A recent AWS-backed survey on how companies and business leaders are managing decarbonization efforts to reach net-zero emissions in Europe by 2050 found that cloud technology could be the key (or one of many keys) to success.
The survey covered 4,000 companies in the UK, France, Germany and Spain, 96% of which had set emission reduction targets. AND
around three-quarters of business leaders think the technology appeals cloud hosting would accelerate their path to net zero by at least two years, helping them to reach the target by 2048 at the latest.
Cloud in decarbonization
With this in mind, around 20% say they lack the right technology to meet their net-zero goals, and one in five has yet to move to the cloud. Among the many obstacles holding back businesses was the impact of rising costs and economic uncertainty on a global scale.
Despite the challenges, three-quarters of business leaders are confident they can control greenhouse gas emissions. This is in stark contrast to only one in ten measuring Scope 3 emissions, which focuses on indirect emissions along the company’s value chain. Slightly more than half of the surveyed companies measured Scopes 1 (direct emissions from owned or controlled sources) and 2 (indirect emissions from electricity, heating, cooling, etc.).
“I think what’s most interesting is that business leaders who have already used cloud services find that they are more effective at reducing their carbon footprint,” noted Chris Wellise, AWS Director of Sustainability. “The data supports this view as the cloud offers almost any company or public body a less carbon-intensive way to manage IT.”