Technology leaders as catalysts for sustainable transformation: Embracing the green mandate

Technology-driven transformation and climate accountability

Across industries, companies have made ambitious climate commitments. According to our study¹, 96% have adopted or are planning to adopt Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goals. Yet more than a third are already experiencing delays in reaching these targets. Complicating matters, IT and artificial intelligence (AI) contribute substantially to organizations’ carbon footprints, and this impact is projected to grow significantly over the next five years. Despite this, digital transformation and climate strategy often remain siloed, with few companies achieving true integration between their IT and sustainability agendas.

Measurement is another challenge. IT’s carbon footprint is frequently tracked separately from the overall emissions of the organization, and fewer than a quarter of technology leaders are involved in defining the company’s overarching climate objectives. Looking forward, it is imperative that the technology mandate explicitly incorporates sustainability leadership. CIOs and technology leaders must become champions of accountability, bridging the gap between tech innovation and climate responsibility.

Sustainability performance monitoring: Enabling leaders to drive green transformation 

More than half of respondents feel they lack the right tools to effectively manage sustainability within their companies. There is strong consensus that a dedicated digital ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) platform is the best solution for steering organizational sustainability. The need for digitalization is growing across all areas of sustainability, with companies prioritizing digital solutions to better measure impacts, such as biodiversity.

To truly drive green transformation, CIOs and technology leaders must be empowered with robust, integrated platforms that enable precise tracking, management, and reporting of sustainability performance.

Supplier management: From opaque to transparent ecosystems

Obtaining environmental data from suppliers through technology purchases is a critical factor in strengthening the credibility and robustness of a company’s environmental footprint. The majority of technology leaders now demand product or service-level information, and a third require life cycle assessments (LCA) and evidence of reduction commitments. Despite these high expectations, effective data collection remains a significant challenge. Forty-one percent of CIOs do not receive the necessary greenhouse gas (GHG) data from their suppliers.

This lack of transparency undermines the credibility of corporate reduction efforts, with only one-third of technology leaders able to consider meaningful reduction commitments. To address this, technology leaders must deploy ESG systems, working closely with procurement and sustainability teams to deliver quality, auditability, and automation. By doing so, they can transform supplier ecosystems from opaque to transparent, enhancing accountability throughout the value chain.

_{¹ Based on BearingPoint’ sustainability survey conducted in February 2026 among 510 C-level executives and senior leaders in technology and sustainability across Europe and the USA}