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CIO Strategy Council launches Sustainable IT Pledge





CIO Strategy Council launches Sustainable IT Pledge

The use of Internet and IT technology already creates more greenhouse gases than the aviation industry, and is responsible for eight percent of emissions by 2025, according to a 2019 report from France-based carbon transition think tank The Shift Project.

For the first time in North America, a group of Canada's largest public and private sector organizations, including Accenture, ATCO, Bell, Canadian Blood Services, Micro Focus, Microsoft Canada and Oracle, decided to reduce the environmental impact of their IT operations. Is. committed to do. Is. By signing the Sustainable IT Pledge.

Pledge signatories are all members of the CIO Strategy Council, a non-profit that brings together leading Canadian businesses and public sector organizations to act on the challenges posed by the digital economy. It is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and develops standards that support a data-driven economy.

"Some of us are aware of the carbon emissions caused by the data centers and networks running on our smartphones and laptops," said Katie Gibson, vice president of strategy and partnerships at the CIO Strategy Council. “But the demand for energy from digital technologies is growing six times faster than the rest of the economy due to the widespread use of remote working, streaming services and data-hungry artificial intelligence. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change clarified last week That the climate crisis is 'code-red for humanity'. Time is fast running out to act on emissions, and Canada's major public and private sector organizations are stepping up to the plate."

Jim Love, IT World Canada's chief information officer and chief content officer, said, "We all have to take accountability not only for our individual but also for our corporate carbon footprint. We can't leave it to someone else's responsibility or Can't. Wait for someone else to solve it. It's easy to say "the buck stops here." Maybe we really need to say "solution starts here". This is true accountability. I am proud to be standing on the Strategy Council alongside other CIOs who are stepping up to be part of the solution."

Resolution
To resolve the issues, the signatories have pledged:

Take steps to remove emissions from your IT operations, for example: optimizing your systems to reduce data processing volume; Use cloud-based services where possible; and extending the service life of equipment by refurbishing existing assets rather than purchasing replacements.
Set strong emissions targets for your IT operations and publicly disclose progress against them.
Set stringent sustainability standards for suppliers, supporting Canada's cleantech industry.
Promote adoption of sustainable IT practices and consider areas where national standards for sustainable IT can help.
These commitments will also enhance existing promises of many signatories to become carbon-neutral.

"We are proud to add Microsoft Canada to the CIO Strategy Council's Sustainable IT Pledge," said John Weigelt, Microsoft Canada's National Technology Officer. “Last year, Microsoft committed to be carbon negative by 2030, and, by 2050, the environment. The company was founded in 1975 to remove all carbon. It is our endeavor to help U.S. achieve its own sustainability goals with us."

Neil Correa, cyber strategist at Micro Focus, another signatory, said, “The importance of taking action to protect the environment has never been greater, which is why Micro Focus is proud to sign the Sustainable IT Pledge with its peers. We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and helping our customers and partners to address their carbon footprint and adopt carbon friendly IT strategies. Through this pledge, the CIO Strategy Council and through our collective efforts With this, we can play a part in helping to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all."

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