COP26: Partners give verdict on climate conference and how it will move the dial on sustainability

Experts, resellers and distributors talk to CRN about the potential effects of COP26 on the IT channel

The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow concluded earlier this month with an agreement to phase down the use of coal in an effort to keep the target of global temperature rising below 1.5C alive.

It also saw other announcements including an agreement between the USA and China to co-operate on decarbonisation, plans for green shipping and aviation routes, greater help for developing nations and the Breakthrough Agenda to encourage more use of green technology, alon with plenty more.

But what will this all mean for the IT channel, and did it go far enough?

CRN spoke to experts, resellers and distributors to find out what they thought of the conference and what impact it will have on the channel.

What will it mean for the channel?

COP26 brought the issue of sustainability and climate change back to the forefront of discussion and coverage, putting more pressure on businesses, including those in the channel, to have a proper plan for sustainability, as Canalys research analyst Blake Murray explains.

"Sustainability isn't something the channel can ignore, and every customer will expect their partner to have a plan," he said.

"Sustainability has become a key focus for many industries now and it's not going to go away. Partners need to build out their plans now and be able to measure progress, both in their own organisations and be able to support their customers to reduce emissions, move to net zero etc.

"Partners also need to be focused on their take-back and recycling initiatives.

"The technology industry has a responsibility to question every step of the supply chain - from choice of materials in a device, through to packaging, choice of shipping, use, re-furb, recycling, asset recovery and reproduction."

Murray also pointed to increased regulation, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and a greater push towards renewable energy, as factors which will put more pressure on resellers and distributors to communicate and collaborate across the industry and to provide greater visibility into their supply chains.

Gerry Hackett, managing director of Computacenter Circular Services at RDC, believes COP26 will have a "direct effect" on how the channel operates because of that need for increased visibility.

"I think it will have a direct effect, which I think will be a very good thing, because of the increasing demands for data around these issues," he said.

"One good thing about the regularity of the COP events is they do think do focus the mind again and re-emphasise the need for doing something and digitised data is a big part of that."

And while the announcements made at COP26 might have adopted a more general focus, Alastair Wynn, the operations director at one of the UK's largest resellers Softcat, believes the tech industry will have a vital part to play in achieving the aims set out at the conference.

"Tech has a huge part to play. People, countries, communities need to adapt and evolve to deal with climate change, and technology will be a key driver and enabler to accelerate, manage and monitor these changes as well as allowing people to adapt the way in which people consume products and services," he said.

"Just think of the possibilities - cloud, and as-a-service to reshape datacentres, mobility and communication tools to change the way people work, a truly circular IT economy to name a few.

"Something like 800 laptops are disposed of every second and we should close the loop on as much of this as possible to minimise the impact on the planet, whilst maximising the opportunity on all levels."

Did it go far enough?

But while COP26 shone a light on sustainability once again for sectors like the IT channel, many say it did not go far enough.

Dave Stevinson, CEO of distributor QBS Software, labelled the conference as a "missed opportunity" and highlighed a lack of tech industry specific focus.

"If you have low expectations, you can be easily satisfied," he said.

"According to BOGA (Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance), all fossil fuels need to be left in the ground by 2030. This agreement didn't happen. It is not enough to do a bit less harm. We now need to do more good and to be restorative and regenerative.

"All companies should constantly question their right to exist - what are we doing which is good for society and the environment?

"I didn't hear anything specific to our industry, and I guess we don't need to wait to be told by politicians what to do - it's pretty obvious. The channel has an open field in front of us."

But Roger Whittle, the CEO of the UK's largest Apple reseller Jigsaw24, said that he was "never expecting very much specific to the tech industry" though did highlight some areas where the announcements will have a positive impact on the channel.

"There is quite a lot of good progress that was made here and in time, that will become a platform for the necessary carbon taxation schemes that will have to come into play," he said.

"There are various tech sector specific initiatives here like green shipping and green aviation. I was never expecting anything specific to the technology channel but I just wanted to see a general move in the right direction.

"And I think we did get that. I would give it six out of 10, even six plus out of 10, because I'm an optimist. I think one of the biggest benefits of COP26 was it was in the headlines for two weeks and this has now become an unstoppable mass movement.

"And I think that's very important, so I thought that was positive. It's an important stepping stone."

Other resellers shared a similar view to Whittle. Wynn believes a "decent outcome was reached in the end" while Hackett said the conference "kept the show on the road" when it came to sustainability though added that it "felt a bit light on some of the real hard-nosed practicalities".

But while COP26 saw some of the biggest countries in the world focus their attentions on how they can go about fixing the climate crisis, and those in the channel recognising that some good came out of it, they know there is a lot more that needs to be done.

"I think everybody knows what they need to do. We all need to get to net zero as a matter of emergency because we're facing an existential crisis," Whittle added.