t: 0333 666 5777e: hello@itgl.com
ITGL Limited, Trafalgar House,
223 Southampton Road,
Portsmouth, PO6 4PY
As a leading digital consultancy, we firmly believe that the technology industry is in a unique position to drive digital transformation and technological advancement that actively improves our environment, and helps organisations to more intelligently use and save energy. At ITGL, we strive to achieve this, as well as continually improving our own practice, developing a culture of sustainability across our business.
We understand that as a key supplier to the education sector, everything we do to improve our own practice also helps support our clients in meeting their Scope 3 emissions reduction targets. We believe that improving sustainability is not just a business strategy, but a responsibility to our clients, employees, and the communities we serve, and a vital part of being a partner in positivity.
To achieve these goals, ITGL is committed to achieving net zero by 2025. In 2022, we engaged ClimatePartner to help us calculate our baseline annual carbon emissions, and to use its certified methodology to produce a full carbon report for our organisation. More information on sustainability within ITGL can be found on our dedicated Sustainability page.
Electronic waste has become the world’s fastest-growing waste stream. The education sector can have a significant collective impact on e-waste, with continual pressure to replace IT equipment in order to keep up with the latest developments, maintain reliable services, and improve student experiences.
As we've written previously, it's vital that steps are taken to limit the material that enters into the e-waste stream, while ensuring the burden of doing so is not laid solely at the feet of the clients replacing their equipment. At ITGL we've pioneered the use of remanufactured hardware, where appropriate, to reduce the addition of new raw materials into the supply chain and ensure that we are re-using materials where possible. We also encourage our clients to make use of Cisco's Takeback and Reuse Program, which ensures that 99.9% of all returned equipment is either reused or recycled responsibly by Cisco. Finally, by building network infrastructure that is more sustainable by design, we are helping institutions reduce the need for regular replacement in the first place, and keeping equipment out of landfill.
The substantial fluctuations in energy costs we've seen over the last few years have helped to underscore the importance of running networks as efficiently as possible. There are many ways to optimise networks towards that goal, from integrating modern data centres that require less power (and less cooling to keep safe!), to utilising power-saving modes, and using data insights to fine-tune environmental controls.
Optimising your network in this way will not only future-proof your organisation against increasing energy bills, but also brings the additional benefit of reducing carbon emissions and supporting your own journey to net zero.
Your institution may be focusing on science-based targets, working towards BCorp certification, or achieving PAS 2060 – all in addition to the crucial government target of reaching net zero by 2050. To achieve these, we need to run the numbers – reducing carbon emissions, power consumption, and waste – but we also need to ensure that we are continuing to foster a culture of sustainability throughout our organisations and our supply chains. Finding the right partner to support you on this journey and build this culture with you is key to success.
ITGL remains committed to driving environmental as well as financial sustainability for our clients, and ensuring these goals compliment, rather than curb, each other. Alongside our own journey to net zero by 2025, we're helping our clients to bring down their own energy usage through smart deployment of automation and the optimisation of their estates.
Assessing potential environmental impacts and improvements is always integral to our approach with any client. Smart monitoring of estates can improve air quality in workplaces and reduce emissions through increased efficiencies. Deployment of collaboration technology reduces travel requirements, and comprehensive Wi-Fi architecture enables greater engagement with and creation of green spaces on campus. Smart building technologies can ensure energy is conserved, costs are reined in, and your institution’s carbon footprint is minimised.
What's more, the benefits of investing in truly sustainable infrastructure reach beyond just the environmental. As our own Simon Furber's recent blog on the UCISA website explores, investment in the right infrastructure can unlock flexibility and creativity within your staff and student body, while at the same time enabling greater financial predictability in the long term.
At ITGL, we understand that all education organisations will be in a different place on their sustainability journey – just as we are continually developing our own. That’s why we work with you to understand your needs, your goals, and your ambitions. We’re ready to meet you where you are, and to take the next step together towards a greener future.
Case studies
As part of the UK presidency of the G7 in 2021, the G7 summit was hosted in the resort of Carbis Bay in Cornwall. This was billed as an opportunity for the world’s leading democracies to reach major new agreements ...
Read moreDelegates from around the globe gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The ITGL team worked together with our partners at ...
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