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Support sustainable IT decision-making, offers clients critical insights into the projected lifetime carbon emissions associated with various IT device configurations.
About
In a groundbreaking initiative to blend technology with environmental stewardship, WWT is proud to unveil CarbonTechAware, a revolutionary addition to our growing suite of ESG and sustainability solutions. This innovative service, which marks a significant leap in our ability to support sustainable IT decision-making, offers clients critical insights into the projected lifetime carbon emissions associated with various IT device configurations.
Developed internally at WWT, we designed CarbonTechAware to help IT professionals evaluate their technology choices in our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) based on traditional parameters, like processing speed and capacity, as well as through the crucial lens of carbon intensity. This approach is increasingly vital because data centers, currently responsible for two to three percent of global greenhouse gases (GHGs), are expected to see a fourfold increase in emissions over the next decade due to rapid digitization and the burgeoning adoption of AI.
In developing our own corporate Net Zero target and submission to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), WWT conducted a comprehensive GHG inventory, a significant portion of which was driven by our global supply chain. Collecting lifetime emissions data at the device level from our partners and suppliers has been and will continue to be a critical aspect of the CarbonTechAware offering. Such data collection is not just a corporate responsibility, but a strategic imperative given that supply chain emissions can often represent the majority of an organization's carbon footprint.
Understanding the urgency to mitigate environmental impacts, especially as organizations strive to meet Net Zero targets, WWT has invested extensively over the past year in collaboration with major suppliers. This effort has culminated in creating a comprehensive repository of estimated lifetime emissions data for each product we purchase or sell. WWT will continue to work with key partners and suppliers to secure relevant permissions to publish and harmonize estimates between manufacturers.
With "Lifetime Emissions in a Click," WWT clients can now instantly access the projected lifetime emissions of proposed data center configurations in the ATC, simplifying the process of making environmentally responsible IT decisions. This new tool represents WWT's commitment to sustainability and empowers our clients to make informed choices that align with their environmental goals.
Key Benefits
1. Informed IT Decision-Making Through Carbon Intelligence
CarbonTechAware empowers your IT and procurement teams with data-driven insights on the lifetime carbon emissionsof various technology configurations—enabling better tradeoff decisions across cost, performance, and sustainability.
2. Built-in Support for ESG & Net Zero Goals
This tool seamlessly integrates with your existing ESG commitments by quantifying the environmental impact of IT choices, helping drive measurable progress toward Scope 3 emissions reduction and net-zero targets.
3. Technology Architecture Optimization
By simulating the carbon footprint of diverse hardware combinations—across compute, storage, and networking—you gain visibility into low-carbon alternatives that meet your business needs without overengineering.
4. Vendor-Agnostic Transparency
CarbonTechAware is not tied to a single OEM or platform. It provides objective insights across a range of vendors, enabling fair comparisons and fostering a more transparent technology selection process.
5. Supports a Circular Economy Approach
It enables you to evaluate reuse, refresh, and recycling strategies, helping avoid premature refresh cycles and reduce e-waste—resulting in both cost savings and environmental impact reductions.
6. Cross-Functional Collaboration Enablement
Whether you’re in procurement, IT, sustainability, or finance, CarbonTechAware creates a common language around emissions data, making it easier to drive cross-functional alignment on tech investments.
7. Baseline for Continuous Improvement
The tool allows you to establish a baseline carbon footprint for your IT estate and track improvements over time—turning sustainability into a repeatable and reportable metric within your technology lifecycle management.
8. Enhanced Stakeholder Confidence
Integrating carbon intelligence into infrastructure decisions sends a clear message to customers, investors, and regulators: your organization is serious about sustainable innovation and responsible digital growth.
Applications
1. Large Enterprises with Significant IT Infrastructure
- Companies operating at global or national scale with large data centers, device fleets, or cloud operations.
- Industries: Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Energy.
- These orgs are under pressure to decarbonize and report on environmental impacts, particularly Scope 3 emissions.
2. Organizations with Public ESG Commitments
- Companies that have signed on to Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), RE100, or net-zero commitments.
- These organizations are seeking tools to quantify and reduce emissions across their value chain, including IT procurement.
3. IT and Sustainability Leaders Driving Convergence
- CIOs, CTOs, Heads of Infrastructure who are now working closely with CSOs or ESG teams to align technology strategy with sustainability mandates.
- CarbonTechAware enables these leaders to embed ESG data directly into tech planning workflows.
4. Enterprises with Complex Tech Refresh or Cloud Migration Plans
- Companies that are evaluating large tech refreshes, data center consolidation, or cloud migration and want to understand the carbon implications of each path.
- CarbonTechAware helps them model emissions outcomes for multiple architecture decisions.