Environmental work and Performance indicators within the IT-industry -a case study of Volvo IT, TeliaSonera and Sun Microsystems

Abstract

Background and Problem: The enormous industrial expansion that started in the period of the Second World War has caused an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and resulted in global warming. Organizations interact within a dynamic world, dependent on the different requirements of stakeholders. The growing interest of environmental issues amongst stakeholders has forced companies to adapt to new demands and therefore take their environmental impact seriously. However, companies cannot consider environmental issues in isolation, without also consider the financial and social implications. In today’s society companies have begun to realize that working environmentally friendly can be profitable. This study is done on behalf of Volvo IT. Volvo IT is initiating the process of working in a more environmentally friendly way. For this purpose Volvo IT is gathering information to be better prepared for their future environmental work. Purpose and Method: The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how Volvo IT, TeliaSonera and Sun Microsystems work today with environmental issues. The information was collected through interviews with respondents at the three organizations. By describing and analyzing how TeliaSonera and Sun Microsystems use environmental performance indicators we would like to provide Volvo IT with suggestions how they can improve their environmental work. On top of that we will also study how the environmental work affects the finances of these Information Technology-companies. Conclusion: Volvo IT does not use environmental performance indicators. However by studying TeliaSonera and Sun Microsystems we have come to the conclusion that using environmental performance indicators could be a useful approach for Volvo IT in controlling environmental work. We have noticed that environmental work could lead to positive financial effects for the businesses, but that would depend on the type of investment chosen. Positive effects in terms of cost reductions are easier to identify as well as quantify, whilst intangible benefits such as an improved company image is more difficult to measure. Suggestions for further studies: To study organizations in other types of businesses, such as more traditional manufacturing organizations.