TD Synnex offers channel sustainability education

One of the key roles played by distribution is to educate channel partners, and as more disties establish their sustainability credentials, efforts to share that knowledge are increasing.

TD Synnex is among those working through its own position in the move to reduce carbon emissions, and has cut the ribbon on its Net Zero Academy to support others in that ambition.

The three-day course will give partners the chance to get a full assessment of their own carbon impact and then build on that with a strategy that will help them get to a position of net-zero carbon.

The course is accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and delivered by specialist consultancy Arete Zero Carbon.

Partners that attend will get a walkthrough of UK and EU regulations and governance around net zero and will be shown how to map their own emissions. Attendees will discover details on measuring Scope 1 and 2 emissions and how to record their emissions so steps can be taken to establish a reduction plan.

It has become increasingly clear that channel partners need to have a strong sustainability pitch if they want to keep winning business, and customers want to see a net-zero strategy.

Sophia Haywood-Atkinson, business unit director of services UK at TD Synnex, said the aim of the course was to arm partners with the knowledge needed to drive forward their own sustainability efforts.

“The Net Zero Academy will give channel partners a simple, quick and effective way to acquire the knowledge they need to take ownership of their responsibility to reduce their carbon emissions. It will equip them to make a proper carbon assessment of their own business and set out a realistic plan to reduce emissions – based on recognised industry standards – and move towards net zero,” she said.

“That’s increasingly important now as customers are looking much harder at the commitment of their suppliers to sustainability. Regulations and directives such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)1, and the NHS PPN 06/21 directive2, for example, are starting to come into force. Businesses that do not meet these requirements could find themselves at a significant competitive disadvantage,” she added.

Stephen Finnegan, managing director of Arete Zero Carbon, said there was a clear benefit for resellers to gain sustainability insights.

“There is a real need for IT channel companies to get an understanding of where they are with respect to their carbon footprint and exactly how far they need to travel to achieve net zero. The three-day course will give them the fundamental knowledge they need to make a good assessment and formulate a plan,” he said.

“It’s something we believe all IT businesses will need to do very soon now. As well as being the right thing to do, it will increasingly make commercial sense,” he added.