Building an Ecosystem of Sustainability Initiatives


Posted by Mike Fitch


Achieving long-term environmental sustainability isn’t something that can be achieved by one person, one region or one company. Earth Day is a great annual reminder that creating a better planet is the responsibility of all of us – working together, globally, to take positive steps toward a green future.

 

At Tech Data, we surround ourselves with vendors, customers and colleagues who mirror our Shared Values. One of these Shared Values is Integrity – we do what’s right. We act with the highest standards of ethics, and part of that includes doing what’s right for the environment.

This Earth Day, we want to put the focus on some of our vendors, and spotlight what they’re doing related to asset recycling, sustainability and sound product disposal.

 

Cisco – Protecting the Environment

Environmental sustainability is one of the top priorities for Cisco. The company is looking to minimize impact on the environment in many aspects of its business. In 2020 alone, 83% of Cisco’s electricity use came from renewable sources, and there are plans to grow that to 85% in FY22.

Cisco’s Customer Recycling Solutions make it easy for customers that have obsolete equipment to safely and responsibly recycle and dispose of equipment that has reached its end of life. The Takeback and Recycle program enables the extraction and reuse of equipment materials, which are processed into steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, circuit boards and cables.

 

Dell Technologies – Advancing Sustainability

Advancing sustainability is at the heart of everything Dell Technologies does. Focusing on the “circular economy,” Dell Technologies works with recycling and supply chain partners to drive change and eliminate waste. In one example, rare-earth magnets are taken from recycled hard disk drives and reused in new magnets for new hard drives. Both consumers and businesses around the world have options when it comes to recycling end-of-life equipment; here’s how to recycle.

In addition, Dell Technologies has made a commitment to reduce energy consumption and work with partners to improve their energy efficiency. More information on their social and environmental impact is highlighted in a “progress made real” report, based on the events of 2020.

 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise – Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

HPE has been consistently recognized as a leader when it comes to addressing climate change. At HPE, the team realizes the importance of minimizing the tech industry’s environmental footprint and looks to be at the forefront of driving that change.

HPE has one primary driver in its value chain goals (which, by the way, are aligned to goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement): Enabling a low-carbon economy. HPE has company-wide environmental and climate policies to ensure its operations minimize the impact on the planet. In addition, HPE’s transformative IT solutions built today rely much more on connectivity, so that we can do more with less.

 

HPE’s 2025 climate targets:

  • 55% reduction in operational emissions (compared to 2016)
  • 30x increase in energy performance (compared to 2015)
  • 15% reduction in manufacturing-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (compared to 2016)

 

Hitachi – Achieving a Decarbonized Society Through Environmental Action

Hitachi doesn’t just talk about environmental consciousness, this company is putting it directly into action via educational courses, factory tours, forest and woodland conservation activities and organized cleaning in order to keep our environment beautiful.

Hitachi’s sustainability report specifically calls out four areas:

  • Environmental management, which includes enhanced education, governance and compliance for employees
  • Achieving a decarbonized society, through the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at business sites and introducing renewable energy when possible
  • Achieving a resource-efficient society, which involves the transition to a circular economy
  • Achieving a harmonized society with nature, which is all about promoting initiatives that reduce our impact on natural capital

 

IBM – Using Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy for the Greater Good

IBM has made environmental policies a part of its core for more than 50 years. In addition to implementing recycling programs and reducing its own environmental impacts, in 2021, IBM started using next-gen technologies to address global environmental challenges.

IBM uses Watson artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for things ranging from analyzing atmospheric readings to helping forecast weather, which aids farmers, airlines, energy companies and governments in maximizing their efficiencies. IBM has also launched the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), an unmanned vessel that runs on solar energy, for ocean exploration.

 

Lenovo – Building a Sustainable Future with Bio-based Packaging

Lenovo details its environmental responsibility actions all the way down to its product design and packaging in order to show leadership in the industry. In fact, Lenovo’s packaging uses bio-based materials such as bamboo and sugar cane in order to reduce waste and emissions. Lenovo also has taken the pledge to battle climate change and vows to reduce GHG emissions from all business activities, via its approach, performance, operations and supply chain.

 

VMware – 10 Environmental Goals by 2030

VMware has committed to achieving 30 “trust, equity and sustainability” goals within the next 10 years, including 10 dedicated to sustainability as the world faces critical environmental challenges. These goals include a pledge for decarbonization for VMware’s customers, supply chain and operations through zero-carbon clouds, water resilience, distributed energy, e-waste responsibility and net-zero emissions, just to name a few. It largely helps that at VMware’s solutions core is the transition to virtualization, which has helped avoid 340 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the last 13 years.

 

Tech Data’s Commitment to Sustainability

Tech Data is proud to work alongside vendors and channel partners that are dedicated to improving our planet for generations to come. Tech Data has a number of product lifecycle solutions to properly help with the correct disposal, recycling and reuse of IT equipment. Our Global Lifecycle Management team helps customers reduce complexity in this process with IT asset disposition (ITAD) services, including a trade-in and buyback program, giving you the peace of mind that you’re using a service provider that responsibly e-cycles to protect the environment.

As shown below, Tech Data has also completed several environmentally-focused projects to help reduce our company’s carbon footprint, including improved energy efficiency at several of our facilities.

  • San Antonio, Texas: achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
  • Tempe, Arizona: solar panel fields in the parking lot
  • Two logistics centers: lighting retrofitting using light emitting diode (LED) technologies
  • Several office facilities: electric car charging stations

You can read more about Tech Data’s commitment to sustainability here.

Happy Earth Day 2021.



About the Author

TD Synnex Editor

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Mike Fitch
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Content marketer and communicator through and through. ASU grad with more than 10 years of B2B tech marketing/communications experience.