< PreviousDavid Craig Chief Executive Officer Iceotope SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 40 Scope 3 Emissions: The Time for Bold Leadership is Now Technology offers us a path forward to meet the demands of the current climate challenges. The real question is, do we have the leadership to embrace it?Lately, it seems as if every time we scroll through our news feeds we are confronted with the realities of climate change. Europe is in the midst of the worst energy crisis in decades, even prior to the war in Ukraine exasperating the situation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is regularly issuing reports on the severe impact of climate change on global society. Weather patterns around the world are becoming more extreme resulting in fires, floods and more powerful hurricanes than ever before. Standardised framework The best corporations don’t just want to be seen as doing the right thing, but genuinely are doing the right thing, when it comes to climate change. Businesses and industries have begun to track their carbon emissions through the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, a widely- sponsored international standardised framework to measure greenhouse gas. The protocol divides the emissions into three different scopes, commonly defined as: • Scope 1 – direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. • Scope 2 – indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the reporting company. • Scope 3 – all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain. Calculation Today, the scopes are designed to be voluntary. Scopes 1 and 2 are relatively easy for a company to own and track. Scope 3 goes to the level of actually understanding the carbon lifecycle of your entire footprint from cradle to grave. The corporate value chain measures Scope 3 emissions across 15 different categories from goods and services to transportation to business travel to end-of-life product disposal. For many companies, this accounts for more than 70% of their carbon footprint. Companies that are signing up to Scope 1 and 2 will absolutely insist that their supply chains do so as well. For data centre users, this can be a bit tricky, particularly when it comes to the cloud, where GHG emissions can be harder to calculate. When workloads are moved to the cloud, an organisation is no longer generating direct emissions or purchasing energy, both of which are covered under Scope 1 and 2 emissions, respectively. Those emissions are now part of Scope 3. Add to that, the fact that a significant proportion of carbon emissions across computing platforms actually come from hardware manufacturing as well as operational system use. Meta recently shared meta-analysis of sustainability reports and life cycle analyses from researchers identifying this trend. Despite improvements in software and hardware efficiencies, a mobile device, for example, may need a three-year longer lifespan to amortise the carbon footprint created by its manufacture. The good news is there are solutions data centre operators can incorporate that immediately help in reducing carbon emissions. One solution is precision immersion liquid cooling. Liquid cooling offers the ability to reduce infrastructure energy use by 40%, slash water consumption by more than 90% and improve pPUE to 1.03, which is further enhanced by server energy reductions often of 10% and more. Alternate forms of power generation, such as hydrogen fuel cells, are quickly becoming economically viable alternatives to UPS and diesel generators. Microsoft has been testing and implementing the technology and sees long-term benefits beyond reducing carbon emissions. Opportunities What all of this requires, however, is the courage to lead. Many of these “low-hanging fruits” are new ways of doing business. They are moving away from a well-known technology solution to one that has greater perceived risk. Now is not the time for incrementalism. We are facing a global climate crisis and need bold leadership to make hard choices and take swift action. There is a real competitive advantage opportunity for companies willing to adopt new technologies and find a new way to do business. A business doesn’t grow by cutting back. A Gartner study from 2019 shows what differentiates winning companies in times of change, “First, progressive business leaders prepare to navigate turns even before the turns are clearly in view. Second, their mindset and actions before, during and after the turns separate their organisation from the pack and determine its long-term destiny.” Those that invest when change is happening are the companies that rocket and accelerate out of the downturn. The Scope 1, 2 and 3 protocols create a language, a framework and an expectation. In other words, they create an opportunity for businesses to navigate one of the biggest technology challenges we will face this decade. Governments, particularly in the UK and Europe, are committed to net zero initiatives and ensuring they are met. The public is embracing the seriousness of the crisis and the youth of today will hold us all accountable. It’s no longer about optics, but rather our competitive ability to survive and keep our planet healthy. Technology will play a significant role in this. Those who will become the heroes of this story are those who demonstrate bold leadership and embrace the changes that need to come. SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 41In a drastic change to society’s view of viable and desirable economic models, we’re looking beyond pure profit to an organisation’s broader purpose and performance. In this model, all roads lead to energy reduction as part of a net zero strategy. