At first blush, technology and the environment seem to be strange bedfellows. In the 20th century much technological development occurred without consideration of the environmental impacts of technological development. The internal combustion engine, plastics, nuclear power and nuclear weapons are all good examples of how technology developed without regard for the environmental consequences and although this technological development occurred with great economic benefits to society and raised the living standards of millions of people in the twenty first century a new ethical framework for the development of technology is beginning.

It appears that our best hopes for transitioning the economy to a carbon neutral basis lie in the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy technology. Further advancements in battery technology, grid energy storage systems and even artificially intelligent weather prediction systems which can improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources are all meaningful ways that technologists are contributing to the new infrastructure which will be needed to transition the world to a carbon neutral economy.

Interestingly, some of the tech giants are also some of the most forward thinking companies in relation to sustainability. Apple has already committed to being 100 percent renewable energy powered, as have Google and Facebook. Obviously, Tesla is at the forefront of the development of electric vehicle and renewable energy technology and Amazon has committed to making its network of delivery trucks fully electric. The innovative nature of the tech industry is a powerful tool for achieving changes to the structure of the economy which previously were not possible. Even Uber has begun to try to incentivise drivers to begin using hybrid and electric vehicles due to their sustainability and comparative energy efficiency to internal combustion engine vehicles.

The COVID19 pandemic has also begun to make it clear that there are a number of benefits to working from home using video conferencing and remote working technology which also benefit the environment by reducing the amount of time people spend commuting and sitting in traffic. In our enterprise, we try very hard to ensure that our practices are sustainable. We also aim to collaborate with clients that want to make their IT operations more sustainable and friendly to the environment. We have often found that making IT infrastructure more environmentally friendly also results in cost savings to the users of IT infrastructure.