What is the 'twin transition' - and why is it key to sustainable growth?

In this, the decisive decade for climate action, digitization has a major role to play in supporting sustainable growth. Indeed, digital solutions could reduce global emissions by 20%, according to the World Economic Forum.

Business leaders and decision-makers have a key role to play in tackling the climate emergency. By adopting the ‘twin transition’, leaders can bring the digital and sustainability agendas together to improve digital function, drive sustainability goals and future-proof their organizations.

A twin transition approach recognizes that there is a huge and largely untapped opportunity for technology and data to drive sustainability goals. Rather than treating digital and sustainability in isolation, a twin transition strategy combines these critical functions to unlock huge benefits in terms of efficiency and productivity. The twin transition can make a positive impact by ‘greening’ technology, data assets and infrastructures while accelerating sustainability across the organization.

Many people often think of digital as being inherently sustainable – a recent example to support this is the replacement of daily commutes with remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although digitization has brought significant benefits, it continues to carry a significant carbon cost. By optimizing digital assets and infrastructures to reduce environmental impact, organizations can harness the power of digital to make a positive impact on the environment.

While organizations understand the urgency of the twin transition, many struggle to put it into practice. Contributing factors include the lack of a consistent approach, inertia caused by perceived and real complexities, and conflicting strategic priorities. A further factor is accountability. Despite the opportunity for collaboration, digital teams and sustainability teams are not natural playmates. With these considerations in mind, how can organizations overcome these barriers and embark on a transformational twin transition journey?

To encourage the adoption of sustainable digitization, Royal Schiphol Group and PA Consulting have partnered to co-produce the Twin Transition Playbook. The playbook provides business leaders with the guidance and tools needed to build a successful twin transition strategy. Broken down into three major phases and seven bitesize steps, the playbook is a living document that will be iteratively improved based on adopters’ feedback.

Here, we set out each key phase and provide an overview of the associated steps to prepare business leaders for their twin transition journey.

Digital and sustainable strategies can, and should, be developed in tandem. By following a defined twin transition roadmap, organizations can reduce their environmental impact, enhance their digital offering, and meet their moral obligation to future generations by contributing to a more sustainable world.

The playbook is available on request here. We encourage you to get in touch and share your feedback on the playbook, to help to develop and refine future versions.

Organizations can also share their twin transition experiences through the World Economic Forum database, building a bank of best practice that enables others to replicate successful initiatives.