NetZero commitments have always been something of a political football. The UK Tory leadership contest to see who will be the country’s next Prime Minister is a sad example of how it is being used to gain popularity, with either those that believe climate change is real or those that somehow don’t. There is little conviction. The same can be said of a number of large corporations. As a New Climate Institute report found earlier this year, well known brands, such as Amazon, Ikea, Nestle and Unilever seem to be toying with the NetZero idea, perhaps for the sake of marketing and PR.

That’s the problem. How do businesses make real in-roads into reducing emissions and avoid accusations of greenwash? The first step is accepting responsibility and we need leaders that are prepared to stand up and take action. Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s claim that the UK has “led the world” in tackling climate change is laughable. This and previous governments have made little, if any impact on tackling climate change.

Now, as most of Europe experiences record temperatures, spontaneous house fires and water shortages, the issue is more pronounced. Something needs to happen now and technology leaders can play a significant role in making the changes that can have a real difference. As McKinsey suggests in a recent article, “CIOs face increasing opportunities—and responsibilities—to lead transformation, particularly in achieving net-zero—or carbon negative—climate sustainability objectives.”

Technology is both an opportunity and solution in tackling climate change but it is also a risk. It comes with caveats. As the article continues, “IoT sensors, AI and advanced analytics, and blockchain-enabled technologies can be used in aggregating real-time data and optimizing processes to reduce environmental impact. At the same time, many argue some technology innovations have a cost of use as they boost demand on the power grid; CIOs need to balance those costs against the benefits of these technologies.”

At the recent IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona, this “cost of use” was discussed widely in open forums. There was recognition that the solution can also add to the problem, particularly in the area of dark data (broadly defined as the data stored by organisations that has little or no analytical value). While some dark data will no doubt be required for compliance purposes, many firms will be storing large amounts of data that they do not require. As we increasingly shift to automation using IoT sensors to collate data, this is a growing problem that needs addressing.

“Many local authorities have been in an arms race to declare an earlier net-zero target,” said Mark Apsey, managing director of renewable energy and efficiency company Ameresco, speaking at IoT World Congress in Barcelona in May 2022.

The problem is scale. Some authorities are setting “hugely ambitious” targets, according to Apsey. Manchester City Council has set itself a net-zero target of 2038, Carmarthenshire County Council in South Wales has set a target of 2030, while Bristol City Council has gone even further. Its 2030 target includes reducing the entire city’s carbon, including private residential and commercial sectors, as well as council buildings and partners.

While all of these authorities have addressed the obvious, such as installing LED lighting, insulation and so on, there are some significant challenges in the IT department. The impact of datacentres has been a concern for some time, and for a while the solution seemed to be cloud-based computing. But, of course, that’s just shifting the problem. Data still has to be stored somewhere, and while organisations look for efficiencies in services, through IoT strategies for example, that data is multiplying. With that comes cost and carbon.

It comes as no great surprise that a recent survey by energy company E.On and The local government chronicle found that 53% of UK councils are not confident about hitting their net-zero targets. The challenge is huge and multifaceted.