You’ve made some on-the-nose comments about sustainability, for instance around how vendors need to stop forcing you to pointlessly ship product around the world. Do you think the industry is making progress?
As the CEO of a public company, my non-exec directors would like me to have ESG targets. We’re net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 – we got there in 2022. Obviously, getting there on Scope 3 is much more difficult because of your supply chain, and people are quoting 2040 or 2050 and it’s a bit too nebulous. I was happy to have a target, but I want a meaningful target. I want something I can contribute to and make a difference to.
Our recycling, remarketing and redistribution arm RDC, we’ve rebranded that Computacenter Circular Services now. We’ve brought it closer to the core. We have a commitment to opening the recycling, remarketing, redeployment business throughout Europe and eventually in the States (not straight away, it’s going to take us a little bit of time to get there).
Last year, across the group we sold 4.7 million devices, and we recovered 775,000 devices – so getting up towards 20%. We have a commitment, and we will have targets which will be set to all of our senior managers, to get a 1-for-1 ratio between the number of devices we sell and the number of devices we redeploy, remarket or recycle.
“We have a commitment, and we will have targets which will be set to all of our senior managers, to get a 1-for-1 ratio between the number of devices we sell and the number of devices we redeploy, remarket or recycle. I like that, because I can do something with that.”Mike Norris, Computacenter
I like that, because I can do something with that. I know it’s not like getting to Scope 3 net zero, but getting to Scope 3 net zero is a way away, and you and I might not be doing this by then so if I make promises now you can’t hold me to account. Whereas with this, over the next three or four years I can close these gaps, and I think that’s making a difference. And I think it’s a practical, sensible thing where I can do it.
It goes into my remuneration from the 1st of this year. That is the ESG element in my remuneration. That’s not to get to 1-to-1 for this year by the way – that would be a hard one to get. We’ll have milestones along the way.
And we think it’s a good business opportunity as well for recycling, remarketing and redeploying of technology. I’m very keen for the government to give tax breaks that help people use second-user technology a bit more, so I think that’s quite meaningful.
I’m not an oil company; there’s only so much you can do and you can only worry about the things you can affect. And I can affect this. So it’s a major commitment.
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
