Coping with Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Insights from Digital Business Services

Veronika Belousova, Oksana Bondarenko, Nikolai Chichkanov, Denis Lebedev and Ian Miles
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Veronika Belousova: Unit for Intellectual Services Market Research, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (HSE ISSEK), HSE University, 101000 Moscow, Russia
Denis Lebedev: Unit for Intellectual Services Market Research, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (HSE ISSEK), HSE University, 101000 Moscow, Russia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-26

Abstract: Digital Business Services (DBS), industries that have grown rapidly in recent years, played important roles in facilitating the adoption of digital technologies, as well as having applications in innovative products, transforming business processes across the economy. If DBS firms are committed to reducing negative environmental impacts, they should be able to make more positive contributions to their clients’ performance; for instance, promoting the digitalization of businesses process in ways that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and inefficient energy usage. But what are DBS business practices, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and related topics? This study examines the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures of leading companies providing consultancy, advertising/marketing, and information technology services. The plans, targets, and actions of DBS companies with above-average ESG scores, as indexed by the Refinitiv dataset, are examined. The results indicate that all of these firms express goals, and almost all of them have set clear targets, in terms of moving to net zero. A wide range of relevant activities is being implemented, including services that promote energy efficiency. The diversity of these actions suggests that these firms can learn from each other, and that companies with lower ESG ratings have models to emulate.

Keywords: sustainable development goals; ESG; renewable energy; waste reduction; emissions reduction; digital business services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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