Sustainability is moving from boardroom aspiration to IT execution. CIOs are uniquely positioned to lead that charge, and it starts with only a few high-impact moves. 

Enterprise sustainability initiatives are evolving, and IT is at the forefront of this transformation. From energy consumption and equipment waste to vendor partnerships and cloud strategy, IT operations carry a substantial environmental footprint. 

As organizations double down on their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, CIOs play a critical role. In fact, . The good news? Sustainable IT doesn’t require a complete overhaul. 

5 Ways CIOs Can Build a More Sustainable IT Environment in 2025

1. Adopt Cloud-First Policies with Green Providers

Key actions: Prioritize cloud providers with renewable-powered data centers, use sustainability-focused SLAs, and adopt cloud-native tools to track emissions. highlights how cloud migrations, particularly to providers utilizing renewable energy and energy-efficient cooling, have enabled enterprises to reduce operational costs and environmental impact. These gains stem from the efficiencies and green technologies that leading cloud vendors have implemented on a large scale.

Key benefits:

• Reduced operational costs
• Smaller carbon footprint
• Improved alignment with ESG goals

Adopting a cloud-first approach extends beyond modernization; it’s a step toward both environmental and financial sustainability. Moving workloads to the cloud reduces your carbon footprint. Not all providers are equal, leading hyperscalers to invest in renewable energy, water-saving cooling, and carbon-neutral data centers. A cloud-first policy with sustainability-focused SLAs ensures efficient and eco-friendly IT operations.

Quick stat: Google Cloud operates at 1.1 PUE, one of the lowest in the industry, powered by 100% renewable energy.

2. Establish Device Buyback and Recycling Programs

Implementation checklist: Partner with OEMs and ITAD providers, establish buyback and refurbishment policies, and educate users on device return practices. By extending the life of devices and reducing landfill waste, CIOs can simultaneously cut procurement costs and improve ESG metrics. Partnering with vendors that support sustainable lifecycle services ensures responsible device retirement and promotes a greener IT footprint.

Key strategies:

• Partner with OEMs and ITAD (IT Asset Disposition) providers
• Promote buyback and refurbishment internally.
• Utilize certified recyclers for the end-of-life management of devices.

Pro tip: Standardizing device models enhances repairability and resale value, thereby improving sustainability.

3. Optimize Data Center Energy with AI-Powered DCIM Tools

Benefits of DCIM: Gain insights into real-time energy consumption, optimize cooling with AI tools, and uncover underutilized hardware for improved capacity planning. DCIM tools (Data Center Infrastructure Management) not only uncover energy-saving opportunities but also help IT leaders make data-driven decisions about power distribution and hardware utilization. Integrating AI-powered analytics with DCIM can further enhance efficiencies, reduce PUE, and support an agile, green IT environment.

Core functions of DCIM:

• Real-time monitoring of energy and power density
• Visualization of underused assets
• AI-driven workload optimization

Dell Example: A mid-sized financial services company reduced energy costs by 18% within a year of deploying AI-powered DCIM.

4. Switch to Energy-Star Certified Infrastructure

Dell’s research highlights the benefits of using ENERGY STAR-certified hardware, showing that organizations experience significant reductions in both cooling costs and energy consumption.

When refreshing servers, storage, and networking gear, it’s essential to choose equipment that meets ENERGY STAR or similar energy-efficiency standards. These certified components use less power and generate less heat, which in turn reduces the cooling requirements of data centers.

Additionally, industry ESG findings suggest that companies standardizing on ENERGY STAR-certified equipment can achieve substantial savings in energy and cooling costs. This approach is often aligned with utility rebate programs, offering a clear return on investment.

As data centers become more complex and larger, each watt saved adds up. Therefore, opting for energy-efficient hardware isn’t just an environmentally conscious decision; it’s also a strategic one.

Bonus: Many utility providers offer rebates or financial incentives to businesses that invest in certified energy-efficient equipment, helping offset the upfront costs while encouraging greener operations.

5. Build Sustainability into IT Vendor Scorecards

CIOs can boost sustainability by incorporating ESG metrics, like emissions reporting, environmental certifications, and e-waste recovery organization, into vendor evaluations. Leading vendors now publish emissions data and sustainability benchmarks; integrating these into procurement scorecards promotes transparency and accountability. Including ESG criteria in RFPs and ongoing assessments ensures partners align with your environmental goals. Prioritize vendors with clear sustainability roadmaps, emissions tracking, and ethical sourcing practices to strengthen your organization’s ESG impact.

What to include: Carbon emissions reporting, environmental certifications, e-waste handling, and green logistics.

