Schneider Electric has launched a report that reveals 87% of UK organisations surveyed find themselves torn between doing the right thing for the environment and meeting the business objectives of today.
The Secret to Sustainable Success study has found that while businesses understand the need to become more sustainable in the face of increasing energy demands, nine in ten UK organisations are primarily focused on the short-term economic outlook with only one in ten focused on delivering transformational change.
According to the report, energy consumption is expected to increase by a factor of 1.5 in the next 40 years. To meet climate targets, CO2 emissions must be halved, says Schneider Electric.
Although 79% of organisations feel confident that they can overcome the challenges presented by the increased demand for energy and create a sustainable business for the future, only 13% feel well prepared to address the rapid growth in energy demands.
When looking at how they can address these coming mega trends, 71% of decision-makers believe they will need to go through a period of tougher economic times to deliver a better, more sustainable business. The report illustrates that the mindset around energy usage needs to fundamentally change to deliver against sustainability objectives.
According to the report, almost half of the organisations surveyed are targeting this change through innovation projects – whether it be to use less energy by finding efficiencies in operations, embracing robotics to address the skills gap or adding sensors to identify maintenance needs before they occur.
Additionally, 70% of the businesses surveyed are actively considering digitising operations moving forward. This consideration is triggered by a reduction in energy usage (89.%) and overhead costs (89.9%).
Another 69% of the decision-makers within these business expect to see a noticeable rate of return for digital investments within the first 12 months.
