Case Study: GoCodeGreen, Digital Technology Leaders Awards finalist

The passive stance towards sustainability is no longer viable

Despite rising awareness, many organisations continue to struggle to turn good intentions towards digital sustainability into meaningful strategic action. This article, written ahead of London Climate Week and the “Strategy to Action” session, explores why.

The core argument is clear: intent alone is no longer sufficient. IT can account for up to 30% of total emissions in service-based organisations, but most still treat digital sustainability as a peripheral concern. The blockers are structural, operational, and cultural - and they are consistent across industries and geographies.

Five themes

Five recurring challenges stand out. First is the lack of clear ownership. Digital sustainability often falls between functions and rarely has board-level sponsorship, leaving it underfunded and deprioritised.

Second, there is limited subject matter knowledge. Many leaders are unaware of concepts like embodied carbon in software, making it difficult to identify credible interventions.

Third, legacy governance frameworks still favour short-term cost and delivery metrics, excluding environmental impacts from decision-making.

Fourth is the misalignment of value and timing: environmental benefits are long-term, yet business cases typically demand short-term returns.

Finally, accountability is weak. Developers and architects are rarely measured or rewarded based on sustainability outcomes.

Lessons to be learnt

Other sectors provide clear models for how to overcome these barriers. In defence, sustainability is framed as operational resilience. Climate risk is now factored into planning, logistics, and performance evaluation, supported by leadership and doctrine. In construction, professional institutions such as RICS and CIBSE have driven standardisation through carbon assessment frameworks and embedded sustainability in procurement and accreditation. In automotive, marginal improvements gave way to full platform electrification, triggered by regulation, investor scrutiny, and forward-looking leadership. In finance, climate risk is now considered material to investment decisions. Frameworks like SFDR and TCFD have moved environmental impact from the periphery to the centre of fiduciary responsibility and value creation.

These sectors demonstrate a common sequence: recognition, reframing, structural change and institutional commitment. Digital must now follow. The passive stance - it's easier and possible to do nothing - is no longer viable. Customers expect responsible digital delivery. Shareholders demand credible transition plans. Regulation is catching up.

London Climate Week

This article serves as a precursor to the London Climate Week session focused on moving from strategy to action. The priority now is integration: embedding sustainability into core delivery, governance, and evaluation—not treating it as an external or discretionary activity. This will require bold leadership, new decision-making models, and professional norms that make environmental performance an expected outcome, not a bonus.

The shift is underway. But progress will depend on those willing to stop waiting and start building what comes next.

GoCodeGreen is a finalist in Computing’s Digital Technology Leaders Awards.

Eric Zie is a globally recognised leader in sustainable digital transformation, with a 30-year career in technology and innovation. He is the Founder and CEO of GoCodeGreen, a certified B-Corp that provides pioneering IT environmental measurement solutions, and the GCG Learning Academy, which promotes digital sustainability education. Eric's influence extends to his role as Vice Chair of TechUK's Climate Council and partner to the United Nations ITU, where he collaborates to shape sustainable practices in the digital sector.