About CIOCO2

Why is this initiative necessary?

Digitalisation is one of our main enablers for minimising climate impact by reducing our emissions. During the pandemic, we demonstrated just how swiftly we can make a transition. Most office workers moved their job into their home. The work continued through video conferences, and the emissions previously generated by business travel virtually disappeared overnight. 

But for many of us in the IT industry, who place our daily focus on building system solutions that can create new digital services, there has long been a concern. A concern that maybe we’re creating new environmental villains. Because when we hear that streaming services generate higher levels of emissions than commercial air traffic while we continue to create services that drive an “always on” behaviour, it’s time to ask ourselves the big question. Are we doing the right thing? Or are we creating new climate issues?

How did the initiative start?

Pernilla Ramslöv, CEO of Nox Consulting, is not someone to let an issue eat away at her. She takes action. In November, Pernilla called Cecilia Hjertzell, CEO of Power Woman. 

“We have to do something! I just heard that sending a digital Christmas card generates higher-level carbon dioxide emissions than sending a physical one.” 

Doing “something” meant contacting Calle Schultz, another one who always takes action. Together, we reached out to a group of CIOs who not only take action but also share our concern. The first workshop was held a couple of weeks later. It was a redemptive meeting – just like Pernilla and Maria at NOX Consulting, Cecilia at Power Woman, and Calle at AWS, this was an issue that everyone wanted to act on. Because everyone wants to do what’s right, everyone wants to feel confident that we actually contribute to sustainable digitalisation through sustainable IT. 

After the first meeting, Maja Robertsson at Quant said, “This was the absolute best meeting I’ve had all year!”

And thus, the Swedish industry initiative CIOCO2 was born. Since then, we have been working to involve more people, identify the areas on which we can and should focus, and find the experts that can actually guide and ensure that we carry our activities that are truly sustainable. 

Professor Mike Hazas at Uppsala University has been an important person for the initiative through his profound knowledge in the field. Mike has assisted the initiative by ensuring that we have identified the areas in which we can initially contribute the most by acting here and now. Mike also serves as a sounding board and contributes the relevant research. 

Staffan Stymne at T.Loop is not only the initiative’s energy expert, but also the person who named it. 

What is the objective?

Målsättningen med initiativet CIOCO2 är skapa en plattform där ledare inom IT och hållbarhet kan dela och få ta del av tips, kunskap och konkreta verktyg att använda i det dagliga arbetet. IT-branschen har i ryggraden att samarbeta och bygga gemensamma standarder för att utvecklas så snabbt som möjligt och skapa rätt förutsättningar – det är precis denna generositet och samarbetsvilja som gör att vi vet att detta initiativ snabbt kan göra skillnad – för vi gör det alla tillsammans.  Så avslutningsvis vill vi säga that initiatives only have a starting point – no end. Let’s get started!

//The Initiators