While CISOs focus on protecting the organization’s digital assets, they also oversee vast infrastructure and vendor ecosystems that consume energy and resources. Green cybersecurity is about resilience, responsibility, and reducing waste.

Optimize Security Infrastructure

• Consolidate security tools and platforms to reduce duplication and lower compute loads.
• Decommission legacy appliances consuming excessive power or no longer in use.

Green Your Cybersecurity Stack

• Evaluate energy usage of firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS, and endpoint security systems.
• Migrate to cloud-based security services with sustainable hosting environments.

Reduce Digital Clutter

• Work with IT to clean up unused user accounts, stale data, and redundant backups.
• Less data = less storage = lower carbon footprint (plus reduced risk exposure).

Enhance Third-Party Risk Assessments with ESG Lens

Align Cyber & ESG Reporting

• Support the sustainability office in maintaining secure, compliant ESG data systems.
• Ensure data integrity and confidentiality of environmental reporting metrics.

Promote Secure Remote Work as a Green Practice

• Secure hybrid models that reduce commuting and real estate footprints.
• Reinforce safe practices around collaboration tools and personal devices.

Use Automation to Lower Energy Use

• Automate threat detection and response to reduce manual workloads and associated compute cycles.

Launch a ‘Green Cyber Hygiene’ Campaign

• Educate users on minimizing unnecessary digital activities (e.g., large file storage, excessive email retention).
• Encourage regular data cleanups and low-impact computing behaviors.

Review Power Settings on Security Hardware

• Collaborate with IT/infra teams to manage power consumption of on-prem security appliances.

Integrate Sustainability into Cyber Strategy

• Add environmental stewardship to your information security mission statement.
• Lead by example—show how secure systems can also be sustainable.