Lenovo is taking sustainability to the next level with the Lenovo 360 Circle – an ambitious initiative aimed at transforming the sustainability efforts of its global partner network. Lenovo first experienced ClimateChoice (CC) as a participant on behalf of a key customer, recognizing the platform’s power to simplify climate data collection and strategic benchmarking. This positive experience inspired Lenovo to leverage CC’s approach in developing an accelerator for the Lenovo 360 Circle initiative.
In collaboration with ClimateChoice, Lenovo introduced the GHG Emissions & Strategy Community Benchmarking program, empowering partners to evaluate, enhance, and accelerate their climate action. By uniting partners around shared goals and providing data-driven insights, Lenovo is setting a new standard for collaborative climate leadership.
Lenovo’s success with ClimateChoice earned it a Gold rating, with the entire community achieving a Silver-equivalent rating—a testament to the collective impact and alignment towards sustainability goals.
The Challenge: Tackling Scope 3 Emissions in a Complex Downstream Ecosystem
Lenovo recognized that downstream supplier emissions—stemming from product use, transport, and end-of-life treatment—constitute a significant portion of its carbon footprint. The challenge was to effectively manage and reduce these vast Scope 3 emissions across its global downstream partner ecosystem. Limited visibility into partner practices made tracking progress and aligning with sustainability goals difficult.
Lenovo knew that addressing these emissions would require more than just internal efforts; it needed to bring its entire partner network on board. To overcome these challenges, Lenovo turned to collaboration, data-driven insights, and transparency to create a path forward.
Turning Data into Climate Action: Lenovo’s Collaborative Solution
To meet this challenge, Lenovo teamed up with ClimateChoice to create a partnership-driven, data-centric solution. Through the Lenovo 360 Circle GHG Emissions & Strategy Community Benchmarking program, Lenovo helped its partners to:
- Analyze Available Climate Data: Leveraging ClimateChoice Intelligence Platform, Lenovo assessed key public sustainability metrics across its downstream partner ecosystem to identify areas for improvement.
- Facilitate Secure Data Collection: Partners were invited to share additional primary climate data, enabling a more comprehensive view of individual climate performance, and allowing for community-wide benchmarking.
- Provide Tailored Feedback and Co-Develop Improvement Plans: Each partner had the opportunity to receive targeted feedback on their individual and benchmarked climate performance, along with personalized recommendations for improvements—helping partners set and achieve targets.
- Recognize and Reward Sustainability Leadership: Lenovo recognized and rewarded outstanding partners, fostering continuous improvement and motivation.
By collaborating closely with partners, Lenovo was able to transform challenges into opportunities for collective climate action. The benchmarking program offered partners a clear roadmap for improving their sustainability efforts, while tailored feedback helped ensure that every partner, regardless of their current progress, could take meaningful steps toward emission reduction.
“When a customer invited us to join a similar GHG benchmarking initiative, I realized it could be a pivotal addition to our Lenovo 360 Circle accelerator program. This would not only help us evaluate our position alongside our downstream partners but also empower them on their own sustainability journey.” Said Virginie Le Barbu, Global Sustainability Director – International Markets & Lenovo 360 Circle Lead.
Real Impact: How Lenovo’s Initiative is Driving Change
The Lenovo 360 Circle initiative has generated significant results, both for Lenovo and its partners:
- Empowering Partners Through Transparency: Lenovo’s initiative has increased data visibility and transparency, equipping partners with the insights needed to identify areas for emission reduction and improve their sustainability efforts.
- Lowering Emissions Across the Ecosystem: The partnership-driven approach fostered a stronger bond between Lenovo and its partners, contributing to shared success in sustainability and furthering Lenovo’s Net-Zero targets.
- Inspiring a Sustainability-First Culture: By recognizing and rewarding exemplary climate action, Lenovo fostered continuous improvement and sustainability leadership across its partner network.
How to Make It Happen: Engaging Stakeholders for Success
The success of Lenovo’s 360 Circle initiative lies in the collaboration and alignment of key stakeholders across the organization and its partner network. Each stakeholder played a crucial role in meeting sustainability objectives and fostering collective responsibility:
- Lenovo Sustainability Team: Spearheaded the initiative, providing strategic direction and ensuring alignment with Lenovo’s broader Net-Zero targets.
- Lenovo Partner Teams: Acted as the bridge between Lenovo and its partners, facilitating communication, data collection, and progress tracking.
- Partner Sustainability Teams: Contributed crucial data on their emissions and climate actions, and collaborated with Lenovo to align on sustainability goals.
- ClimateChoice: Provided the Climate Intelligence Platform, facilitating data gathering, analysis and benchmarking. Their tools and expertise were instrumental in guiding partners through the process of setting and working towards achieving climate targets.
“Our experience with the Lenovo 360 Circle benchmarking process was straightforward. The Climate Choice platform enabled us to analyze our public climate reporting and provide additional data securely. The industry benchmark and insights we received have been useful for our climate strategy. We will incorporate the results and the Climate Choice gold label into our sustainability communications, reflecting our commitment to data transparency and ongoing efforts in climate action.” Said Florence Fisher, Sustainability Sourcing Strategy Manager (Group) Computacenter
Key Learnings: Insights for Future Success
Throughout the Lenovo 360 Circle initiative, several key lessons emerged, highlighting key factors for driving meaningful sustainability efforts across a large, diverse ecosystem:
- Data-Driven Insights Build Trust: Transparency in data collection and reporting alleviated partners’ privacy concerns and motivated full participation. Accurate benchmarking provided a clear roadmap for action.
- Tailored Support Drives Participation: Offering personalized feedback and improvement plans was crucial in engaging partners at various stages of their sustainability journey. This customized approach ensured that even resource-constrained partners were able to participate and benefit.
- Recognition Fuels Motivation: Recognizing high-performing partners encouraged continuous improvement, sustaining momentum and elevating the initiative’s visibility.
- Collaboration is Key: The initiative demonstrated the power of collective action. Lenovo’s ability to align its partners around shared goals amplified the overall impact on reducing Scope 3 emissions.
- Long-Term Vision is Essential: Lenovo’s commitment to achieving Net-Zero by 2050 requires long-term thinking. By continuously monitoring progress, adjusting strategies, and aligning with the latest climate science, Lenovo ensures that the 360 Circle initiative remains relevant and effective as standards evolve.
Conclusion: Paving the Way for a more Sustainable Future
The Lenovo 360 Circle initiative serves as an inspiring example of how large companies can effectively collaborate with their partners to tackle complex sustainability challenges through transparency, data-driven insights, and a mutually beneficial support system. By focusing on partnership and collective action, Lenovo is leading the way toward a more sustainable future, proving that collective action is key to real climate progress. The lessons learned through this initiative provide a valuable roadmap for other organizations seeking to create impactful change within their ecosystems.