IMD-OWP22-PostEvent-Report-V11[8]

→Sustainability

DIGITAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR PROFIT AND PLANET

The megatrends of digitization and sustainability are reshaping the business world. By combining both concepts, executives can improve their organizational performance as well as contribute to the future health of the planet. Through “digital sustainability”, leaders no longer have to choose.

Traditionally managed separately, there is an increasing realization that today’s core transformational drivers of digitalization and sustainability must be seen in combination, not isolation. In fact, the European Commission has identified the “European Green Deal” and a “Europe fit for the Digital Age” as its two top priorities – and has acknowledged the important intersection

On the other hand, digital technologies have shown to play a very important role in supporting the transformation toward sustainability. Consider, for instance, how digital technologies have enabled the on-going electrification of the mobility industry, by overcoming infrastructure, charging and customer adoption challenges.

Digitalization intersects with sustainability in two important ways. On the one hand, the environmental, social, and economic impacts of digital technologies raise important questions related to sustainability. Take, for example, the issue of digital pollution, where digital technologies have been found to account for approximately 4% of global CO 2 emissions; or consider the role of social media in the spread of fake news with its destabilizing effect on social cohesion and democratic systems.

by referring to it as the “twin transformation”.

MICHAEL WADE Professor of Innovation and Strategy

18

19