Supporting our customers – putting sustainability into practice

21st February 2023

by Richard Farrell

When we look at putting sustainability into practice, it’s clear the worldwide focus on sustainability is shifting from words to action. Along with energy instability, organisations are being urged by investors to address their societal and sustainability impact. Changing regulations and reporting are also behind this drive to develop sustainable products and services — and more efficient supply chain processes — to save costs and enhance reputation.

The UN’s COP27 and COP15 address climate change and biodiversity. And the outcomes of both point clearly to the need for organisations to create action plans that relieve human stress on our climate and nature.

Taking the lead in sustainability, many large organisations are already actively looking for ways to face the challenge of climate change head on. Netcall’s customers, like them, are seeking new and innovative approaches to save energy and pivot to more climate-friendly ways of working.

How can organisations put sustainability into practice?

As firms across the UK are held accountable for their sustainability records, we’re already seeing a widespread shift to greener operations amongst our customers. As well as cutting down on printing and paper volumes, many have already embraced the inherent value in growing digital services.

And while they may be at different stages of their digital journeys, greater efficiency and a smaller carbon footprint are translating into real savings. In challenging economic times, it’s why digital remains high on the agenda for leaders in public and private sectors.

Two of our public sector customers are seeing tangible results from their sustainability efforts. Thanks to our Patient Hub solution, Hampshire Hospitals went from managing 8,000 letter types to just three templates. Royal Cornwall Hospital see efficiency and patient experience through the patient portal, where 70% of patients now access appointments directly. Patient Hub is actively adding momentum in achieving their sustainable development goals — enhancing patient care, while cutting down on paper, printing and postage, and protecting already stretched resources.

Building on from their App of the Year win in 2021, DI Blue — a private sector business — launched its new environmental management app. Using our low-code platform, Liberty Create, the new Emi offers an easy-to-use solution that helps organisations implement their ISO 14001 environmental performance objectives. And their efforts saw them recognised once more on the App of the Year 2022 shortlist.

What’s Netcall doing about sustainability?

When talk becomes action, real change can happen. Along with our focus on achieving ‘carbon-neutral’ status by 2026, we’ve cut Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 30% since last year.  Netcall has purchased carbon offsets at the Loch Ness Afforestation Project — which has seen the planting of a permanent, diverse and native forest that will join up with other established forests. See Netcall’s latest Environmental Sustainability Report.

Helping our customers across all sectors — local government, health and business — our Liberty Platform is supporting positive digital change by putting sustainability into practice.  Using our Liberty solutions, Netcall customers are already cutting resource requirements and associated office and transportation costs, like contact centre agents working from home. But a key method to reduce their energy use is to migrate from on-site solutions to the cloud.

Looking to the cloud

Cloud operators use their massive scale to adopt large-scale efficiency innovations.

In 2014, the US Natural Resources Defense Council’s report on data centre efficiency showed average server utilisation remained static at 12% to 18% between 2006 and 2012, while hyperscalers could achieve 40% to 70%. Higher utilisation is more efficient. That’s why the move of Netcall customer workloads to the cloud will cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, helping our customers meet their net zero targets.

Our own cloud providers are also committed to renewable power, helping drive a more sustainable world — by designing data centres that deliver efficient and resilient service, while minimising our environmental footprint.

We continue our journey to measure and improve our impact on the environment — achieving our target of reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions to net zero by 2022. And we’ve been validated by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), committing to science-based 1.5°C and net zero targets.

It’s a future that’s looking brighter than ever, and we remain committed to supporting every one of our customers to achieve their sustainability vision — putting words into action.