Conga comments on sustainability

With Gartner revealing that environmental and sustainability initiatives are now considered such a ‘top business priority’ that by 2026 70% of all technology sourcing, procurement and vendor management (SPVM) leaders will need to have environmental-sustainability-aligned performance objectives for their functions just to align themselves with new market demands and values, we ask Charles Cao, Head of Operations and Strategy, Conga (www.conga.com) for his views on how companies can accelerate their future environmental-sustainability-aligned performance initiatives.

“Unsurprisingly, sustainability is still a top business priority.  Businesses have felt the need to be ‘seen’ doing more for the environment for quite some time due to pressures from their key stakeholders and in order to stay competitive and appear favourable to their customers.  Too often, these ‘commitments’ can be side tracked as leaders prioritise business performance over their sustainability goals.  However, Gartner’s report reveals a considerable market shift. Leaders are now starting to realise the value of these initiatives and the benefits they can bring.”

“As Gartner’s previous report showed, sustainability is not only a business prerogative, but it also goes hand-in-hand with business success.  It can provide leaders with the opportunity to optimise and scale their operations and explore new ways of working and doing business.  Many are now seeing these initiatives as opportunities to drive further revenue growth and operational efficiency. At the same time, this new report identifies an emerging trend.  Organizations are starting to realise that sustainability is a joint responsibility and partnerships are key.”

“Organizations with real green targets have realised the influence their choice of vendor has over their own objectives.  Customers are now looking for demonstrable sustainability goals and timelines, not false promises.  A company’s choice of partner or technology provider will have a significant part to play in their own success.  Sustainable sourcing, contracting and performance management are critical. In fact, it will likely be a driver of the decision-making process by default.  If a customer and vendor commitments or objectives do not align, they will look for a provider that can help them meet their sustainability objectives.”

“Looking towards the future, all businesses need to consider transformation and sustainability as one and the same.  Beyond 2026, each investment in technology and its impact on the environment will need to be assessed thoroughly.  At the very least, vendors will need to prove that their solution or technology can indeed deliver more sustainable business practices.  Whilst business leaders should think carefully about how to incorporate environmental and sustainable considerations within their core business plan and determine which products or services can help to deliver those goals.”

The Gartner report can be found at www.gartner.com/doc/4021820