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In many organizations, digital sustainability often begins as a regulatory requirement, before becoming a more structured approach.
This is exactly the path taken by CNAF.
During a discussion on their Green IT strategy with Sopht, Jean-Paul Verneret, Head of Sustainable IT, explained how the organization transitioned from legal compliance to practical and effective impact management.
Starting under pressure: flying blind
Before launching the initiative, CNAF faced a major hurdle: a total lack of data due to a lack of tools. The organization had no visibility into its digital carbon footprint.
With new regulations looming (Loi Élan, Tertiary Decree), CNAF was required to produce a precise carbon report by 2025.
Yet, on the ground, quantifying emissions from servers, cloud services, or workstations was nearly impossible. Without objective data, it was impossible to:
- Identify the primary sources of emissions,
- Prioritize actions effectively,
- Or mobilize teams for the long term.
Why CNAF chose Sopht
To break the deadlock, CNAF turned to Sopht, focusing on three key pillars:
- Group-wide consistency: since CNAM was already using the solution, adopting the same tool streamlined practices and built internal trust.
- Smooth deployment: the platform was operational in four to five months, thanks to seamless collaboration between Sopht, the IT department, and the integrator Devoteam.
- The choice of french: for Jean-Paul Verneret, this was non-negotiable. Sopht adapted its platform (originally available only in English) to remove any barriers to understanding. In a project where education is vital, language should never be an obstacle to taking action.
Guiding change to overcome resistance
Changing habits is never easy, and internal resistance was a reality. The shift toward digital sobriety came with its share of challenges. Rather than ignoring them, CNAF focused on transparency and training. By giving meaning to the numbers, the organization successfully turned team hesitation into long-term commitment.
Concrete and sometimes counter-intuitive results
Today, CNAF has the facts: the branch’s digital carbon footprint stands at 9.3 kilotonnes.
The results were surprising: it’s not data centers that pollute the most, but rather the manufacturing of screens and workstations (Scope 3).
Another major gain: Sopht significantly improved CNAF’s internal data quality. The tool helped clean up and verify internal inventories (GLPI), revealing gaps that had previously gone unnoticed.
From regulatory reporting to strategic management
CNAF is no longer just doing reporting. The organization now plans to use Sopht to simulate future hardware purchases based on their carbon impact and to track precise performance indicators through data exports.
By transforming a legal requirement into a management tool, CNAF proves that Green IT, when properly equipped, becomes a driver for performance and lasting cultural change.
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In many organizations, digital sustainability often begins as a regulatory requirement, before becoming a more structured approach.
This is exactly the path taken by CNAF.
During a discussion on their Green IT strategy with Sopht, Jean-Paul Verneret, Head of Sustainable IT, explained how the organization transitioned from legal compliance to practical and effective impact management.
Starting under pressure: flying blind
Before launching the initiative, CNAF faced a major hurdle: a total lack of data due to a lack of tools. The organization had no visibility into its digital carbon footprint.
With new regulations looming (Loi Élan, Tertiary Decree), CNAF was required to produce a precise carbon report by 2025.
Yet, on the ground, quantifying emissions from servers, cloud services, or workstations was nearly impossible. Without objective data, it was impossible to:
- Identify the primary sources of emissions,
- Prioritize actions effectively,
- Or mobilize teams for the long term.
Why CNAF chose Sopht
To break the deadlock, CNAF turned to Sopht, focusing on three key pillars:
- Group-wide consistency: since CNAM was already using the solution, adopting the same tool streamlined practices and built internal trust.
- Smooth deployment: the platform was operational in four to five months, thanks to seamless collaboration between Sopht, the IT department, and the integrator Devoteam.
- The choice of french: for Jean-Paul Verneret, this was non-negotiable. Sopht adapted its platform (originally available only in English) to remove any barriers to understanding. In a project where education is vital, language should never be an obstacle to taking action.
Guiding change to overcome resistance
Changing habits is never easy, and internal resistance was a reality. The shift toward digital sobriety came with its share of challenges. Rather than ignoring them, CNAF focused on transparency and training. By giving meaning to the numbers, the organization successfully turned team hesitation into long-term commitment.
Concrete and sometimes counter-intuitive results
Today, CNAF has the facts: the branch’s digital carbon footprint stands at 9.3 kilotonnes.
The results were surprising: it’s not data centers that pollute the most, but rather the manufacturing of screens and workstations (Scope 3).
Another major gain: Sopht significantly improved CNAF’s internal data quality. The tool helped clean up and verify internal inventories (GLPI), revealing gaps that had previously gone unnoticed.
From regulatory reporting to strategic management
CNAF is no longer just doing reporting. The organization now plans to use Sopht to simulate future hardware purchases based on their carbon impact and to track precise performance indicators through data exports.
By transforming a legal requirement into a management tool, CNAF proves that Green IT, when properly equipped, becomes a driver for performance and lasting cultural change.
