CIO Development of an Impactful Sustainability Strategy

This IDC Perspective provides insights and methods for defining what the organizational strategy will be. Social and regulatory forces are converging in ways that support organizations of every sector to revisit strategies and focus investment on having some level of sustainability impact. The reason for being can have an underlying altruistic vision, but in the end, the investments must also demonstrate measured and reported stakeholder value and customer impact to be successful. By gradually building the organization's sustainability maturity, the CIO is uniquely positioned to enable new, innovative, and fiscally responsible strategies for sustainability."There is no sustainability initiative that is too small," says Alizabeth Calder, adjunct research advisor for IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "If every organization makes a commitment to specific and measurable impacts in specific lanes that are logical for their business vision and goals, the aggregate impact for the world as a whole will be significant. We don't need to aspire to be the World Health Organization, but working to an established program and level of maturity gives the organization a clear and valuable profile in its ecosystem and as a participant in the global community."