Becoming More Sustainable, Profitably

For businesses, the deployment of new applications and services over smart networks means sustainability gains can not only be achieved more cost effectively today but can actually be harnessed to drive future growth and profitability through improved performance and reduced energy costs. What’s more, achieving energy efficiency can deliver financial returns that often far outweigh the initial investment and are not only good for the environment but good for the economy. According to a recent study by McKinsey, “Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?”, a $520 billion U.S. investment in energy efficiency could result in savings of up to $1.2 trillion by 2020, decreasing energy consumption by 23 percent and eliminating up to 1.1 billion tons of GHG annually.

Faced with the increasing cost of energy and the potential business impact of climate change, businesses across a broad swath of industries are increasingly looking at ways to introduce low-carbon solutions into their business models, particularly when the cost of mitigating carbon emissions can be turned into an opportunity for savings that can boost their bottom lines. According to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit survey on workplace sustainability initiatives around the world (co-sponsored by AT&T and Cisco), of 345 top-level executives polled, 18 percent said their companies already have a carbon-reduction strategy in place and another 39 percent said they are in the process of developing one.