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Channel showing optimism on sustainability front
Research from Agilitas IT Solutions has shown that channel leaders are facing up to the need to be more sustainable
Agilitas IT Solutions has consistently gone out to research channel attitudes over the past year to discover what the mood of the market is, and the company is at it again to gauge the commitment to sustainability.
Conversations about sustainability and ESG efforts have increased significantly over the past year and are in the forefront of customer discussions as a result of the forthcoming COP26 meeting and the generally high awareness of the challenges the planet is facing.
To try to find out what the attitudes are in the channel, Agilitas has shared the main findings from its Connect for a sustainable future report.
The report found that 84% of those channel leaders quizzed felt optimistic about adopting more eco-friendly processes through their supply chains. For many, the sustainability issue came under wider efforts to build resiliency in the business. Not far off half (45%) said they had already increased their sustainability and circular economy efforts, with 40% looking to do the same in the future.
Born-in-the-cloud channel players seemed to be in the best position, but distribution and security specialists were not far behind in making investments in improving sustainability.
Smaller firms also appeared to be more agile than their larger counterparts, but almost everyone agreed that they had to step up efforts, with only 3% of respondents holding the view that no investment would be needed over the next 12 months.
“The implications of humans and technology is having a profound impact on the environment and planet – and now is the time for action,” said Shaun Lynn, CEO of Agilitas. “Our findings show that the IT Channel is responding to this necessary shift to build a greener future for the sector and across the world.”
Maximising resources
From eco-friendly supply chain processes to building a culture of sustainability through workforce initiatives, IT Channel organisations must find ways to reduce waste and build a circular economy that maximises resources with efficiency and longevity.
The optimism shown by channel firm leaders in their ability to make rapid change is a huge vote of confidence for our industry, as sustainability becomes firmly ingrained in business strategies of the future.
The report comes just a few weeks after Agilitas itself made its own Sustainability Pledge to improve its credentials on this issue.
The firm launched its eVentory Charter to offer sustainable inventory management services across the channel, working with a recycle, rework and reuse model.
The charter is just part of wider ambitions set out by the channel player, with it aiming to plant 100,000 trees over the next five years, deliver a climate-positive workforce in the next decade and a carbon-neutral operation by 2040.
