Having recently finalised the distributor's own net zero strategy, Tech Data's UK & Ireland boss has urged others to partner rather than go it alone when it comes to cutting emissions.
Tech Data's UK arm is aiming to be net carbon zero on scopes 1 and 2 by the end of 2023 and net zero on scope 3 ahead of Tech Data's 2045 global goal.
"The message I got early on is don't try and do everything yourself," Watts says in the above video, recorded after Tech Data was unveiled as a finalist in the CRN Tech Impact Awards.
"This is a fast-moving industry, and the knowledge is gathering all the time. So we took advice from companies around offsetting our flights and around gifting. We're working with Arete who do our carbon assessment, but we're also working with event companies who are helping us create sustainable events.
"You could work it out yourself - slowly and at great expense - but you may not get it all right. We've been partnering with lots of companies on this journey and it's been brilliant."
In the quickfire video interview, Watts also talks about how Tech Data factored sustainability into its impending HQ move, and how more needs to be done to divvy up who owns which carbon emissions as product moves through the channel.
"The way the greenhouse gas protocol works is that it's advice for all industries," he said. "There isn't an IT version of it that takes into account the fact you've got products coming from China to a border and then coming over to the sea to the UK, stopping at a port, arriving at a distributor and then onto a partner and end user…
"I'm talking to partners at the moment about whether we could have a stab at some sector guidance."
This article was produced in association with Tech Data
