Sustainable IT Support 

Sustainability has become a measurable business imperative. Regulatory pressure, investor scrutiny, and customer expectations are reshaping how organisations manage their environmental footprint — including the footprint of their digital operations.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centres and data transmission networks account for approximately 1–1.5% of global electricity consumption, and demand is projected to grow as AI adoption accelerates. At the same time, the World Economic Forum highlights digital infrastructure as both a contributor to emissions and a lever for optimisation.

For organisations operating in consumer goods and manufacturing environments, IT is no longer invisible. Device lifecycles, data centre efficiency, remote support models, and AI workloads directly influence Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. Sustainable IT support therefore shifts from a technical initiative to a strategic capability — aligning operational resilience, cost efficiency, and ESG performance. 

Why sustainable IT support matters 

Consumer goods leaders are navigating a dual mandate: deliver growth while demonstrably reducing environmental impact. ESG reporting requirements such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and increasing investor scrutiny mean sustainability metrics are no longer optional disclosures — they are operational performance indicators.

Digital infrastructure plays a measurable role in this equation. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres and data transmission networks account for approximately 1–1.5% of global electricity consumption, with demand projected to increase as AI workloads expand. In parallel, device refresh cycles, endpoint energy use, and field support travel all contribute to Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.

For consumer goods organisations, sustainable IT support is therefore not a side initiative. It directly influences cost efficiency, carbon accounting accuracy, and long-term operational resilience. 

E-waste and device lifecycles 

The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 reports that 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated worldwide in 2022, with only 22% formally collected and recycled. By 2030, global e-waste volumes are projected to reach 82 million tonnes. This trajectory places growing pressure on organisations to manage device lifecycles more responsibly.

For consumer goods companies operating distributed environments — retail locations, warehouses, manufacturing sites — endpoint sprawl is significant. Laptops, tablets, handheld scanners, point-of-sale systems, and IoT devices contribute not only to waste streams, but also to Scope 3 emissions through manufacturing, logistics, and disposal.

Sustainable IT support addresses this challenge through structured lifecycle management: extending device usability, enabling secure refurbishment and redeployment, implementing take-back programmes, and ensuring certified recycling. Done well, this reduces carbon impact while also lowering total cost of ownership.

Making IT greener 

Sustainable IT strategy requires both mitigation (“defence”) and optimisation (“offence”). Mitigation focuses on reducing the environmental footprint of existing infrastructure. Optimisation leverages digital capabilities to improve overall operational efficiency. 

1. Energy-Aware Cloud and Infrastructure Decisions 

Cloud adoption alone does not guarantee sustainability. The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlights that energy efficiency depends on data centre design, utilisation rates, and the carbon intensity of local electricity grids. Selecting regions powered by higher shares of renewable energy, optimising workloads, and improving code efficiency can materially reduce emissions compared with legacy on-premise environments.

Practical measures include workload scheduling aligned with cleaner grid periods, containerised and serverless architectures that scale dynamically, and integrating carbon transparency metrics into vendor selection and performance reviews.

2. Sustainable AI and Efficient Architecture 

AI adoption is accelerating energy demand. Research published in Nature indicates that large-scale AI training can be energy-intensive, underscoring the importance of model efficiency and reuse. Organisations can reduce impact by right-sizing models, prioritising inference efficiency, reusing pretrained components, and deploying workloads in energy-optimised environments.

3. Extending Device Lifecycles 

Extending the usable life of devices significantly reduces embodied carbon emissions. Refurbishment, secure redeployment, and modular repair strategies help reduce both waste generation and Scope 3 emissions associated with manufacturing and logistics. Modern IT support plays a central role in this process. Remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and augmented support technologies reduce unnecessary hardware replacement and minimise travel-related emissions, strengthening both environmental and cost performance. 

Using digital insights to cut waste 

If mitigation reduces IT’s footprint, optimisation uses digital capability to reduce waste across the wider organisation. Sustainable IT support therefore moves beyond infrastructure and becomes a performance enabler. 

1. Predictive Monitoring and Remote Fixes 

Predictive analytics and digital twin technologies allow organisations to detect anomalies before failures occur. McKinsey research indicates that predictive maintenance programmes can reduce maintenance costs and energy use by approximately 10–15%, while also lowering unplanned downtime.

By resolving incidents remotely or pre-emptively, organisations reduce site visits, material waste, and production disruption — improving both environmental and financial performance. 

2. Experience Metrics and Operational Efficiency 

Traditional service metrics focus on uptime. Experience-based metrics, such as Experience Level Agreements (XLAs), evaluate how effectively employees can perform their roles. When digital friction decreases, reopened tickets decline, repeat interventions fall, and idle time is reduced.

Improved digital experience translates into measurable operational gains: fewer on-site interventions, lower energy use from prolonged idle systems, and reduced productivity loss across distributed teams.

3. Digital Workflows and Resource Efficiency 

Digitised documentation, mobile-first compliance processes, and integrated IoT data streams reduce paper consumption, minimise errors, and shorten task cycles. Beyond administrative efficiency, digital workflows create better audit trails and more accurate sustainability reporting — supporting both ESG compliance and operational transparency. 

Where to start 

Building sustainable IT support capability requires structured progression rather than isolated initiatives. A phased approach allows organisations to establish measurement discipline before scaling optimisation.

0–3 months: Establish visibility and control 

• Audit IT energy use across data centres, cloud, and endpoints 
• Activate automated power management and idle-time optimisation 
• Prioritise remote-first support models to reduce travel-related emissions 
• Select cloud regions with transparent renewable energy reporting

3–12 months: Embed intelligence and efficiency 

• Introduce experience-based metrics (XLAs) alongside traditional SLAs
• Deploy predictive monitoring to reduce downtime and unnecessary site visits
• Optimise AI workload scheduling for energy-aware execution
• Implement structured device lifecycle tracking and embodied carbon visibility

12+ months: Institutionalise sustainability governance

• Integrate Green IT metrics into ESG reporting and performance dashboards
• Extend sustainability standards to IT suppliers and logistics partners
• Align procurement policies with circular economy principles (refurbish, reuse, certified recycling)
• Embed environmental accountability into IT contracts and leadership performance reviews

When sustainability metrics are embedded into governance frameworks — rather than treated as side initiatives — organisations transform environmental responsibility into operational resilience and cost discipline.

Bringing it all together 

Every part of the IT ecosystem, energy, devices, logistics, support, affects your sustainability story. The more digital your business, the more these levers matter. 

Sustainable IT Support connects those dots. It uses data, automation, and insight to make ESG real and measurable. 

Or, as one CIO recently put it, “We’re not just keeping the lights on anymore; we’re deciding how green those lights are.” 

If you’d like to discuss sustainable IT support, start a conversation with Getronics and talk to our team of experts.