Ctg sit23 hub banner.jpg

Bytes on sustainability efforts: 'We're planning to be net-zero by 2040'

British reseller will submit its carbon emission targets to the Science Based Targets initiative this year

Bytes is setting out its carbon emission targets to be net-zero across scope one, two and three emissions by 2040.

Sustainability manager at Bytes, Lisa Prickett, told CRN that the company is hoping to have reduced its carbon emissions for scope one and two by 50 per cent by 2025-26, 50 per cent reductions for scope three by 2030 and eventually net zero by 2040.

She said that the company has already achieved the scope two emissions targets, by moving to renewable electricity this year.

The British reseller recently also committed to submitting its carbon emission targets for 2023 to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in a move to show dedication to its sustainability journey.

"We've got a firm commitment towards our targets and having them eventually - and hopefully - signed off by the SBTi will be a really good step forward," Prickett explained.

"Now that we've got our targets in place, we're also working with an external environments consultancy to ensure we're on the right track and that it's all achievable."

Bytes' carbon targets do not include carbon offsets for now.

Prickett explained: "We don't include it as a target to net zero.

"We do it when we invest in some common projects and community projects. But we don't consider it an end goal.

"We do it because it's a good thing to do as we're moving along that journey. But it's not something that we say, well, that's it, we've done it, we've offset all that carbon we get.

"I think it's important that we do these projects because we're investing in some really good projects that are all verified.

"But equally, that's not an end goal."

Image

Description

A financial burden?

Regarding the financial challenges that these targets could bring, Prickett seemed confident that it wouldn't have any downsides financially.

She said: "We assess our climate-related risks and opportunities within our risk management framework and report annually under TCFD recommendations.

"At present, there aren't any climate risks that are considered to have a material impact on the business, although this is re-evaluated regularly against the latest science.

"The new standards released by the IFSB, S1 and S2, will replace our TCFD reporting from our next financial year and will expand on the current recommendations.

"I understand that the aim of these new standards is to make reporting more consistent and comparable globally, which I think will be welcomed by most businesses."

Prickett added that customers seem to be appreciating Bytes' sustainability efforts.

"We're getting a lot of questions from customers around what we're doing, how we're supporting them on their journeys, and of course, our journeys as well."

The reseller has been enjoying a prosperous time of late as it announced double-digit growth thanks to growing demand for security and cloud.

A recent partnership with AWS, allowing the reseller to offer fully managed cloud services via the hyperscaler, has also helped the firm build out its presence among SMBs.