As Earth Month begins, we are proud to announce that Hippo has officially become a member of the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA).
Joining the GDSA is a natural extension of our commitment to building digital services that are not only user-centred but also planet-conscious. As part of this alliance, we are joining a collective of industry leaders and government experts dedicated to sharing best practices and driving the UK’s digital sustainability agenda forward.
What is digital sustainability?
Sustainability is often viewed through a narrow lens of carbon footprints. At Hippo, we take a more holistic view, considering the social, economic and environmental impacts of technology and digital services.
While digital services can be a powerful tool in solving the climate crisis, they can also contribute to the problem if managed poorly. A “green” digital future rests on key pillars:
- Reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions: Sustainable service design can act as the foundation of reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. By embedding sustainability principles into every phase of design and delivery, we can optimise user experiences to minimise impact, alongside championing energy-efficient infrastructures and renewably powered cloud services.
- Circular Economy & Lifecycle Management: True digital sustainability requires addressing embodied carbon – the emissions locked into the manufacturing and transport of hardware. We must shift from linear consumption to a circular model, prioritising maintenance, refurbishment and reuse to extend hardware lifespans.
- Responsible Digital Citizenship: Sustainability is far more than a technical hurdle or carbon measurement, it is a fundamental shift in purpose and behaviour. While we are advocates for digital-first efficiencies, true responsibility requires a commitment to principled decision-making. This means ensuring our technology is inclusive by design, ethical in its application, and intentionally aligned with broader global impact – bridging the gap between operational efficiency and systemic equity.
- Transparency and accountability: A sustainable supply chain and ecosystem must be traceable, ethical, and free from modern slavery.
The Hippo vision for digital sustainability
We don’t just want to talk about sustainable digital services; we also want to deliver them. Hippo has established a multi-disciplinary team of digital sustainability advocates whose mission is to:
- Champion: Put sustainability at the heart of every project.
- Inspire: Show our partners what is possible when strategy and design meets sustainability.
- Up-skill: Give our teams and clients the tools to make sustainable choices and make their impact visible.
- Myth-bust: Challenge the assumption that “digital” is inherently “clean” and provide the data-backed reality.
“Our goal is to enable Hippos and our partners to deliver responsible services and outcomes for people and planet. Joining the GDSA provides us with a powerful platform to scale that impact across the public sector.”
Amy Wagner, Delivery Partner and Sustainability Lead at Hippo
What’s next?
As we integrate further into the GDSA, we look forward to collaborating on new standards and initiatives for sustainable service delivery and sharing our insights with the wider digital community.
