Human bias, emotions hurt corporate sustainability efforts, say biz leaders

Oracle report says, 83 per cent of people in India believe bots will succeed where humans have failed with corporate sustainability

Parul Parul     April 28, 2022

Nearly 100 per cent of business leaders in India believe human bias and emotions are hurting corporate sustainability efforts, and bots will soon succeed where humans have failed on sustainability, a new report revealed.

While 96 per cent of respondents in India believe society has not made enough progress on sustainability and social efforts, 82 per cent of Indians are frustrated and fed up with the lack of progress made by businesses, according to a new study by Cloud major Oracle and Pamela Rucker, CIO Advisor, Instructor for Harvard Professional Development.

Nearly 83 per cent of people in India believe bots will succeed where humans have failed with corporate sustainability, said the “No Planet B” study.

“We work closely with our partners to improve data transparency, drive renewable energy adoption, improve water efficiency, and attain environmental certifications,” Kaushik Mitra, Senior Director, Cloud ERP, Oracle India, told IANS.

“We believe it’s important for our sector to collaborate and advocate for the availability of cost-competitive renewable energy,” he added.

In India, 97 per cent of people believe sustainability and social factors are more important than ever and 95 per cent said the events over the past two years have caused them to change their actions.

“About 54 per cent in India believe businesses can make more meaningful changes to sustainability and social factors than individuals or governments alone,” the report noted.

A whopping 96 per cent in India believe businesses would make more progress towards sustainability and social goals with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

The report emphasised that businesses need to prioritise sustainability and social issues and rethink how they use technology to make an impact or risk facing major consequences.

Companies are now working towards achieving ‘sustainable data’ — data which can be utilised to derive business value as distinct from data which is stored and transmitted but doesn’t give any business insight, while consuming energy costs.

“Organisations can improve their corporate sustainability programs by utilising new-age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics to acquire, segregate, optimise, and utilise data,” Mitra said.

The events of the past two years have put sustainability and social initiatives under the microscope and people are demanding material change.

“While there are challenges to tackling these issues, businesses have an immense opportunity to change the world for the better,” said Rucker.

“It’s never been more critical for businesses to invest in sustainability and ESG initiatives, as people don’t just want to hear about it. They’re looking for decisive action and are demanding more transparency and tangible results,” added Juergen Lindner, senior vice president and CMO, Global Marketing SaaS, Oracle.