Let TCS guide you on your sustainability journey

Creating sustainable futures with TCS 

Sustainability might be the buzz word at the moment, but it is certainly not an alien concept for companies like TCS, which has the idea built into its way of doing business. And with climate change irrevocably altering our current reality, sustainability is no longer a good-to-have – it is a business imperative. That’s why TCS builds on its synergies in this field in order to help its clients achieve their sustainability goals. 

Tata group founder Jamsetji Tata articulated this visionary belief more than a century ago: “In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in the business but is in fact the very purpose of its existence.”

This idea of the community as the very purpose of an enterprise’s existence is the north star that guides TCS’ belief in sustainability. It continues to inspire our purpose-led growth strategy, which helps us put people and the planet at the center of all that we do. 

Naturally, sustainability is not just a growth strategy for us, it is intrinsic to the TCS way of life, of doing business, of helping clients achieve their sustainability goals in a digital world.

In keeping with our larger goal of giving back to the community, TCS has made significant contributions in the areas of health and wellness, education and skill development, and the environment. 

For the planet

TCS has always strived to lead the way on sustainable development. Our chief sustainability objective is to reduce carbon footprint by 70% by the year 2025 (over 2016 levels) and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.

With 67% of our emissions targets already met, we have shown that you can grow your business without increasing your carbon footprint and do your bit for people and the planet.

Our own carbon mitigation efforts have led to in-house innovations such as TCS CleverEnergy^TM and our IoT-based Remote Energy Management System. Developed for our own requirements, these solutions now help our clients meet their emission goals. 

Often, technological innovations have benefits that go beyond the expected business outcomes. One such example is the lesser-known sustainability benefit of cloud adoption.

As more enterprises adopt cloud, hyperscalers are using renewable energy and energy-efficient infrastructure to power server farms, which in turn is helping companies reduce their carbon footprints. So, when we help our clients embrace the cloud stack, we know that we are also helping them fulfil their sustainability goals.

Among other resource groups, our effort is also focused on reduction in freshwater consumption, zero waste disposal, and zero discharge. TCS optimizes water consumption through conservation, sewage treatment and reuse, and rainwater harvesting. We aspire to recycle 100% of our biodegradable waste by 2025 and eliminate single-use plastics from our campuses.

For the people

Our strength lies in our people and the sheer diversity of our global workforce. It is no surprise that in 2021, Top Employers Institute, Amsterdam, recognized TCS as a top global employer for the sixth year in a row. 

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented disruptions. But it also led to innovations. As lockdowns shut entire countries down, we responded by implementing the transformational work-from-home platform Secure Borderless Workspace (SBWSTM) for our over half a million associates spread across 46 countries. 

Implementing SBWS is not a short-term response to a crisis – it is a transformational solution that is contributing to the wellbeing of our associates and the creation of a more sustainable planet. Among the global companies that benefitted from TCS’ SBWS solution are Dutch insurer VIVAT; ManpowerGroup, the global leader in innovative workforce solutions; and US-based Cardinal Health.

TCS also believes in using technology as a catalyst to empower people and communities. Among the most powerful initiatives undertaken by us is the BridgeIT program. It was created to breach the digital divide in rural India, especially for disadvantaged communities, and is currently active in nine states. The program equips youngsters with digital tools and nurtures them to become entrepreneurs, who then provide online services in their communities.

We are committed to empowering the youth to solve complex societal challenges, and we run several programs through which we inculcate a culture of technologically-focused entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration. Initiatives like Digital Impact Square in India, Leaders with Purpose in the US, and Sustainathons across the globe are a testament to that.