Digital transformation and net zero start with the work

Each of these needs a business case and evidence of the environmental benefit. Moving a process online, buying cloud software or adding AI does not establish that benefit on its own.

Start with how the work happens today. Find where time, energy and materials are being wasted, then test whether a digital change can help. That gives people something practical to improve and a result they can check.

Understand where the emissions sit

The GHG Protocol groups an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions into three scopes:

• Scope 1: direct emissions from sources it owns or controls, such as fuel burned in company vehicles or boilers

• Scope 2: emissions from generating the electricity, heat, steam and cooling it purchases and consumes

• Scope 3: other indirect emissions across its value chain, including purchased goods and services, business travel, commuting and waste

These categories help you see the whole picture. Moving a server from your office to a provider can change where emissions appear in your accounts. Establishing a reduction still requires evidence about the service before and after the move.

Digital improvements should sit within the organisation's wider emissions plan. If most of your impact comes from manufacturing, buildings or transport, focus there too. Tidying shared folders should not distract from a much larger source of emissions.

Build a baseline people can use

Start with records you already have: energy bills, travel claims, purchasing information, device inventories and supplier reports. Agree the period, organisational boundary and activities you are measuring. Record gaps and assumptions alongside the figures.

For UK activities in 2026, the government's conversion factors support calculations using data such as fuel volumes, electricity consumption and distance travelled. Use the appropriate reporting-year factors and follow their guidance. Keep the factor version and calculation method so someone else can understand the result.

Measure the business outcome alongside the environmental one. For a field-service team, that might mean repeat visits, fuel used, jobs completed and customer waiting time. For equipment, it might mean purchases, repairs, years of useful service and reported lifecycle emissions.

Where the data is estimated, say so. Get appropriate carbon-accounting support when the figures will underpin formal reporting or public claims.

Improve the process before adding another tool

Ask someone to walk you through a recent piece of work. Where was information copied? What caused a second visit? Why was something ordered twice? Which system exists mainly because another one is difficult to use?

Those questions can reveal changes worth making before buying anything. A clearer handover may prevent rework. Connecting existing systems may remove repeated data entry. Better maintenance information may help a team repair equipment sooner.

Review unused software, duplicate storage and computing capacity as part of the same exercise. Preserve necessary records, security controls and recovery arrangements. Removing an unused licence may save money without producing a measurable emissions reduction; be clear about which benefit you can demonstrate.

Choose tools that fit the work and that people can maintain. Include migration, training and ongoing support in the decision. A simpler process that gets used is a stronger starting point than a new platform that leaves the old work running alongside it.

Ask suppliers for useful evidence

Digital services depend on physical infrastructure. In its 2026 analysis, the International Energy Agency projects global data-centre electricity consumption rising from 485 TWh in 2025 to around 950 TWh in 2030. That is a projection for the sector, not a footprint calculation for your software.

When comparing providers, ask:

• What does the emissions figure cover, and how is your share calculated?

• Where does the service run, and what evidence supports its energy claims?

• Are hardware manufacturing and other supply-chain emissions included?

• Can you reduce unused capacity, set sensible retention periods and export your data?

Treat a renewable-electricity claim as one part of the evidence. Check its boundary and method before using it to describe the impact of an entire service.

Apply the same discipline to AI. Define the task, check whether a simpler approach would work, and measure the benefit. Consider how much use the new capability will generate as well as the resources needed for each task.

Make devices last usefully

A device's lifecycle includes raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use and disposal. Keeping suitable equipment in service can delay replacement, but the decision also needs to account for energy use, reliability, accessibility and security support.

Before buying, check repair options, battery replacement, spare parts, warranty and the supplier's software-support commitment. Consider refurbished equipment where its condition and remaining support fit the job. Before replacing, check whether repair, an upgrade or reassignment would meet the need.

The EU's smartphone and slate-tablet labelling rules, applying to covered products placed on its market from June 2025, include repairability information. That can help you compare relevant models; check the support and repair arrangements available where you buy. TCO Certified's Product Finder also lets buyers check certification for specific products.

Keep an asset record and plan secure data removal and responsible reuse or recycling. Replacing equipment should be an explainable decision rather than an automatic response to its birthday.

Choose one change and check the result

Give the next improvement a named owner, a baseline and a review date. State what you expect to change and what would count as evidence.

Afterwards, check the whole result. Did journeys actually fall? Did the old system close? Did equipment stay useful? Look at total consumption as well as consumption per job, especially if activity has grown.

Keep what works, investigate what does not, and update the plan. Progress towards lower emissions becomes more credible when people can see the decisions and their results.