Measuring Success: The KPIs That Matter

Sustainability efforts are only as strong as the metrics that back them. CIOs should establish clear KPIs such as:

• Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
• IT asset recovery rate
• Carbon offset percentage
• Renewable energy usage
• Lifecycle extension per device class

How WEI Is Driving IT Sustainability

At WEI, sustainability is not a buzzword; it’s embedded into how we operate and deliver IT solutions. Our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Plan outlines aggressive goals in energy efficiency, environmental impact, and community involvement. From deploying HVAC economizers that cut cooling needs by 90% during peak seasons to sourcing Energy Star-certified equipment and utilizing LED lighting throughout our facilities, we are reducing our carbon footprint one initiative at a time.

Our delivery strategies reduce fuel use by 50%, and we’re committed to exploring solar and wind energy options to offset emissions further. Additionally, WEI works closely with clients to integrate sustainable IT practices into their infrastructure, whether advising on green cloud migrations, optimizing data centers, or selecting eco-conscious vendors.

Next Steps

To build a sustainable IT environment, begin with a clear roadmap that strikes a balance between quick wins and long-term goals.

Start with an audit:

• Identify energy-intensive systems.
• Track underutilized assets and inefficient workflows.
• Use DCIM, cloud calculators, and asset inventories to assess impact.

With this baseline, refresh procurement policies and prioritize green-certified vendors. Look for partners committed to sustainability, not just compliance.

• Leverage solutions like ENERGY STAR-certified infrastructure, AI-powered DCIM, and cloud-first architecture to align environmental and ROI goals.
• Cultural change matters too; embedding ESG into procurement and operations drives smarter, climate-conscious decisions.

Ready to act?
WEI can help turn your ESG goals into measurable outcomes through tailored DCIM and cloud-first strategies.

Final Thoughts

IT sustainability is no longer a fringe conversation. It’s now a strategic imperative and a business differentiator. Dell’s 2024 ESG report confirmed that sustainable IT investments can simultaneously reduce environmental impact and improve operational efficiency. At WEI, the right technology and strategy lowers emissions, reduces costs, and supports employee well-being.

WEI’s Corporate Responsibility Plan demonstrates what’s possible, from reducing HVAC energy use by 90% to adopting LED lighting and smart delivery routing. Our commitment to green IT initiatives shows we’re practicing sustainability, not just talking about it.

As enterprises prepare for 2025, sustainability should be central to every IT roadmap. These five strategies provide CIOs with a blueprint for a greener, more responsible IT future, without compromising performance or cost. The path to sustainable IT is already underway.

Next Steps: Between AI adoption, hybrid cloud, and cyber threats, your next storage refresh needs to do more than just expand capacity…it must futureproof your infrastructure.

This exclusive tech brief from WEI and Dell Technologies breaks down everything you should demand from your next storage solution. Download our exclusive tech brief, 

The post 5 Ways CIOs Can Build a More Sustainable IT Environment in 2025 appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Environmental sustainability now matters. Many companies are adopting sustainability objectives to fulfill their duty to the environment, comply with regulations, enhance market competitiveness, realize cost savings, and meet investor expectations. An integral component of these sustainability efforts is making sustainable purchasing decisions.

For your benefit, WEI has identified five key attributes of IT product purchasing that are known to have a positive impact on the environment.

1. Product Packaging

The issue of e-waste is a significant concern, and for good reason. With the rapid advancements dictated by Moore’s Law and now further accelerated by AI, computing devices quickly become obsolete, necessitating their disposal to accommodate new product cycles. Alongside e-waste, there’s a related concern and that’s packaging waste. By adopting sustainable packaging, companies can diminish their environmental impact through waste reduction, resource conservation, and the use of recycled or biodegradable materials.

Packaging should prioritize renewable or recycled materials that are sourced through clean production technologies and, where feasible, renewable energy sources. Small details, such as avoiding chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons in foaming agents and steering clear of ozone-depleting substances in packaging materials, can have a significant environmental impact. For enhanced recyclability, companies committed to sustainability, like HPE, advise against the use of permanent adhesives that bind different materials together, facilitating easier separation and recycling at the product’s end of life.

While transitioning to sustainable packaging may incur initial expenses, it promises substantial long-term savings. Streamlined packaging design not only cuts down on material and shipping costs through lighter and more compact packaging but can significantly lower waste management expenses.

2. End-of-use Services

The fact that a computing device no longer meets your company’s needs does not necessarily mean it has reached its end of life (EOL). To others, these IT products might still have significant utility. That is why extending the life of IT equipment, reducing environmental impacts, and making products accessible to more people through hardware repair and refurbishment programs should be a priority. Here are some notable examples:

• Refurbishing and Reselling: This is the ultimate product extension as used IT equipment can be restored to working condition and sold again. This practice not only prolongs the lifespan of devices but also lessens the demand for new raw materials.
• Donation Programs: An alternative is donating operational, used IT equipment to educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and communities in need, thereby maximizing the devices’ usefulness.
• Recycling Programs: For products beyond repair, various companies specialize in collecting non-functional electronics and their components. These entities then extract valuable materials for reuse in new products while ensuring the safe disposal of toxic substances.

