Opinion: Sustainable digital outcomes – pipeline or pipedream?

All I want for Christmas is a sustainable planet.

The state Rural Fire Services Commissioner is on TV noting that the chances of bushfires flaring up have been pushed back a few weeks due to the rain, so we should survive having a cataclysmic fire event until at least the New Year.

Things aren’t looking very sustainable at the minute.

During several conversations both internally and externally about meeting absolute zero targets (Lendlease Podium is targeting 2040) which go well beyond offsetting emissions to eliminating those directly produced and indirectly generated, both upstream and downstream, by an organisation’s value chain.

This covers every action taken by an organisation from their suppliers through to end users and customers. In short, Scope 3.

Our discussions have been primarily prefaced by deliberating on whether what is currently being undertaken might be too late.  

Digital advances are being made for Scope 3 use cases which could help reduce the impacts of an increase in weather emergencies, expose the challenges and opportunities in meeting sustainability targets, and give me my Christmas wish (hopefully not too far or too late into the future).

And yet, adopting those digital advances is being held back by a bias towards talk rather than action.

Reducing Scope 3 emissions

This month, Dubai hosted COP28 and with it introduced the first Global Stocktake (GST) on the progress made by countries towards their sustainability targets since they were set in the Paris Agreement.

Reaching sustainability targets in the built environment comes with many challenges. Accurately measuring emissions from real estate – particularly indirect emissions that occur in an organisation’s value chain – can be complex.

A key focus for our digital platform and products has been on working out ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions. The digital transformation of the supply chain will be a fundamental enabler in bringing together all the stakeholders involved in constructing and operating a building to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

But this will require action from multiple stakeholders in new and more digital ways - including government and industry collaborating more effectively as part of a digital ecosystem across the entire supply chain lifecycle.

Many organisations are waiting for government policy to force that collaboration. And many government entities are eager for organisations to come up with solutions they can adopt, but not developing policies.

There is currently little regulatory oversight for Scope 3 emissions, and many organisations do not record and report Scope 3 emissions as they are not required to under the federal government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme.

Digital intervention

Until all stakeholders are acting in unison on the approach to reducing Scope 3 emissions, progress will remain slow, joint action will best be taken through digital means.

A digital platform enables the impact of actions being taken by all stakeholders to be modelled, optimised, and enacted efficiently and effectively.  A digital ecosystem covering use cases, reporting, progress and most importantly lessons learned, can achieve greater outcomes faster.

Stakeholders must look beyond the immediate costs of addressing Scope 3 emission reductions and take a long-term view that considers the benefits of achieving reduced emissions and improving energy efficiency, as well as the potential economic advantages, by collaborating.

A faster way of producing sustainable outcomes will be the digital transformation of the supply chain to address Scope 3 emissions. Are you talking about this? Still tackling Scope 1 and 2? Or are you ready to take action?

Colin Dominish is the head of podium services at Lendlease Digital. He is a customer-first digital native with over thirty years of experience in bringing the best digital solutions and expertise from around the world and applying them to infrastructure projects.