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), businesses should be striving to cut global carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. And with mounting pressure to demonstrate ESG policies and practices, it’s no longer tenable for organisations to opt out. While most companies embrace the value of ecologically-beneficial requirements, many of them feel daunted by sustainability reporting standards and frameworks. Without a system to monitor changes and inefficiencies, it is incredibly difficult for companies to assess and reduce their energy usage. This is where a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) can harness the power of technology to help companies enhance transparency and communication of their climate-change data and efforts. Building energy management is a cornerstone of building energy sustainability, net-zero targets, and ESG reporting. Digitising building systems management also enables building managers to focus on occupant health and well-being, conduct proactive performance improvements and make buildings more human-centric. Essentially, making a building smarter makes it more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Matthew Margetts Smarter Technologies Group Director of Sales and Marketing Looking back at developments after the industrial revolution, it’s clear that previous success in optimising the financial aspects of a business has come at significant environmental and societal costs. Today, the voices of investors, financiers and society at large, are growing louder in demanding transparency of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, forcing all organisations to take a long, hard look at their value and true impact on society. SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 42With a BEMS, ESG Energy Reduction is as Easy as IoT SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 43SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 44What is a BEMS? BEMS is a sophisticated building management solution that allows buildings to become smarter, more interconnected, responsive and adaptable. The system consists of software and hardware that allow you to monitor, analyse, and control every aspect of an estate’s energy consumption, from lighting to HVAC. Critically, the software provides consumption data that allows you to identify where energy savings can be made. Turning data into opportunities The key to the power of BEMS is that energy consumption isn't just monitored; it’s analysed and instantly optimised to deliver immediate energy savings across your entire estate. Integrating a building energy management system into your premises allows you to: • Control lighting and heating in relation to room occupancy • Keep building occupants comfortable and productive • Monitor energy consumption against factors that influence it (eg outside air temperature) • Modify building services around operational requirements • Identify energy inefficiency and keep track of energy consumption trends • Save money on your energy costs • Reduce your carbon footprint • Forecast proactive maintenance activities and end-of-life failures And because a BEMS analyses when and where energy is being used, you’ll be able to set limits and targets based on usage profiles that increase the efficiency of your business. BEMS benefits • Improved operational efficiency and reduction in operational costs • Better operations and maintenance of a connected, healthy workplace • Better occupant experience, comfort and safety • Renewable energy generation load balancing • Reduce payments to the Government’s CCL (Climate Change Levy) • Drive energy sustainability across community ecosystems • Energy and environmental footprint management • Lower energy consumption and carbon emissions. • Enhance corporate social responsibility • Improve stakeholder value BEMS play a crucial role in achieving net-zero emissions targets and ESG requirements Net-zero emissions policies and corporate environmental ESG goals act as catalysts for this drive toward better energy management and the reduction of energy use in buildings. Along with energy reduction, employee well-being and ethical working practices are also important ESG criteria. All of these factors now play an influential role in the investment community's financial decisions. BEMS are able to deliver on these objectives by lowering the energy intensity of buildings and improving occupant experiences. As such, the implementation of building energy management systems will continue to increase. The key to the power of BEMS is that energy consumption isn't just monitored; it’s analysed and instantly optimised to deliver immediate energy savings. SUSTAINABILITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 45This transition comes at a precarious time in the state of global cybersecurity. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are ever-evolving, and cybercriminal groups are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their methods to pilfer organisational data. In the face of these challenges, UK organisations must employ leading strategies to keep both themselves and their customers safe. Here, zero-standing privilege can play a vital role as it drastically reduces the attack surface available for cybercriminals and increases the detectability of their actions. What is zero-standing privilege? As workforces continue with remote and hybrid work models, this can make organisations especially vulnerable to escalating cybercrime and open gaps in business-wide security standards. Adopting the zero- standing privilege approach helps to significantly decrease the attack surface and mitigates the risk of infiltration. So, what exactly is zero-standing privilege and what does its implementation entail for organisations? Basically, zero trust is a strategy for securing an organisation’s IT assets, including data, identities and infrastructure with data being first among equals since it is the attackers’ ultimate goal. With zero- standing privilege, access to resources from both inside and outside of the network can be restricted until the validity of the request is confirmed. Every user, regardless of who they are in the organisation, must still go through specific procedures to verify their identity to be authorised for the secure level of access they seek. Zero-standing privilege as a