Remember, equipment must be dismantled and recycled following Responsible Recycling (R2) standards. Given that many computing devices can retain data, it’s crucial to either physically destroy the storage or wipe it clean to safeguard sensitive information. These data erasure processes should adhere to the Department of Defense 5220.22-M recommendations or exceed them to ensure the highest level of security.

Video: WEI Corporate Sustainability

3. Leasing and Managed Services

In addition to thinking about computing equipment at the end of the product cycle, consideration should be given to how your company obtains equipment in the first place. Opting for leased IT equipment and managed services can present substantial environmental advantages over the traditional buy-own-retire approach. Leasing promotes the reuse and recycling of equipment, as items are returned to the lessor at the end of the lease term. These can then be refurbished and leased again, prolonging the lifecycle of the products beyond just one user. Such leasing arrangements also drive manufacturers to create more durable and repairable equipment knowing that these items will be returned for potential re-leasing. This encourages an investment in quality and sustainable design, resulting in longer-lasting products that are simpler to refurbish.

When choosing a provider, it’s crucial to consider not just the product, service, and price, but also their disposal capabilities and their commitment to strict business and process controls that comply with environmental regulations. Don’t forget to ask for the verification of secure disposal methods to assure data privacy.

4. Supply Chain Responsibility

Many companies are scrutinizing their supply chains to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and meet sustainability goals. This scrutiny should extend to the supply chain of your IT equipment vendors, as their practices significantly play a role in your own efforts to uphold social and environmental responsibilities.

In addition to your own direct sustainability efforts, look for suppliers at the forefront of sustainability. They should innovate with eco-friendly materials, leverage advanced recycling technologies, and/or design products that prioritize energy efficiency.

Choose suppliers that are subject to third-party audits and possess certifications from esteemed organizations that underscore their sustainability commitment. These certifications may cover environmental stewardship, social responsibility, or specific industry accolades. A practical starting point is to choose suppliers that adhere to the Responsible Business Alliance’s (RBA) Code of Conduct, formerly known as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC). This code represents a comprehensive set of standards adopted across the electronics industry, highlighting a shared commitment to ethical practices and sustainability.

Watch this three-part the CUBE Executive Interview Series to learn how to make your enterprise more sustainable through innovative IT from AMD, HPE, and WEI.

5. Organizational Performance

A clear path toward environmental sustainability for any company involves establishing a policy that explicitly enforces eco-friendly practices. An environmental policy serves as the foundation for all the company’s environmental actions and signals to clients and partners a commitment to sustainability.

For example, ensure that your suppliers maintain a written corporate environmental policy aligned with the comprehensive standards specified in the environmental policy section of They should also have an Environmental Management System (EMS) that meets the requirements of ISO 14001 and reporting efforts should adhere to those same standards as well.

Conclusion

Yes, it all adds a little more effort to the purchasing process, but it’s precisely these small, cumulative steps across the corporate world that lead to significant outcomes. Such efforts yield substantial dividends for the planet, acting as valuable investments in our collective environmental future.

Next Steps: Companies must roll up their sleeves and work proactively to address IT sustainability as IT leaders and the personnel they oversee face growing pressure to significantly reduce emissions. to learn more about these five proven sustainability strategies to serve as a starting point:

1. Energy efficiency
2. Equipment efficiency
3. Resource efficiency
4. Software efficiency
5. Data efficiency

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Today, many businesses are striving to be good corporate citizens to help ensure a sustainable world for future generations. Adopting environmentally and socially responsible practices, obtaining various sustainability certifications, and engaging in cause-related marketing are increasingly popular as they resonate with consumers who value sustainability.

A critical area for sustainability efforts is reducing power consumption, particularly within an organization’s IT estate. It has become common knowledge that data centers are notorious for high power usage. What may be lesser known is that the energy consumed is often inefficiently allocated. For example, a 2020 study revealed that over in data centers went to processing just 7% of the workload, underscoring the inefficiencies in older equipment.

This has led to the creation of new metrics such as , (PUE) which calculates the ratio of total energy consumed by the data center to the energy used solely by the computers. For example, older data centers typically expended more energy on cooling than on computing power, but advancements in cooling technology have significantly lowered this energy requirement.

Watch this three-part theCUBE Executive Interview Series to learn how to make your enterprise more sustainable through innovative IT from AMD, HPE, and WEI.

