Today, global eco-wakening shows that an overwhelming majority of the population supports efforts to improve sustainability and mitigate the effects of climate change, in both the world’s largest economies as well as in developing economies. 

So why hasn’t the planet made bigger strides toward improving sustainability? 

One of the biggest barriers is a lack of information about which activities really make a difference. 

There’s another factor holding back efforts to meet ESG goals. As management guru Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying “You can’t improve what you can’t measure.” 

We all wind up trying to juggle too many objectives, and we naturally gravitate to prioritize the ones where we can easily see the improvements we’re making. And since the impact of ESG goals can be difficult to measure, they often wind up getting less attention.

As Zinier’s CEO, I’m committed to helping both my team and our customers make progress toward global ESG efforts. We’re proud to work with leaders such as Community Fibre, a fiber-to-the-premises service provider promoting environmental, social, and governance activities and putting their commitment into practice and Virgin Media who launched the Better Connections Plan, a UK sustainability initiative that aims to reduce the company's carbon footprint, waste, and enhance digital skills in communities while improving the sustainability of their supply chain.

Sustainability With Profitability

Field service operations often have a two-fold opportunity to promote improvements in ESG. There are many paths to improve their internal operations that will make a difference (and I’ll give a few examples in a moment). But they also have the opportunity to amplify broader societal ESG progress as a result of the new infrastructure they’re building and maintaining. 

For example, the rapid growth of broadband services and other telecommunications services helps drive the adoption of functionality that reduces unsustainable activities. And more bandwidth means more workers have the option to work from home, reducing their daily commute miles and their carbon footprint.

Likewise, the development of the emerging network of EV charging stations often creates an alternative to the consumption of fossil fuels.

Coming back, here are a few examples of the internal improvements field service operations can make to boost their ESG performance: 

Regular maintenance

By providing regular maintenance and servicing of equipment, field service teams can help reduce energy consumption and prevent equipment breakdowns. This not only saves money but also reduces the carbon footprint of the organization.

Use of eco-friendly products

Field service teams can use eco-friendly products and materials while repairing or maintaining equipment. For example, using biodegradable cleaning products, recycled paper, or energy-efficient light bulbs can make a significant impact on the environment.

Dynamic scheduling

ESG improvements can often emerge as a result of activities that may have originally been driven by financial incentives. For example, reducing drive time by deploying improved dynamic scheduling solutions is already a key objective for many operations on the basis of its impact on the bottom line. But it also has a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the operation. Similarly, Improving first-time fix rates can reduce unproductive miles driven, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint and thus saving money.

Training and Awareness

By providing training and awareness programs, field service teams can educate customers and employees about the importance of sustainability and ESG initiatives. This can create a culture of sustainability within the organization.

We’re excited when we’re able to help companies in the field service sector advance in their ESG objectives. Accordingly, we have developed Zinier to support ESG programs natively.

ESG Data

Here’s how the Zinier platform can help you overcome the limitations you may be struggling with when it comes to leveraging relevant ESG information and articulating meaningful metrics. 

Let’s start by looking at the uptick in data about a wide range of ESG topics. One factor helping to drive this is the surge in the data that’s available to corporate ESG programs that have grown in tandem with fast-growing interest in socially responsible investing. Whatever the source of the data, the Zinier platform makes it easy to integrate this data with the data you’re capturing about your operations. 

ESG Scorecard

Some sustainability activities carry a significant price tag. That is - sometimes sustainable tactics for delivering comparable results can be more expensive than the more traditional approaches. This, naturally, is one of the reasons why progress towards ESG goals sometimes moves more slowly than you might like. However, all of the field service examples mentioned above have been demonstrated to have a strong potential for a positive return on investment. 

Below is an example of the kind of field operations sustainability dashboard you could quickly develop with the Zinier platform. 

ESG Triple Win

Not only are these sustainable tactics a win-win, that can benefit both your balance sheet and your ESG scorecard, they can actually be a triple win that benefits your human resources goals as well. 

Remember that overwhelming majority that supports sustainability? Odds are, your field operations team shares those sentiments. And in an era where most field service operations are understaffed and find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain the skilled labor they need, your commitment to – and success with – sustainability can be a differentiator that makes recruiting and retaining talent more successful as well. 

We are excited to bring this triple win to Telecom operators. If it excites you too, let’s get in touch.