Technology For Net Zero Goals

How are organizations prioritizing people and the planet alongside profit?

What strategies are companies putting in place to mitigate climate change? Global tech and business solutions company NTT is leveraging its pioneering technologies to become carbon neutral by 2040.

As the environmental crisis becomes an urgent priority globally, both governments and businesses are under pressure to take actions that slow climate change. The case for organizations to prioritize people and the planet alongside profit is gaining momentum, and a collaborative effort is required to stem carbon emissions.

The global technology and business solutions company NTT is one of many purpose-led organizations determined to innovate and work with others to drive real change. The company is leveraging its technology to enable a more sustainable future for all of us. Realizing the urgent need to take firmer action, NTT Group published its new initiative in September and updated its Global Sustainability Charter in November.

These new frameworks commit NTT to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2030 compared to 2013. Additionally, the company is on track to be carbon neutral across its value chain by 2040.

Leveraging technology for good

NTT’s research indicates that an increasing number of organizations are also taking action to help create a sustainable future—spurred largely by the coronavirus pandemic’s fallout. Its white paper, Innovation with Purpose: For the Trusted Digital Future, published in October, found that almost all respondents (94 percent) accept that “the pandemic has heightened expectations that large corporations will serve the interests of all stakeholders and not just shareholders.” With over half (56 percent) agreeing “strongly.”

Encouragingly, 99.7 percent of respondents have established at least one strategy to minimize environmental impacts. On average, they have set up four. Also, more than half (57 percent) have—like NTT—set environmental targets or are developing plans to pivot toward renewable energy and look for energy savings and greater efficiency.

Ultimately, the research confirms that as the world learns to live with Covid-19, people and the planet are becoming increasingly important for organizations of all sizes rather than just profit.

“As one of the largest technology companies in the world, we have an obligation to make that world a more connected and sustainable place long into the future.”

NTT’s net-zero target is within reach thanks to the organization’s continued commitment to developing pioneering tech and collaborating with experts.

“Creating a more sustainable and connected future sits at the heart of our business strategy,” says Abhijit Dubey, Global Chief Executive Officer of NTT. “Rather than be just another IT vendor, we show up with the purpose of harnessing technology to make the world a better place. This is good for business, and it’s simply the right thing to do.”

Commitment to green innovation

Central to NTT’s environment and energy vision, and its ambition to achieve net-zero by 2040, is its focus on green innovation in the fields of high-performance networking and computing, artificial intelligence and advanced-learning technologies that can support sustainability.

In addition, the company will leverage its breakthrough innovations to address environmental issues through more sustainable business activities and improving economic growth, resulting in a virtuous circle that will benefit everyone.

For example, its sustainable business activities include new eco-friendly processes at data centers and across 15 companies in its mobile network arm, NTT DOCOMO Group. Also, NTT is investing in the research and development of critical technologies for digital-twin computing (DTC). NTT is focused on building a collaborative system with external partners aimed at academic research, technology development and social implementation. Realizing the DTC concept will empower citizens by integrating technologies and services.

Digital-twin technology will help NTT and other organizations achieve its net-zero targets by unlocking efficiencies, reducing energy usage, and enabling smarter use of data. Leaders then can make better decisions and fewer costly mistakes from financial and environmental perspectives. The technology can also be used to help cities become more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. Virtual models can guide planning decisions and offer solutions to the many complex challenges faced by modern cities.

Furthermore, NTT is investing heavily in its IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) concept for networks and information processing infrastructure. The aim is to use high-speed, high-capacity communication and new optical technologies combined with computational resources to substantially lower energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent.

With the right partnerships, NTT believes IOWN can be achieved by 2030. Its benefits will bridge various research themes, remove current technological barriers and enable further innovation that contributes to a sustainable future and the company’s net-zero goals.

“We will continue making investments in technology, people and programs to achieve these goals,” says Mr. Dubey. “As one of the largest technology companies in the world, we have an obligation to make that world a more connected and sustainable place long into the future.”

Wall Street Journal Custom Content is a unit of The Wall Street Journal advertising department.

The Wall Street Journal news organization was not involved in the creation of this content.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Toward A Better Us

NTT Group’s updated Global Sustainability Charter recognizes the urgent need to collaborate, innovate and move toward a highly connected society that embraces diverse cultures.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Technology For Individual Health And Wellbeing

Learn why good health and wellbeing are essential to sustainable development

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Heart To Heart

How will digital twins make high-quality cardiac treatment more accessible? NTT embraces pioneering technologies to improve human health and wellness.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Putting People And The Planet First

By putting sustainability at the heart of their strategy and collaborating with pioneers in other industries, purpose-driven organizations like NTT can help to solve the world’s biggest challenges

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Embracing the Opportunities

It’s natural to respond to the threat of disruption with fear, but it is also possible to develop constructive ways to find radical innovations of your own.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Public Safety

Data and analytics are crucial for the creation of smart cities, and can accelerate urban development while improving safety and quality of life for residents and workers.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Seeking Inspiration from Silicon Valley

Today’s biggest innovation challenges require talent from across the world, and diverse perspectives, as technology giant NTT has learned.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Reshaping Our World

Leveraging our technology expertise, NTT is protecting frontline hospitals from cyberattacks. NTT believes in the power of technology to positively contribute to society.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Rethink The Traditional

How we live, learn and work is undergoing profound change, and technology is moving fast to facilitate that. Practical digital transformation is what we must focus on now.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

How Digital Tools Are Improving Global Health

Digital technologies are providing valuable tools to tackle global health crises from Covid-19 to dementia and heart disease.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Tech for Good

Contributing to society is not a new concept for NTT, the Japanese global technology and business solutions company – for over a century – it has considered it a duty to serve the tax-paying public who supported it.

WSJ Delivering the Next Level

Delivering the Next Level

The world of global business is changing faster than ever before. Find out what makes NTT equipped for the challenges ahead, and how is the company positioned to take themselves and their clients to the next level.

lancher