Digital Environmental or Social Solutions Learn how to correctly analyse this topic.

In your analysis, start by describing the product(s): the what, how much, and the who, following the IMP framework.

The analysis should be comprehensive and mention all environmental or social solutions that have a significant impact. To be significant, it must be a game-changer or at least be widely used. In other words, to a certain extent, assess whether the solutions have revolutionised the industry.

The topic aims to address solutions offered by companies that can be considered pioneers or trendsetters in their industries or companies that are players in incredibly impactful sectors where only a handful of competitors offer similar products/services. Therefore, the solutions must not be considered standard practices in the market.

Then, describe the impact by linking studies on this product and its widespread impact, comparing with competitors or the industry average, when relevant.

You must mention the direct and intended impact of the product or service and measure how significant it is.

You can also use studies as proxies.

Learn more in the article Step 5: Assess scale and value.

These topics are highly interlinked with the following topics: Environmental Solutions and Social Solutions.

Introduction

The introduction should provide background information about the digital environmental solution that is being discussed.

If the topic is about the environmental solution, then it should also include information about the issue that is being tackled, such as carbon emissions, energy consumption, biodiversity loss, or product waste, amongst others, and how this harms the environment.

If the topic is about the social solution, then it should also include information about the issue that is being tackled, such as gaps in the healthcare industry, inefficiencies in productivity, lack of digital or infrastructural connectivity, amongst others, and how this harms society at large.

It should aim to answer the following questions:

• Why is providing this specific digital solution important?
• What issue is it tackling? Is it prevalent?
• Is it a context-specific issue that requires more information?

Read more on how to build a strong introduction in this article.

Core Analysis

The core of the analysis should disclose the company’s digital solution(s) and how it impacts other companies/individuals.

The digital environmental or social solution can relate to the company's core business product or service. It should provide a solution for other companies or individuals.

The solution cannot be for the company's own benefits, such as reducing the energy intensity for its own operations.

You should look at the wider impact, thereby including:

• What is the issue that the company is tackling?
• How is the company tackling this issue (i.e. the product/service)?
  
• How is this providing a solution to environmental or social issues?
  
• How many people/businesses have benefited from this solution?
• What is the amount of biodiversity/ecosystems helped? (environmental)
• How this is providing a solution to societies, increasing people and communities' well-being and prosperity? (social)
• How long-lasting or profound are these solutions? Are they permanent or transitional solutions?
• What is their depth? How profound a change do they make?

Note: For most companies across industries, both B2B and B2C solutions are possible; with the exception of the hardware industry (only B2B to avoid double-counting with Software & IT companies).

How to measure the impact of Digital Environmental Solutions?

Example 1: Gas detection cameras avoiding methane gas leaks

The issue: "Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas that causes over 80 times more global warming than CO₂ during the first 20 years after release³."

The product or service: "Flir Systems is a leading producer of thermal imaging cameras⁶."

The solution: "Flir’s gas detection cameras use optical gas imaging to detect leaks of harmful gases like methane in real time^8;p6. The FLIR ThermoVision Early Fire Detection system continuously monitors the temperature of stored waste material that is to be converted into biogas and raises the alarm if it starts to overheat^8;p6."

The output: "In recent years, Flir’s gas detection cameras have helped detect about 70 leaks per camera every year on average^9;p7,8;p7."

The impact: "As a result, 2.6 Mn tCO₂e of methane leaks are repaired every year with Flir’s gas detection cameras, amounting to 34-68% of the total methane emissions in Sweden^9;p7,8;p7."

Example 2: Technologies and data sharing removing space debris

The issue: "About 8M kg of defunct satellites and byproducts of satellite launching lurk around the planet, colliding into each other and damaging satellite operations¹. Space garbage is a hazard for life on Earth [...]^2;p74."

The product or service: "While the company has contributed nothing to debris creation*, it has recognized it as a paramount problem and pioneered its solutions by using cutting-edge tech and facilitating data sharing⁴."

*The fact that the company has not contributed to space debris shows that this is a solution for other businesses.

