Lenovo has revealed how customers are ushering in a green revolution in commerce by opting to offset the carbon emissions of new Think branded products.
Lenovo has revealed how customers are ushering in a green revolution in commerce by opting to offset the carbon emissions of new Think branded products at the point of purchase as part of the company’s new CO2 Offset Services initiative.
Lenovo first launched the program as a pilot in the Nordics in February 2020. Building on this successful pilot, the company plans to roll out the program in 2021 for all of Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as Asia Pacific and North America.
It’s believed to be one of the first initiatives of its kind in the IT industry. It makes understanding the ecological impact of every individual product and its lifetime usage simple and transparent. Business customers are then able to contribute to specific ecological projects and offset an equivalent amount of emissions.
Customers are able to choose from a range of United Nations-approved initiatives spanning continents and hemispheres and receive a certificate confirming the offset emissions for each serial number – as well as an official certifying badge for each product. So far more than 26,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent emissions of 1.7 million miles of airline flight, or 1,789 European flights, have been offset.
The initiative is continuing its global roll out to Lenovo customers across Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and North America. Customers seeking more sustainable IT options can simply add the offset service as they spec out their purchase.
Lenovo CO2 Offset Services seeks to meet customers’ growing desire for eco-transparency in all their purchases and is one of the first in the world to tie dedicated offsets to individual products, to help better understand individual carbon footprints.
The service works by factoring in emissions produced from the manufacture and shipping of each individual product, as well as those for up to an estimated typical five years of usage. This amount is then offset through one of many partner initiatives, including projects overseen by the United Nations and ClimeCo, one of the largest producers of US voluntary carbon credits under the Climate Action Reserve.
“What’s unusual is our micro, rather than macro approach here,” said Thilo Bayerlander, Director Lenovo EMEA Services Sales. “We’ve crunched the numbers and can say with confidence what carbon impact the individual product you buy will have. You can then simply choose to offset this PCF [Product carbon footprint] at the point of purchase.
“This is actually one of the first times that you can draw a clear line from your individual purchase to the number of metric tonnes then offset. We believe we are the first company in the IT industry to make offsetting tangible for our customers in a way that links cause and effect directly.”
