Coping with Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Insights from Digital Business Services

Energies. 2022. Vol. 15. No. 8. Article 2745.

Belousova V., Bondarenko O., Chichkanov N., Lebedev D., Miles I.

Digital Business Services (DBS), industries that have grown rapidly in recent years, played
important roles in facilitating the adoption of digital technologies, as well as having applications in
innovative products, transforming business processes across the economy. If DBS firms are committed
to reducing negative environmental impacts, they should be able to make more positive contributions
to their clients’ performance; for instance, promoting the digitalization of businesses process in
ways that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and inefficient energy usage. But what are DBS
business practices, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and related topics? This study examines the
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures of leading companies providing consultancy,
advertising/marketing, and information technology services. The plans, targets, and actions of DBS
companies with above-average ESG scores, as indexed by the Refinitiv dataset, are examined. The
results indicate that all of these firms express goals, and almost all of them have set clear targets, in
terms of moving to net zero. A wide range of relevant activities is being implemented, including
services that promote energy efficiency. The diversity of these actions suggests that these firms can
learn from each other, and that companies with lower ESG ratings have models to emulate.

Keywords: renewable energy, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), ESG, waste reduction, emissions reduction, digital business services

Publication based on the results of: Monitoring of companies' innovative activity as a driver of their sustainable development in response to climate challenges (2022)