Reducing IT’s Carbon Footprint – Monica Batchelder, Chief Sustainability Officer, HPE

Mar 4, 2024

“During the pandemic, a lot of companies underwent digital transformations…At the same time that that was happening, sustainability was really catching wind, particularly in places like Europe.… (I)f you are a non-manufacturing company, your largest source of operational emissions is probably your IT. So…CIOs now have these mandates trickling down from their CEO or whomever that they need to reduce their energy consumption and their emissions. And they're saying, how do I do that while also meeting these business imperatives?”  Monica Batchelder on Electric Ladies Podcast

Information technologies have a huge carbon footprint, about 1.5% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which equals about all of what the UK emits. It’s about all the electricity those units use, including in their manufacturing process. But, they also reduce the impact of other systems and are critical to our lifestyles, economy and business goals. How we reduce the impact of IT?

Listen to Monica Batchelder, Chief Sustainability Officer of HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprises) in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson to find out.  

You’ll hear:

• How the pandemic accelerated IT carbon management programs.
• What “radical collaboration” is and how HPE is using it to help startups access technologies
• The challenges CIOs are facing today to both reduce IT’s carbon footprint while it’s also the backbone of the system for reducing the impact of the rest of the organization.
• Addressing the conflict minerals challenge, global standards and frameworks, and much more
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“Leadership isn't a title. It's not about having decision making power. It's not about being around the table in the boardroom. If you have the right idea, it is a pragmatic idea, you have built trust in that your peers know that if you bring them an idea, it is going to be thought through and it is going to be sound, and it might be transformative, (then) you will get the buy-in, you need to make change happen… It's about building trust with stakeholders from the start to get your ideas across. And that's how you can create the change you want.” Monica Batchelder on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Michele Mueller, Michele Mueller, Manager of Connected, Automated and Electrification at the Michigan Department of Transportation
• Vanessa Chan, Ph.D, Chief Commercialization Officer of the Department of Energy on transforming our energy systems (and the Inflation Reduction Act funding)
• Joan Michelson on “Doing Sustainability” with Gary Baker, on the balancing act between carbon impact and business and social goals
• Katie McGInty, Chief Sustainability Officer of Johnson Controls, on how to reduce the carbon impact of buildings
• Heather Boushey, Member of the National Council of Economic Advisors in the White House and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet

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