At Lenovo, our vision is to provide smarter technology that builds a brighter, more sustainable future for our customers, colleagues, communities, and the planet. Today, with the publication of our 2020/21 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, we reflect on our fifteenth year of sustainability efforts, acknowledge the progress we’ve made, and outline how we are moving forward.
As we still face the challenges brought on by the pandemic, we continue to pursue operational excellence across the environmental, social and governance-related aspects of our business.
Contributing to a More Sustainable Environment
We remain diligent in our efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. Today, we’re announcing new energy emission reduction goals that will help to continue minimizing our carbon footprint. Within the next five years, our goal is to source 90 percent of electricity used in global operations from renewable sources and remove one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from our supply chain.
Lenovo is also exploring our own path to net-zero targets after being selected by the SBTi to road test science-based methodology for achieving net-zero emissions. Last year, after meeting our 2020 emissions reduction targets, we announced new 2030 emissions reductions targets that received approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These goals include a 50 percent reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and a 25 percent decrease in emissions intensity in three areas of our business—products, suppliers, and transportation.
While we track the emissions of our global business, we’re also helping users everywhere decrease their carbon footprint by improving the energy efficiency of our products. By FY 2030, we will achieve 50 percent improvement in energy efficiency of Lenovo desktops and servers and 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency of Lenovo notebooks and Motorola products.
In addition to improving the energy efficiency of our products, we continue to integrate sustainable materials and minimize waste through innovations in product and packaging design. In 2020, we used nearly 6 million kilograms of recycled plastics in our products, including approximately 4 million kilograms of closed-loop post-consumer recycled content across a portfolio of 103 products. Looking toward the future, we will continue to integrate sustainable materials and transition to a circular economy. By 2025, we are aiming for the following:
- 100 percent of PC products will contain post-consumer recycled content materials;
- 100 percent of smartphone products and accessories will be free of PVC and BFR;
- 90 percent of PC products plastic packaging and 60 percent of smartphone packaging will be made from recycled materials;
- We will have enabled the recycling and reuse of 363 million kilograms of end-of-life products and use 136 million kilograms of post-consumer recycled content plastics in our products.
Driving Social Impact in the Workplace and Beyond
Social impact is critical for any ESG strategy. In FY 2020-2021, we received global accolades around our workplace culture, including earning a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year, being named one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company and being recognized as one of HR Asia’s Best Places to Work.
When looking to the future, we know it is important to continue integrating diversity and inclusion throughout our company. From increasing underrepresented minorities within our executive ranks to our growing Product Diversity Office, we are using our global nature as our greatest strength to guide us forward. By 2025, we will:
- Grow the global representation of women in executive roles to 27 percent (from 21 percent in 2020)
- Grow the U.S. representation of underrepresented minorities in executive roles to 35 percent (from 29 percent in 2020)
- Ensure 75 percent of Lenovo’s products will be vetted by inclusive design experts through our Product Diversity Office to ensure they work for everyone, regardless of physical attributes or abilities
While we take responsibility for social impact within our workforce, we know we must also continue to give back to the communities where all of our stakeholders live and work. Philanthropy is a core element of smarter technology for all and has been a driving force for Lenovo, especially in the past year. In FY 2020, we provided $15 million in pandemic-related support to educators, community leaders and charitable organizations. During our annual Global Month of Service last October, Lenovo employees around the world rallied together and led a record-breaking 132 volunteer projects and logged more than 19,000 hours in volunteer service, directly impacting nearly 40,000 individuals around the world. Moving forward, our goal is to create a positive impact on 15 million lives and fully transform one million lives through philanthropic programs and partnerships by FY 2025.
As we continue to navigate an ever-changing world and events that challenge us as individuals and communities, we know our greatest potential comes when unified under a common purpose. At Lenovo, we will continue to ensure that our smarter technology delivers greater equity, sustainability, and access – for all.