policy ensures that users and services verify their credentials when gaining access to organisational resources, so it’s far harder for unauthorised users to move adjacently through targeted infrastructure right to the company sensitive data. This can be maintained by an automated process through which requesting access to databases is vetted to make sure the accessing user is not hostile on a continual basis. This approach is especially important when it comes to privileged accounts which give access to more critical resources compared to the accounts of regular users. As the right to use a resource is removed once the session is closed, there is no residual risk from standing privileges. Many organisations use a hybrid model that combines zero-trust principles with perimeter-based protection while they work to reinforce and modernise their IT infrastructure and business processes. This subsequently leads to companies carrying zero-trust policies alongside more traditional security workflows. The benefits of zero-standing privilege for fast yet secure cloud adoption For organisations looking to maintain holistic cybersecurity and facing business pressure for rapid digitalisation, the zero-standing privilege approach can bring myriad benefits. With 54% of workloads expected to be in the cloud in 2023 compared to 41% as of March 2022, it is crucial to address transitional cybersecurity risks. According to Forrester, more than three-quarters of the surveyed decision-makers cited the importance of a zero trust strategy to combat mounting security threats associated with cloud transformation and migration. The cloud represents both an important resource and vulnerability for UK companies with research showing that 88% of organisations store sensitive data in the cloud. Of this data, 65% was personally identifiable information (PII) of customers, 42% was the PII of company employees and 31% was corporate financial information. Threats to this data were ubiquitous with 52% of surveyed companies reporting a cyberattack on their cloud infrastructure within the last 12 months. Of these attacks, phishing was the most widespread at 69% of reported incidents, followed by account compromise at 35% and targeted attacks against cloud infrastructure at 31%. Given the oftentimes complex and interconnected nature of cloud use across enterprises, organisations might choose to use a hybrid model by implementing zero-standing privilege approach alongside more traditional security workflows. The future lies in zero-standing privilege As company digital infrastructures become increasingly complicated with a greater reliance on various cloud models, and cybersecurity threats become more ubiquitous and evolved, zero-standing privilege will serve an important role for organisations looking to keep their data safe. A process of continuous verification is vital in stopping threat actors once they have gained access to the network and limiting the damage they can wreak. This approach will keep UK companies in compliance with the UK’s replacement to GDPR and will help organisations avoid damage to their reputation and significant fines that often result from a breach. Dirk Schrader Resident CISO (EMEA) and VP of security research Netwrix The UK is in a state of cybersecurity transition. Following Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), the country is now disengaging from the previous GDPR data security legislation of the EU. In its place comes the UK Data Reform Bill, which aims to create “new data laws to boost British business [and] protect consumers.” Within this legislative framework, as “the same high data protection standards will remain”, UK organisations must make use of best data security practices or else risk reputational fallout and possibly hefty fines. SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 46How the Zero-Standing Privilege Approach Helps to Keep the IT Environment Safe SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 47Closing Cyber Crime Gaps by Hardening Business’ Endpoints SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 48It is no surprise that businesses of all sizes are struggling to keep up with the evolving security landscape, as cyber threats continue to become more sophisticated. Because of this, the 2021 World Economic Forum report found that cybersecurity measures put in place by businesses are increasingly being rendered obsolete. Traditional strategies used to combat cybercrime now fall short in a modern and hybrid IT world; cybercriminals are leveraging innovative methods, while entry points are left open for attacks as employees work away from the help of IT teams. Existing and new endpoint vulnerabilities Endpoint security refers to securing end-user devices, including desktops, laptops and mobile devices. Traditionally, in an office environment, IT teams were physically available to check employees’ devices, ensuring there was no malicious software installed, and updating any applications that were out of date. Now, away from the help of IT, as many businesses continue to work remotely, new endpoint vulnerabilities have emerged as employees work on personal devices out of the office environment, on potentially unsecured and open networks. This, in turn, increases the risks of unauthorised access, ransomware attacks and data leaks occurring. For businesses to mitigate these threats, they must evolve endpoint security strategies to meet the intricacies of hybrid working environments. What steps are required to do this? The new era of endpoint security Protecting endpoints is becoming an increasingly crucial task in the modern landscape as they are a key route of entry for attackers. According to a study Andrea Babbs UK General Manager VIPRE Andrea Babbs, UK General Manager, VIPRE, highlights the importance for IT teams to harden endpoints across the business to effectively manage these threats, emphasising the importance of vulnerability and patch management. SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 49Next >