Px3 CEO and University of Warwick Research Fellow designs and launches a new customer facing sustainable ICT strategy to drive climate action across the globe
At the Citrix global summit in Florida, USA, Dr. Sutton-Parker joined Area Vice President Michelle De Fonseca to launch the software company’s new IT sustainability strategy designed to deliver GHG abatement for customers in three key areas. Focusing on the lowering end user computing device, data centre and employee commuting carbon footprints, the approach leverages the cloud computing based remote working capability of Citrix solutions.
The launch was accompanied by a strategy brochure called ‘The Sustainability Era’, a ‘Sustainability 101‘ video and full training schedule for Citrix staff interested in taking sustainable IT messages to their customers.
The launch represents the culmination of a project first proposed by Dr. Sutton-Parker in 2016 and presented to Citrix partners in the UK and Nordics as a pilot throughout 2019. Now substantiated by a body of research conducted by Dr. Sutton-Parker, the strategy is to be executed at global level by Citrix from 2020 onwards.
‘As this research makes clear, the choices we make as individuals and businesses can have immediate, cumulative effects and deliver environmental, economic and social benefits that can lead to a more sustainable planet. It’s also clear that by using digital virtualisation and workspace technologies to empower flexible and remote work models, companies can positively impact sustainability.’
Tim Minahan, Executive Vice President for Strategy and Marketing, Citrix
Four years in the making, the strategy was proven by research conducted by Dr. Sutton-Parker that enables the accurate quantification of GHG emissions reduction delivered by Citrix solutions. This includes a) extending device life spans as computing workload moves to cloud data centres, b) using highly efficient data centres powered by renewable energy and c) reducing employee computing with improved remote working capabilities.
‘What we struggled to understand was how we could involve over 100 million customers in our efforts. Essentially, we learned that what Citrix delivers to its customers can be a sustainability solution in and of itself. Currently, my sales, engineering, channel and marketing teams in Northern Europe are being trained on the science and the impact of sustainable workspaces in order to help them take the message to existing and new customers. Yes, this is a marketing message – but the research supporting it validates the environmental gains.’
Michelle Senecal De Fonseca, Area Vice President for Northern Europe, Citrix
The strategy will now be promoted globally via Citrix sales, marketing and technical staff and IT channel partners and distributors with case studies already under way proving how sustainable IT solutions can drive climate action.