Sustainability reaches far beyond the scope of using paper straws and biking to work. And while these individual contributions to sustainability are important, imagine the impact of corporate sustainability initiatives—particularly in the area of IT. And in IT, training plays a pivotal role in equipping IT practitioners with the skills to build a more sustainable future, not just for organizations, but for the world at large.
It’s an intriguing time in the tech space, as organizations try to find synergy between sustainable IT and success. Being held accountable for their environmental impacts while still being expected to deliver top-tier products and services makes for quite the balancing act. With sustainable IT being a hot topic for 2023 and beyond, people are watching to see what organizations do (or neglect to do) to further the cause of sustainability.
This journey to a sustainable future doesn’t come without barriers.
Factors like cost, lack of time, lack of information, and performance concerns often cause organizations to hold back from taking the sustainable IT plunge.
Sustainability is, undoubtably, a team effort. Without everyone on board, it’s hard to create a sustainable organization from bottom to top—or top to bottom. That means individual contributors and executives alike should have the appropriate training to understand and practice sustainability in all areas of their business and their specific job roles. When individuals in the organization are trained properly on how to practice business sustainably, it creates a domino effect of positive change.
Training is the missing puzzle piece in the larger, tricky-to-navigate picture that is sustainability.
High-level sustainability efforts can prove to be challenging because actionable goals and related tasks can be somewhat unclear or poorly defined. But sustainability training helps bring a concise definition to sustainability, including how it works efficiently and effectively in tangible, real-world applications.
From the perspective of corporate culture, training is one of the most effective ways to engrain a commitment to sustainability. Think of it like this. Of all the ways that sustainability can be achieved, training uses the time invested to build sustainability practices, while influencing others to also do so. Learning is convenient and low-cost—and always has a positive impact on individuals and their organizations.
Also, training itself is inherently sustainable. Environmentally conscious training options, like online courses, virtual instructor-led training and virtual labs help to reduce carbon footprint and environmental impact. At HPE, we estimate our virtual training offerings have saved customers more than 14,000 metric tons of carbon emissions since 2018¹. So in the process of getting sustainability training, you’re contributing to sustainable IT efforts.
But what does sustainability look like in IT?
What does IT-related sustainability mean to you and your organization? It may vary based on the specific practices and goals of your organization, but sustainability frameworks and best practices are still applicable.
Having the ‘know-how’ to execute sustainable IT practices usually considers:
- Creating efficiency
- Reducing waste and overconsumption
- Optimizing and streamlining processes to be sustainable
- Creating and deploying sustainability frameworks
- Identifying and implementing sustainability best practices
- Focusing on procurement and supply chain sustainability.
Sustainability in IT also means creating a work environment in which it is the default option as opposed to the exception. The goal is to bake sustainability into the range of IT processes, not just a checkbox or single identifiable factor. As your organization starts to craft transformation and modernization agendas, sustainable IT should be at the forefront.
Education from HPE brings the best in sustainability courses
Hewlett Packard Enterprise — the first IT company to set science-based targets across its value chain aligned to the goals of the Paris climate accord — recognizes the imperative to minimize our industry’s environmental footprint, as well as the opportunity to play a leadership role in enabling a low-carbon economy. Learn more about HPE’s commitment to sustainability.
The education practice of HPE Services offers two instructor-led courses on sustainability that can help you and your team on the journey to becoming a more sustainable organization.
For instance, our course, ITIL® 4 Specialist: Sustainability in Digital and IT, explores how organizations can tackle sustainability challenges in relation to their digital and IT strategies, tactics and operations. The course considers the role that IT and digitally-enabled services have in relation to the environment, and presents opportunity for positive impact by setting the groundwork for sustainable, ethical behavior.
Or explore our Certified Data Center Environmental Sustainability Specialist (CDESS®) training, which looks at moving data centers towards more environmentally sustainable design and operations, like energy-saving best practices and energy management standards.
Discover more training and education services from HPE at hpe.com/ww/learn.
Kristina Lechuga
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
twitter.com/HPE_GreenLake
linkedin.com/showcase/hpe-greenlake/
hpe.com/us/en/greenlake
¹Data is internally calculated
KristinaLechuga
I am an HPE Education Services Marketing and Social Media Specialist with a love for all things creative. I love marketing especially because I get to combine storytelling with an analytical approach to create exciting content. I'm an avid reader, painter, and music lover.
