How Lenovo is Celebrating Its Climate Conscious Supply Chain
Lenovo is redefining how businesses approach sustainability with the Lenovo 360 Circle, a bold, global initiative that unites its partner network around shared ESG goals.
The initiative is designed to embed sustainability into every corner of the supply and value chain by combining collaboration, data-driven insights and accountability – turning Lenovo’s global partner ecosystem into a force for climate leadership.
At the heart of the Lenovo 360 Circle is the belief that genuine progress towards net zero targets requires collective action.
Collaborating for change
The Lenovo 360 Circle promotes a hands-on, partner-focused approach.
By bringing together channel partners, customers and stakeholders, the initiative is driving meaningful change in areas including responsible procurement, circular economy practices and emissions reduction.
The initiative equips organisations with tools and expertise to enhance their sustainability strategies, while aligning with international standards such as the UN Global Compact.
“Our channel partners are integral to our success,” explains Pascal Bourguet, Lenovo’s Global Channel Chief.
“Being recognised is a testament to our commitment to nurturing these partnerships, driving new opportunities and offering tailored incentives and experiences that support our partners' growth and success.”
In FY 2023/24, 91% of Lenovo’s lead partners engaged in circular economy objectives, while 65% committed to renewable energy initiatives and alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
These figures reflect a growing maturity in how channel partners are approaching sustainability as a strategic priority.
Tackling Scope 3 through partnerships
A major sustainability challenge for Lenovo lies in its downstream Scope 3 emissions including the carbon footprint of product use, logistics and end-of-life treatment.
These emissions represent a significant portion of the company’s total impact however managing them requires visibility and influence beyond Lenovo’s immediate operations.
“When a customer invited us to join a similar GHG benchmarking initiative, I realised it could be a pivotal addition to our Lenovo 360 Circle accelerator programme,” said Virginie Le Barbu, Global Sustainability Director, International Markets & Lenovo 360 Circle Lead.
“This would not only help us evaluate our position alongside our downstream partners but also empower them on their own sustainability journey.”
By leveraging benchmarking data, Lenovo has created greater transparency across its value and supply chain.
This transparency is allowing businesses to identify emissions hotspots, share best practices and collaborate on reduction strategies.
Empowering sustainability
One of the initiative’s key pillars is recognition.
The Lenovo 360 Circle Summit, held annually, celebrates organisations that lead on climate action.
This year the shortlisted companies are based off of four different awards:
- The Sustainability Individual Champion Award – DynamIT (Martin-Clement Delanoy), Foxway (Stefan Nilsson), Connection (Lisa-Marie Sicard) and CDW (Maria Benitez)
- Most Improved Sustainability Partner Award – Dustin Group AB, Blue Connections IT, Ingram Micro, Telecom Computer Inc and SHI International Corp
- Outstanding Sustainability Collaboration Spirit Award – T-Systems, TD SYNNEX, Egiss and CDW
- Best Social Impact Initiative Award – Dustin Group AB, TD SYNNEX, Insight and SCC.
At the inaugural event, Egiss was named “EMEA Partner of the Year 2024” for its leadership in sustainable IT.
These awards play a vital role in motivating partners as well as showcasing what’s possible when innovation meets environmental responsibility.
The 360 Circle community has also driven adoption of renewable energy, improved ESG reporting and inspired broader behavioural change.
Lenovo’s approach to sustainability is clear – collaboration is non-negotiable.
Tangible benefits from impactful partnerships
To make sure Lenovo is able to turn data into climate action, the company collaborated with ClimateChoice to create a partnership-driven, data centric solution.
Through the Lenovo 360 Circle GHG Emissions & Strategy Community Benchmarking programme, Lenovo helped its partners to:
- Analyse available climate data: Leveraging ClimateChoice Intelligence Platform, Lenovo assessed key public sustainability metrics across its downstream partner ecosystem to identify areas for improvement.
- Facilitate secure data collection: Partners were invited to share additional primary climate data, enabling a more comprehensive view of individual climate performance, and allowing for community-wide benchmarking.
- Provide tailored feedback and co-develop improvement plans: Each partner had the opportunity to receive targeted feedback on their individual and benchmarked climate performance, along with personalised recommendations for improvements—helping partners set and achieve targets.
- Recognise and reward sustainability leadership: Lenovo recognised and rewarded outstanding partners, fostering continuous improvement and motivation.
By collaborating closely with partners, Lenovo was able to transform challenges into opportunities for collective climate action.
By investing in partnerships, transparency and accountability, the Lenovo 360 Circle is enabling organisations to meet increasingly ambitious climate targets.
In doing so, Lenovo is not only addressing its own environmental impact but empowering others to join the journey.
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