'Be bold': CRN launches Channel Net Zero Report

Latest report for CRN Essential subscribers looks at what actions the channel is taking to tackle its carbon emissions

Leaders we interviewed for our Channel Net Zero Report urged IT solutions providers to "be bold" when it comes to sustainability in the 2020s.

Drawing on publicly available data, Channel Net Zero analyses the reported carbon emissions of 50 top UK IT solutions providers, including Computacenter, Softcat, Daisy, Apogee and Redcentric.

It also rounds up what these channel partners are doing to tackle their emissions in the face of increasing pressure from customers and government rule makers.

Available exclusively to CRN Essential subscribers, the full report can be viewed here. A preview version can be viewed here, while a rundown of what 25 top IT solutions providers are doing to tackle their emissions can be viewed here.

Whether through use of cloud, IoT, automation or device reuse and recycling, the tech channel is at the forefront of efforts to decarbonise UK businesses and public sector organisations.

IT solutions providers must, however, also get their own houses in order.

What are the average emissions of firms in our sector, and are they going up or down? How many have committed to a carbon reduction or net zero plan, and how ambitious are these plans? And what are some of the key actions firms in our sector are taking to reduce emissions?

'The decisive decade'

We have supplemented this data with interviews from leaders at some of the companies moving furthest and fastest on decarbonisation. What have they done so far and what have they learned? How do they see the regulatory landscape shifting this decade, and how are they planning to further green up their operations, supply chain and customer proposition?

"This is the decisive decade. It's also important to be positive," she said.

In the report, Simone Hindmarch, CEO of managed print, IT and stationary reseller Commercial, urged companies to be "brave".

"I'm absolutely convinced that we have everything we need to resolve the issue. And I think there's far too much negativity out there. We've been able to do it, and we're not a green technology company. This should be something that is taken into the heart of the organisation, and not owned by a group of people - it should be something that easily moves around through an organisation," she said.

The pressure is set to only build in the 2020s, with Chris Gabriel, chief strategy officer at SAP partner Sapphire Systems warning that there will soon be few places to hide for companies of all sizes.

"By 2030 or 2035, your ERP system will be sustainability enabled and will more than likely be reporting into government. It will know what you know - where you got your products from, how they've been shipped, who you ship them to," Gabriel says in the report.