It is increasingly clear that, for the vast majority of businesses, successfully navigating the transition to a net zero economy will not be possible without a robust approach to leveraging technology in the interests of environmental sustainability. Organisations will need to better leverage existing technologies, while also navigating the complex emerging landscape of "green tech" applications. Finding the right sustainability solutions can be hard enough on its own; successfully deploying them in a way that creates value can be even more challenging.
Sopra Steria is a firm with a long track record of being at the cutting edge of digital transformation. In order to understand how the firm is putting its technology expertise to use helping its clients tackle their climate challenges, we sat down with Siva Niranjan, Group Head of Environmental Sustainability and UK Head of Sustainability.
How important are climate and sustainability issues to your clients right now?
Over the last 18 to 24 months, it's felt like everyone has been paying more attention to climate change. Last year, the UK government announced their target of achieving net zero emissions nationally by 2050—so that's naturally forced the issue onto the agendas of our public sector clients. But there's also been a surge of interest in the topic in the private sector. We don't even need to ask anymore; we can just take it as a baseline requirement that our client will expect us to work in a sustainable way, and that they'll be thinking about their role in the transition to a net-zero carbon economy. Today's businesses understand that there is value to their brand in demonstrating a commitment to sustainability—and that has knock-on effects for their ability to recruit staff and acquire clients.
Listed companies have to think about the impact that failing to invest in sustainability could have on their stock price. There are a number of environmental ratings that are now being adopted by some fund managers; for example, if you have a fund that's investing in 100 companies, you'll now have a temperature rating for that fund based on the science-based emissions targets set by those companies. So, if you're a listed company that hasn't yet set a net zero target, you're soon going to feel the pressure from some of your investors.
How does Sopra Steria support its clients in addressing their climate-related challenges?
Sopra Steria started its sustainability journey about 12 years ago. Over that time, client attitudes towards the topic have changed drastically. Ten years ago, sustainability was mostly a box-ticking exercise. Five years ago, some more enterprising clients were starting to take it seriously. During this period, it was a mainstream issue in some sectors—like oil and gas or aviation—but not in others. Today, it's been fully mainstreamed. We used to talk about having to push open the door with our clients; now, the door isn't even there anymore.
There are two different ways in which we help our clients become more sustainable. Firstly, we incorporate principles of sustainability into the IT solutions we deploy for them. For example, if we were building and launching a new mobile app for them, we'd want to factor in concerns about energy efficiency into the design. And sometimes, that means bringing in specialist partners or outside experts. Secondly, we can deploy solutions with the specific aim of facilitating their decarbonisation journey. For example, we might help our clients implement intelligent building management systems in order to improve the energy efficiency of their physical infrastructure.
How do you differentiate yourself in what’s becoming an increasingly crowded market for sustainability and climate services?
Whenever we're trying to sell work in the sustainability space, we start by establishing credibility on the topic. To do that, we have to show that we ourselves have taken concrete steps to become a more sustainable organisation. And saying 'our company is squeaky clean' isn't enough; we also have to show that our suppliers are following suit. We've been a CDP A-list company for the last three years, and we've won multiple awards for our environmental initiatives. All of that helps us get the foot in the door with clients; and once we've established that baseline credibility, then we can have a conversation about how we can help them on their own sustainability journey.
People used to see my role as a marketing function; today, it's absolutely central to our business. We've embedded sustainability into the fabric of our organisation, a business as usual activity. Our view is that if a client comes to us for a piece of work, that work should be carbon neutral by default; the client shouldn't have to ask for that, and they shouldn't have to pay any extra for it. And that commitment to sustainability goes beyond the way we run our projects. It also compels us to forge relationships with policy makers, and to think differently about the way we manage our employees and the way we interact with the communities in which our offices are located.
Are there any particular sectors where you’re seeing the highest demand for those types of services?
The two sectors where demand is highest for sustainability-related work are the energy sector and the transportation sector. Businesses in those sectors have an urgent need not just to reduce their carbon footprints, but to fundamentally reinvent their business models to transition to a net-zero carbon economy. When we work with clients in these sectors, we don't tell them what new areas they should be entering; that's their bread and butter, so they're much better placed to make those determinations than we are. Instead, we focus on showing them how technology can help them move more quickly into whatever new spaces they've decided they need to be in.
Do you think that clients are becoming more aware of the carbon implications of the technology they rely on within their organisations?
Clients are definitely thinking more about the environmental implications of their digital infrastructure. Five years ago when we ran our own data centres, we had to demonstrate to our clients that they were energy efficient. But now things have moved on; we mostly partner with major cloud suppliers now. Unless there was a specific requirement from the client that required an in-house solution, our go-to approach would be to use cloud solutions for our client's data needs. That's allowed us to reduce our carbon footprint by around 70% compared to using our own data centres. Although occasionally you have to spend time addressing the client's concerns around cybersecurity and data protection before you can deploy a cloud solution, we find that many of our more mature clients are quite comfortable now with using the cloud.
How do you at Sopra Steria make sure you stay on top of the evolving green technology landscape?
Keeping on top of new green technologies is critically important for us if we want to continue providing sustainable solutions to our clients. We do that both through strategic partnerships with specialist providers, and also through acquisitions. We tend to buy three or four companies a year who are specialist technology providers that can complement our core capabilities. Increasingly, when we're looking for acquisition targets, we're thinking about the sustainability applications of their technology.
Has COVID-19 had an impact on client interest in climate-related issues?
COVID-19 is an acute shock to the global economy; an asthma attack, so to speak. Whereas climate change is much more like a chronic heart condition. But a lot of our businesses are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to make the sort of step changes in their organisations that will be necessary to tackle climate change. That's particularly true in markets like France where the COVID bailout is subject to certain climate-related requirements; Air France, for example, is going to have to compete less with train services moving forwards. At Sopra Steria, we're also thinking about how we can use this experience to accelerate our sustainability journey; we're trying to transition to a new way of working that doesn't involve so much travel, for example.
Clients fall into two camps. There are some who think of sustainability as an opportunity for growth; they're generally a lot easier to sell to. And then there are those who still see it primarily as a set of costs that have to be managed. Those are the ones more likely to reduce spending on sustainability when other factors—Brexit, COVID-19, and so on—come into the picture. But I think even those organisations are realising how fundamental sustainability is to their survival. I read an interview recently with the CEO of BP, and he pointed out that their business wouldn't be able to continue hiring people if they hadn't made a commitment to achieving net zero emissions; that's how much the younger generation care about working for a sustainable employer.
