'I'd like to see a carbon count for every single IT product' - Westcoast MD

Alex Tatham says distributor's direct carbon emissions are 'tiny' in comparison to that of the products it carries

Westcoast managing director Alex Tatham has urged the industry to pressurise manufacturers to up their game on carbon labelling.

Although the distributor has committed to being net carbon zero on its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035, Westcoast's direct emissions are "tiny" in comparison to the scope 3 emissions generated by the making and shipping of the products it carries, Tatham said.

"The impact that Westcoast has is tiny compared with that," he said, talking to CRN ahead of the relaunch of our Tech Impact campaign.

"And one of the key things I'd like to see is some kind of carbon count for every single product.

"Clearly, we're lobbying hard for that. Our MP is Alok Sharm - the head of [Cop26] - and we're going to make absolutely sure that we speak loudly in government when it comes to this particular area."

Tatham also revealed that he is wary of leaning too much on offsetting to reach its scope 1 and 2 goals.

"I've tried to make sure that we don't put carbon offsetting in this, and to make sure that we absolutely can use electric vehicles, put solar panels on our roofs and use the very best technology and green energy within our business to reduce the impact on the planet."

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