Technology is growing at an unprecedented speed, and it poses as many risks as benefits, especially for the advancement of sustainability. But how can technological advancements apply and benefit a company’s sustainable performance?
Technology is advancing at higher rates than ever before, for better and for worse. We have already seen some detrimental effects of the uncontrolled speed in which technological advances have happened in the last few years, take for example social media and its consequences on democratic procedures.
Nonetheless, we can’t leave out the fact that never has a society been more informed than today, and although the consequences this reality may have on the long run are still dubious, today we wanted to dig deep on the benefits such technological developments can have on our way towards sustainability.
Without a doubt, technology can be a great ally to advance sustainability altogether inside the company by encouraging, building and advancing sustainable targets.
The technological dimension
Beyond ‘green IT’ and the paperless transformation of companies, technology plays an important role for advancing sustainability goals inside an organization. In this regard, it is essential for management teams to take in the technological dimension across the company and across sustainability practices.
It encourages innovation, builds trust and coordination across markets and raises awareness on urgent and important issues.
There are many ways to implement the latter technological dimension onto sustainability and overall responsible and efficient performance of the company, for example digital products or services that help digitize and facilitate access to essential goods and services, or data sharing systems that enable new models of collaboration within or across industries or sectors to develop innovative and improved solutions to environmental and social issues.
This latest example might be one of the biggest benefits of technology applied to business and sustainability, as it encourages innovation, builds trust and coordination across markets and raises awareness on urgent and important issues.
https://dogoodpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-christina-morillo-1181555-1.jpg
Technology and sustainability in practice
Technology has prompted a more equitable distribution of resources and has made it easier for new business models to grow exponentially. This is especially true for businesses focused on social and environmental development that have been benefited by the democratization of technology.
Similarly, financial digital platforms have also made the case for new and collective financing that help sustainable initiatives, social projects and new business models to thrive and overcome traditional corporate and finance obstacles.
Without a doubt, technology can be a great ally to advance sustainability altogether inside the company by encouraging, building and advancing sustainable targets. Here are some examples on how this reality can grow in your business:
- First thing’s first, data: Not only in regards to sustainability, but an overall crucial practice for any business activity is that of data collection and analysis, which will most likely become a competitive advantage in the mid and long term. Gathering, measuring and monitoring information helps ease out strategic decision making and encourages innovations and better solutions, as well as a better understanding of pending issues.
https://dogoodpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-lukas-590022-1-1-scaled.jpghttps://dogoodpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-sharon-mccutcheon-1148399-1-scaled.jpg
- Education is key: Technological services and products are especially helpful for training and education, as it enables for different models of learning and engaging through adapted knowledge and experiences. In a world where knowledge and specialization is ever-changing, staying up to date can be overwhelming, but technology can play a key role to break with traditional and often inefficient training. Education and technology can also be understood as a merging process through which to raise awareness and procure alignment on diverse topics, from sustainability to inclusion and diversity, two essential pillars for business success.
- Flexibility and adaptation: Multitasking can be detrimental for individuals productivity and well-being, and diversity is as necessary as it is complex; in this context, and in continuity of the point above, technology can offer the flexibility and adaptation companies need to implement knowledge, procedures or relevant changes across the organization. These two qualities are essential to building purpose and culture inside the company successfully and with the engagement and alignment of everyone encompassing the latter.
https://dogoodpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-fauxels-3184418-2-1-scaled.jpg
Perhaps the best way to ensure we can anticipate and learn to adapt to such risky changes is by being completely transparent.
Using technology for good
As we have mentioned earlier, there are risks involved with the rapid advancement of technology. Oftentimes it takes time to realize what the effects of such advancements really are, but perhaps the best way to ensure we can anticipate and learn to adapt to such risky changes is by being completely transparent.
We believe and work for transparency to be one of the key values driving the sustainable business transformation, as it is the only way to understand what we are doing wrong, what we are doing right and what it is that we are not doing yet.
Because being transparent is not only an externality to a company, or a given organization, to help build trust and reputation; it is in fact also a great learning and improvement mechanism. You cannot manage what you don’t understand. And so we advocate for transparency, integrity and precision as imperatives to the fight against today’s pending challenges.
Engaging through transparency
In DoGood we are convinced of the need to understand and manage efforts to achieve a sustainable transition inside an organization for the correct and efficient functioning of the business and the community it operates in. We alone cannot achieve the substantial changes necessary, but we work on the basis of collaboration, transparency and accuracy in order to bring light to sustainable actions.
In this regard, it is essential to our work to promote good corporate governance, meaning that the processes of disclosure and transparency are followed so as to provide regulators and shareholders as well as the general public with precise and accurate information about the financial, operational and other aspects of the company, including a more accurate definition of the ESG performance.
We have developed a corporate government tool that helps establish ESG impact objectives for employees in regards to the sustainability strategy of the company. Through our technology we are able to activate and track employees’ impact, creating engagement that translates into improved ESG metrics, reputational value and an overall positive impact for the environment and society.
https://dogoodpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-canva-studio-3194519-1-1.jpg
If you want to know more about how we work to create a positive social and environmental impact, click here.
