Beyond.pl becomes the first Polish provider of data center and cloud services to declare support for all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

Beyond.pl officially announces its commitment to help meet the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The provider of data center and cloud services, powered in 100% with green energy, will be the first in the Polish ICT industry to contribute to all of the UN SDGs.

In 2015, during a summit in New York, UN member states signed and implemented the “Agenda for Sustainable Development – 2030”, a plan of action made for people and the planet to reach prosperity, peace, and freedom.

The 2030 Agenda defined 17 goals focused on five areas defined as 5xP: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. The initiative aims for countries’ businesses, NGOs, science, and citizens worldwide to contribute to achieving the goals set out in the Agenda.

In 2015, during a summit in New York, UN member states signed and implemented the “Agenda for Sustainable Development – 2030”, a plan of action made for people and the planet to reach prosperity, peace, and freedom.

The 2030 Agenda defined 17 goals focused on five areas defined as 5xP: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. The initiative aims for countries’ businesses, NGOs, science, and citizens worldwide to contribute to achieving the goals set out in the Agenda.

Making the world a better place

Social, environmental, and business responsibility has always been at the forefront of Beyond.pl’s DNA. And today, the company has become the first Polish provider of data center and cloud services committed to contributing to the implementation of all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals).

– Changes taking place in the world affect all levels of our life. The modus operandi driving organizations’ decisions to date focused on short-term financial profit and cash gains must end. By focusing on short-term goals, we transfer and delay the cost of our shortsightedness to future generations. This approach has already led to adverse environmental and social changes, a lack of peace, and the emergence of massive social and financial inequalities. Every business should actively participate in the process of reversing these negative changes. Even more so, companies providing solutions based on modern technologies, which have become an important part of our lives, can play a huge role in eliminating these shortcomings. The development of the IT sector can either accelerate the spiral or reverse it through its decisions. We want to reverse it – explains Wojciech Stramski, CEO of Beyond.pl

The IT industry needs to take action

According to Beyond.pl, the IT industry should be more involved in helping to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, this proactive approach has not yet become a standard. According to the report on “Social and environmental responsibility of technology companies” published in February 2022, only 11% of IT organizations utilize a strategic approach to sustainable development.

The report prepared by Inspired and InCredibles summarizes the activities of over 400 Polish IT companies. The analysts’ conclusions are not optimistic. Only 5% of enterprises operating in the high-tech industry measure their carbon footprint. One in three companies segregates waste into five or more fractions. On the other hand, in terms of social impact,  34% of IT companies do not implement activities and do not devote their employees’ working time to pro bono or low bono initiatives.

Material support for people or animals in need is provided regularly (i.e., at least once a quarter) by only 23% of Polish IT companies. Only one in three has rolled out a code of ethics, and one in five is unsure if they have a similar document.

– Legislative processes on the government level can take ages. Therefore, the business ecosystem must take the lead in shaping new operational standards. In our decision-making process, we should be guided by rational thinking and real opportunities to enable changes in the long term. As Beyond.pl we have defined processes and detailed action points which will allow us to contribute to every goal included in the 2030 Agenda. We have allowed our employees to release their creativity to help us define the direction they want the company to take. We are taking the necessary steps to conduct a philosophical transformation of how we run our business to ensure the best future for the next generations – comments Wojciech Stramski

Supporting the realization of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN requires the proper tone from the top – on the owner and management board level – driven down through the organization and all its stakeholders. Everyone needs to be fully committed to defining the business philosophy and operating strategy. Input from all employees is critical through active participation throughout the definition of processes and delivery of individual tasks. And the company must give the time to employees to drive this change.

At Beyond.pl, the implementation of the project was preceded by online meetings with all employees and the management board, introducing the main assumptions of the 2030 Agenda and defining the company’s responsibility. After the training,  each employee had the opportunity to share their ideas on initiatives on how the company could help address each of the 17 Goals. An essential element of the questionnaire was a  section related to the inspiration and personal examples on employees relating to activities that can be carried out outside of working hours. This workstream was an internal document with specific tasks for Beyond.pl to follow at every internal and external operations stage.

– Business is not only about the attitudes we require from ourselves but also from the entire environment in which we operate. At Beyond.pl, we know that words and simple actions are not enough. You need to question everything you do and work within the mindset of understanding the bigger perspective. We expect a similar attitude from our suppliers and partners. This will help us as a company to increase the likelihood of us as a society being able to meet the SDGs – adds Stramski.

Business responsibility

These are not the first actions Beyond.pl is taking for a better tomorrow. The company has joined a bottom-up, self-regulatory initiative: the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. The pact aims to reduce the carbon footprint generated by the data center sector and support activities through the construction and deployment of ecological and climate-neutral infrastructure.

In 2021 Beyond.pl became the only Polish founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition, whose main goal is to support the Green and Digital Transformation of the EU. The founding members of EGDC, representing companies in the ICT sector, are committed to significantly reducing their carbon footprint by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2040.

Beyond.pl has been focusing on sustainable development for years, and since 2020 it has supplied its infrastructure solely with green energy confirmed by the certificates of origin. Its ANSI TIA-942/ Rated 4 Data Center 2 on the Poznan, Poland campus has a  PUE at 1.2, which is the lowest level in Poland, while the heat generated from the data center is being used to warm the office and logistics facilities of the Beyond.pl campus.

For a better future

Even the slightest change made from the bottom up can hugely impact the future and our society. Each of us can contribute to achieving at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It is up to us whether we want to improve the quality of the natural environment, innovation, or education.

Poland currently ranks 15th in the world in implementing the 2030 Agenda. The research on meeting the targets in 2021 covered 165 out of 195 UN member states. The Central Statistical Office is responsible for measuring progress in meeting the 2030 Agenda in Poland.

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• Beyond.pl becomes the first Polish provider of data center and cloud services to declare support for all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals