand. Especially if you have global ambition.

The realisation of these ambitions requires local compliance in the markets that these companies want to enter and do business in.

Keeping current with regulations, successful multi-jurisdictional compliance and clear, responsible reporting will require clear strategic leadership and organisational preparedness.

What better time to start than now?

trends

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A strategic approach to demographic trends makes commercial sense.

In other words, it makes sense to be inclusive in one’s hiring and team-building.

Women make up half of the potential workforce while young persons between the ages of 10-24 make up 30% of the population of India.

The talent crunch faced in R&D, sales and IT by India Inc is already quite widely documented.

What better than for the DQ Top 20 to get involved in their communities?

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Is sustainability on the corporate agenda?

If on the agenda, does sustainability reporting follow a standard?

Where reports are available, are there any mentions of Green IT initiatives in these reports?

What kind of Initiatives are these companies involved in?

Our Research

In examining sustainability activities of DQ Top-20 IT and Top 20 BPO companies we asked a few questions. ”

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Is sustainability on the corporate agenda?Question. 1

A review of the corporate websites of DQ Top-20 revea led some interest ing indicators. Of the Top-20 IT companies, only 14 companies have made sustainability reports available; others do not mention them. 

Out of the Top-20 BPO companies, only 7 companies have sustainability reports, and of these, only one company is a pure-play BPO while the rest are part of IT companies

14 IT companies have Sustainability reports

07BPO companies have Sustainability reports

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If on the agenda, does sustainability reporting follow a standard?

Question. 2

We find that of the fourteen IT companies that publish sustainability reports, thirteen companies follow the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, while one has its own reporting framework. The seven BPO companies that have a sustainability report follow the GRI reporting framework. The GRI i s a n e t w o r k t h a t  p r o d u c e s a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework

13 IT companies follow GRI framework

07 BPO companies follow GRI framework

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Where reports are available, are there any mentions of Green IT initiatives in these reports?

Question. 3

Of the Top-20 IT companies, we find only 13 companies with “Green IT Initiatives”. Off the 20 BPO companies, only 8 companies have “Green Initiatives”. These mainly consist of activities and initiatives focused on the environment.

What exactly these activities are can only be determined after extensive consultation with IT leaders.

13 IT companies have GREEN IT Initiatives

08 BPO companies follow GRI framework

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17 IT companies have Environmental Initiatives

What kind of Initiatives are these companies involved in?

Question. 4

Software companies such as Infosys has even developed apps such as for energy management and individual carbon footprint calculator. These apps often are not only for their clients but also for the end user. 

Hardware companies such as Microsoft, Dell and HP talk of reducing the environmental impact by creating energy efficient and environment friendly products for the end user. The various activities to save water, energy and waste management appear to be followed and practiced across all company units whether offices or manufacturing units.

Water, Energy Consumption Reduced Carbon footprint Waste Management Supply Chain / Procurement Sustainable Product / Services

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What kind of Initiatives are these companies involved in?

Question. 4 - Contd

We also find that contr ibut ion to society  forms an important, recurrent element of sustainability initiatives including those based on

Healthcare Education Community Development Diversity Digital Empowerment Charity Donations

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Initiatives of IT Companies

Initiatives of BPO Companies

ConclusionAs is evident this is an overview of the DQ Top-20 IT and BPO companies. The research can be improved and expanded. The data are incomplete. 

For instance, a top-ranked company mentions sustainability on their website, but there is no sustainability report. The very same company is pitching sustainability based solutions or products to their clients, which makes their own lack of commitment to sustainability quite concerning. 

Similarly we note that hardware companies (both manufacturing and distribution) talk of green products but the efficacy of the claim greatly depends on recycling programmes and their supply chains. The lack of data here hampers analysis.

The analysis therefore has limitations. With the available data, we have but one aim: to ignite conversation with CIOs and in the board rooms of these technology companies.  In particular, we are keen to emphasise that societal discourse is changing and forcing transparent responsibility on corporations.   The change is also effecting a shift in the balance of power between corporates and society. Governments and regulators as well as boards of companies, private or public, pay attention to such trends and want to be seen to do the “right thing”.

DQ Top 20 IT DQ Top 20 BPO

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What does this mean for the DQ Top 20 companies?Way Forward

Simply that if your company’s leadership is not proactive and does not operate with a finely tuned social responsibility compass, the oversight will bring substantial costs to the company.

In addition to the direct impact on shareholder wealth, such costs may include damage to long-term brand equity and goodwill creating “unsustainability” for the business. Smart leaders are tuned into the social discourse and choose strategic proactivity over reactive damage control.

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Please do get in touch with us at trendscape@futurescape.in

We would like to hear your views.

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