As sustainability becomes a bigger focus among organizations in all industries, the number of companies using automation to help implement initiatives in that area is already significant and appears to be growing, according to a new report. In a survey from IDC commissioned by intelligent automation technology provider UiPath, more than half of executives polled (54 percent) said their businesses are currently using automation software to implement sustainability initiatives. An additional 24 percent said they plan to do so in the next two years.
“Sustainability is a major strategic priority for businesses, and organizations the world over are moving quickly to define sustainability goals and incentives. However, when it comes to operationalizing sustainability initiatives, there are significant business and technology challenges that make progress difficult,” said Neil Ward-Dutton, vice president of Automation, Analytics, and AI at IDC Europe. “With automation’s ability to increase an organization’s agility, efficiency and speed to value, enterprise automation platforms and practices can help address many of these challenges, and have strong roles to play in unlocking the potential of sustainability initiatives.”
Other key findings, which the report said benefited from RPA and intelligent automation technology, include:
- 40 percent of those polled said the top drivers for sustainability initiatives were operational efficiencies and cost savings, while 30 percent identified enhanced brand value and trust
- 35 percent of respondents indicated that dispersed/siloed resources were the main organizational challenges they faced when attempting to become more sustainable, followed by difficulty identifying appropriate KPIs (33 percent) and a lack of operational technology (32 percent)
For more insights from the research, click here.