Digital transformation as a strategy to reach sustainability

Authors: Professor Ana Maria Gomez-Trujillo, CEIPA Business School, Colombia, and Professor Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia.

Professor Ana Maria Gomez-Trujillo, CEIPA Business School, Colombia, and Professor Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia, explore the relationship between digital technologies and sustainability.

Our article, Digital transformation as a strategy to reach sustainability, published in 2019, summarises previous research findings on the relationship between digital transformation and sustainability at a firm-level.

Since then, there has been a growing trend in analysing the relationship between these two concepts, which was furthered with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic as it accelerated digitalisation worldwide and created consciousness about the importance of health and safety.

It can be noted that this topic started to gain relevance in academia after 2019, as publications passed from around 60 that year, to an average of 152 in 2020; 226 in 2021; 382 in 2022; and 365 so far this year (Q4 2023), according to Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection databases. This trend reveals the topicality and relevance of digital transformation and sustainability among academia.
 

Sustainability and digital transformation can be considered as two elements that currently shape the sensitive and important components of business research and management.    

Digital transformation and sustainability have also become increasingly important for practitioners and organisations as they tackle the challenges of the actual world, such as the implementation of digital technologies, management of global supply chains, cybersecurity risks, health and safety concerns, reduction of environmental impacts and climate change management. This demonstrates that sustainability and digital transformation can be considered as two elements that currently shape sensitive and important components of business research and management.

Sustainability is a global issue

It’s important to note that countries such as China, Italy, Spain, Germany, and United States are among the top five countries where topics around sustainability and digital transformation are being discussed and analysed. This shows that there is still a need for more analysis coming from Latin American countries and emerging economies such as Colombia, as the digital transformation and sustainability waves are being experienced by every region in the world.

Hence, after three years of publication and with 65 citations in Google Scholar, our article is still relevant. As authors, we continue making a call for analysing multiple stakeholders and their role in the relationship between digital transformation and sustainability, as well as their impact on policy creation and on decision-making processes. This work helps to guarantee the conditions for the incorporation of sustainability and digitalisation in corporate strategies and business models of organisations worldwide.

These structural transformations led by digitalisation in the form of IT developments, Big Data, Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Industry 4.0 could support the creation of resource-efficient processes, transparency, and data-driven decision-making, which enhance the digital capabilities of companies and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable world.

Global initiatives must be supported by digital capabilities

As digital transformation appears as a predecessor of sustainability, global initiatives, or frameworks such as the Global Compact, Sustainable Development Goals, Global Reporting Initiative, Agenda 2030 or Planetary Boundaries, should be supported by technology and IT developments as they empower organisations and improve management practices. This is our legacy for future generations and our responsibility for the stability and sustainability of the planet.

This digital revolution has unleashed unprecedented capabilities, revolutionising how we live, interact and work, and how organisations transform and innovate their business models. However, it is also important to approach the challenges and mitigate potential negative impacts to preserve our planet for future generations to come and to build a sustainable future for everyone.