The solution: "By founding the Space Data Association (SDA), a non-profit institution of spacecraft operators, SES developed protocols for reducing and removing space debris by collectively gathering and sharing data. "

The output: "In 2019, the company successfully disposed of 2 satellites into graveyard orbit¹⁰."

The impact: "Currently, it is the only satellite company that has launched 4 missions on the flight-proven Falcon 9^6,7,8, each time preventing 549,054 kg of rocket debris⁹."

Industries this topic is most relevant for:

• Software & IT Services
• Telecommunication Services

Threshold: if discussing water, waste, or energy efficiency, the product or service needs to be more than 30% efficient.

How to measure the impact of Digital Social Solutions?

Example 1: Productivity increases digitally thanks to cloud calling

The issue: "Work involving collaboration increases productivity and also gives a sense of purpose to the employees⁵. Cloud calling, with its various other features, provides benefits like low business cost, better security, remote working and a host of others to improve businesses⁴."

The product or service: "Nexon offers a managed service, known as Nexon AbsoluteTeam, for Microsoft Teams⁷. The Nexon Absolute for Teams enables cloud calling through Microsoft Office 365’s suite⁷."

The solution: "This service integrates voice, messaging, video, audio, web conferencing and desktop sharing environment in a single and simplified platform^7,8."

The output: "As of 2021, about one million companies use Microsoft 365 with Nexon Absolute Team, of which 731,000 users are in the U.S^11,7."

The impact: "Nexon was selected to provide cloud calling and other services to the 530 restaurants owned by Craveable Brands to help improve customer experiences across the restaurant network⁹. Nexon is actively enabling cloud calling for companies using Microsoft 365, thereby improving businesses performance."

Example 2: Creation of smart cities

The issue: "Smart cities [...] enhance safety, decrease traffic congestion, and monitor environmental quality³. Smart cities provide improved services to businesses and people, bridging the digital gap and enhancing everyone's quality of life³."

The product or service: "CommScope is a manufacturer of communication and entertainment network infrastructure solutions⁴. Digital solutions for both indoor and outdoor communication networks are part of the company's connectivity offering⁴."

The solution: "Commscope’s Ruckus infrastructure solutions⁶ are providing connectivity [...] Public Wi-Fi^8;p3 [and] Urban Wi-Fi infrastructure for public use⁹."

The output: "The government of Gujarat, a province in India, has adopted Commscope’s Ruckus infrastructure solutions for providing free Wi-Fi to inhabitants of 56 towns, through 350 hotspots and 1,500 access points throughout the state^{9;(video01:15-01:19)}. The service has 700K registered users and 35K-40K daily users^{9;(video01:21)}."

The impact: "CommScope’s infrastructure solutions are helping transform cities and build more efficient and connected societies."

Industries this topic is most relevant for:

• Software & IT Services
• Telecommunication Services
• Hardware

Some examples include but are not limited to healthcare, security, financials, sustainable communities, and others.

Make sure to describe the scale of the impact by taking into account:

1/ The breadth of the impact

• Is the impact local, national, or global?

• How many people are concerned? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands?
  

2/ The depth of the impact

• Is the life of people concerned deeply affected, or does the issue just marginally impact them?

• Are the changes brought by the issue profoundly changing society or the planet?
  

3/ The persistence of the impact

• How long would the impact described last for? Months? Years? Decades?

• How reversible is the impact described in the impact analysis? Can it be easily stopped/extended?

Added Value

The analysis should remain critical and nuanced. What are the downsides?

In your analysis, make sure you add value to your readers and go beyond the company’s CSR report by not merely reporting data from the company’s report but going the extra mile of providing additional metrics, studies, and sources to make your analysis robust and the impact value and scale are clear.

Caution: Make sure the topic you are discussing is not overlapping with the Core Business Impact analysis.

Nexon enables cloud calling for over 1 million companies in Microsoft Office 365

SES has zero space debris, while pioneering space garbage management with cutting-edge tech

Juniper Mist AI supports clinicians w and improves the health outcome of over 1M patients

Flir System’s gas detection cameras help avoid around 2.6 Mn tCO2e of methane gas leaks yearly

Commscope provides infrastructure that enables productivity and connectivity of millions of people