Sustainable IT Solutions On The Horizon

In the same way that household appliances are designed for better energy efficiency each year, modern servers and IT infrastructure are much more energy-efficient than their predecessors as improved application performance requires less servers. While the benefits of updating data center technology are clear, decisions on when to refresh equipment are often based on financial metrics such as total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI). However, these metrics do not always consider the full lifecycle impacts on performance, staffing, environmental effects, or the advantages of strategic lifecycle management.

Good intentions alone, without a strategic plan, remain mere intentions. Achieving sustainability goals necessitates careful planning and meticulous attention to detail. Here are four key benefits of optimizing technology refresh cycles.

1. Performance, power, and space benefits

Reducing the footprint of your data center has obvious benefits for your organization and the environment. While servers are an obvious target to capture power efficiency gains, they only serve as part of the equation. For instance, a typical storage environment can consume over 25% of the power consumed by a data center. Simple steps such as ensuring the transition from HDDs to SDDs can have a significant impact. In addition, RAID levels, compression, and deduplication technologies all have a direct impact on storage footprint and rack space capacity. Even the choice of your wireless technology can play a significant role as the recent Wi-Fi 6 standard addresses power management efficiency gains. Asset management must also pay attention to IoT devices as well.

2. Operational and cost efficiency benefits

A formal technology refresh cycle can produce significant operational and cost benefits. These benefits are not necessarily realized in a single task, but achieved through incremental performance improvements across your compute and storage systems. For instance, found that a three-year refresh cycle for servers cut staff management time and costs by 59%. Each refreshed server resulted in operational cost savings of $76,000 over three years when compared to running the older server. Another showed suggested savings of $40K to $180K, per processor, in an Oracle environment with the potential for an almost $5M savings, per processor, for a business intelligence application.

Shorter lifecycles reduce the likelihood of equipment failure, minimize downtime, and decrease productivity losses. From a financial perspective, a regular investment in newer technology facilitates more predictable budgeting by distributing costs over time, avoiding the need for significant one-time expenditures on emergency upgrades or replacements. When you add up the benefits, careful attention to lifecycle management fosters a more efficient, secure, and financially manageable operational environment.

3. Residual Value Return

Even when servers are deemed insufficient for business needs due to technological advancements, higher power consumption, or compatibility issues with new software, they still retain a residual value. A key advantage of regular refresh cycles is resale value optimization. New servers also bring enhanced efficiency, superior performance, and lower maintenance expenses, which can help mitigate the cost of new hardware acquisitions. Planning ahead for product refresh cycles allows organizations to strategically manage their IT assets and ensure that they are always running on hardware that meets their performance and efficiency needs. In the meantime, optimizing the timing of asset disposition to maximize residual value is also taking place. Properly operationalizing this strategy requires careful coordination between IT, finance, facilities management, and procurement departments within an organization.

4. Technology Risk Mitigation

Technology advancements can evolve quickly, which means any technology solution carries an inherent risk of becoming obsolete sooner than expected. Regular refresh cycles ensure that an organization’s IT infrastructure can support new software and technologies, mitigating the risk of obsolescence. Keeping your technology current can be crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage or at worst, keep up and not get left behind. It isn’t just technology obsolescence that is at risk, however. New hardware introduces advanced security features designed to guard against threat actors who exploit vulnerabilities in older systems. Legacy equipment can not only hinder the achievement of business objectives but also increase the risk of disruptive and expensive cyberattacks.

IT Partnerships With IT Sustainability In Mind

When IT assets are more efficient, they perform more computations or store
more data per unit of energy consumed, which leads to lower overall energy usage. This not only diminishes the demand for electricity, which is often generated from fossil fuels, but also reduces the heat generated by
these systems, further decreasing cooling requirements.

Companies must turn to equipment vendors that prioritize efficiency in their products. One example is the HP enterprise-focused company, HPE. A longtime WEI partner, HPE’s GreenLake Central platform provides a holistic view of infrastructure efficiency to enable easier management across a hybrid cloud environment.

To enhance energy efficiency, companies should implement energy management systems such as HPE’s OneView for real-time power monitoring and management to ensure that energy is used most effectively. These solutions help optimize equipment utilization, power consumption and thermal output. Emphasis should also be placed on regularly maintaining cooling systems, power supplies, and hardware to maintain optimal performance. Adopting modular data center designs can minimize energy waste associated with underutilized equipment, while the emergence of micro data centers is contributing to further advancements in this area.

Conclusion

The benefits of embracing regular product lifecycles are manifold, encompassing enhanced operational efficiency, improved security, and greater financial predictability. By staying ahead of technological obsolescence and leveraging the latest advancements, organizations can ensure continuous performance improvement and reduced risk of downtime. Ultimately, shorter product lifecycles represent a strategic investment in the future, positioning businesses to thrive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Contact the WEI team to identify opportunities where IT sustainability can improve the efficiency of your enterprise. In the meantime, you can read our free tech brief,

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