Sustainability, the New Pillar of Technology Investing

LAST WEEK I ORDERED AN UBER TAXI. IT WAS VERY EFFICIENT, ARRIVED WHEN I ASKED, TOOK ME WHERE I WANTED TO GO AND IT DIDN’T COST A FORTUNE. IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT HOW TODAY’S EFFICIENCY IS AT THE CORE OF EVERY TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT, JUST AS TECHNOLOGY IS AT THE CORE OF EVERY SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT.

Sustainability is more than greener and cleaner

But what is sustainability these days? What is clear is that sustainability is no longer simply about greener or cleaner or even about energy savings alone. It can be applied across the board and we have seen a marked shift from what used to be energy efficiency to resource efficiency – doing more with less – and this shift is continuous. So why is it that investing in growth capital in technology markets has become driven by resource efficiency? Well, going back to Uber, a technology investment on one level, but a game changer from a resource perspective from another. It is no longer only about a reduction in cost of going between A and B, or how efficient taxis can be, but a service like Uber goes as far as being able to change the way we use our cars. So much so that we begin to ask ourselves, why do we even need to keep one parked? Ditto for Tesla. Not only do Tesla cars not use a fossil fuel – sustainability in its purest form - but because of that they also use fewer pipes or plugs, there is no need for the type of maintenance we are used to. A sea change, I would say, in the whole way we approach our cars and the entire industry around them.
If you take this theme a step further and start to look at what most would see as pure technology companies, the blend of sustainability and technology becomes even more evident. Take Huddle, a company which provides large scale document storage, on the one hand a pure technology investment, but on the other, one which effects real savings in resources - in the space, materials, energy - required in storage and collaboration. Can a technology investor afford to ignore resource efficiencies when deciding on an investment? And equally would it be foolish for a cleantech investor to ignore technology investment opportunities?