You’ve probably noticed that your customers are taking sustainability more seriously, which means going green should be a priority for your business, too – this can include how you procure technology services.

Sustainability has become table stakes – it’s now a “must have” rather than just a “nice to have.” You can express your dedication to sustainability by how you engage with suppliers, and there’s also business benefits to be had.

With many organizations and industries setting a deadline for 2030 to become carbon neutral, you and your managed service provider (MSP) can play a role in reversing the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. Having a sustainability focus also opens the door for financial products to help you go green, including the necessary partnerships to adopt renewable energy, including wind and solar. This falls under what is called environmental, social and governance (ESG) management, including related risk mitigation – sustainable business practices and minimizing environmentally unfriendly operations are now being viewed as a corporate obligation, according to research by KPMG.

Your IT infrastructure plays a role in the environmental aspect of ESG, whether it’s your own on-premises data center or that of your MSP, spanning the design, building or operations – each stage brings with it environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants, climate risk, and water efficiency. The sustainability of data centers also extends to every supplier, including the backup generators that turn on in the event of a disruption to primary power – these generators tend to rely on diesel fuel. In the meantime, fossil fuels are burned whenever a technician must drive from one location to another – every aspect of data center operation affects sustainability.

Already there is a shift to exploring different technologies to replace diesel backup generators, including natural gas, but in the longer term, solar and wind are ideal. In the meantime, there are plenty of opportunities to work with suppliers to understand how they can collaborate on sustainability, and that includes your MSP.

Your MSP is likely already facing expectations from other customers to be greener and reduce their overall footprint, including data center operations. An obvious metric for data center sustainability is how it’s powered – hydro electricity is preferred over energy generated by coal, for example. Everything that goes into a data center and your IT infrastructure has a carbon footprint, which means there’s the potential to score it for sustainability.

If you’re already making efforts to go green in your office environment through recycling, managed print services and document management to reduce paper, consider going the next step with the help of your MSP to see how you can make your increase the sustainability of your IT infrastructure.