Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) continues to be a focus area for many companies. As technology companies shift ever increasingly toward the cloud, it is important to keep up to date with ESG issues that may arise for their own company, their vendors, and clients.
Cloud-based applications can have a positive impact for ESG-focused companies, including by reducing their energy consumption and the overall carbon footprint of their services and products. Shifting to a cloud or choosing a cloud-based environment to deploy its technology may also allow a company to provide its products and services on a larger scale with higher efficiencies.
Large cloud providers have previously stated their commitment to ESG. For example, Microsoft’s 2021 Sustainability Report noted the many ways their cloud data centers continually enhance the services Microsoft provides to reduce the company’s environmental impact, such as by reducing carbon emissions through the use of renewable energies.
As buying decisions and deployment choices continue to take into account a product’s environmental impact, companies will need to continuously evaluate how ESG issues affect their company, vendors, and clients, not just how their cloud or on-premises offerings affect the environment. We will explore these issues and other considerations for technology companies during our September 1 webinar, Why Technology Companies Should Care About ESG Issues. We invite you to join the discussion, and reach out to your Morgan Lewis contact with any additional questions.