Lenovo focuses on smarter IT sustainability in the Middle East

Lenovo™ has announced the addition of its CO2 Offset Service to its consumer PC portfolio in the Middle East. The Lenovo CO2 Offset Service, which is available on all Think commercial PCs, Lenovo Legion™ and Yoga™ PCs for consumer and commercial customers, provides consumers with a simple and transparent way to offset carbon emissions and help the environment by supporting one of several United Nations Climate Action projects.

As one of the first PC manufacturers to bring this type of carbon compensation service to the IT industry, Lenovo developed CO₂ Offset Service as a solution for its customers to help them meet their own environmental goals. However, it is just part of the company’s broader Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) strategy and ambitions. Recognizing the toll that human activities are taking on our planet,  Lenovo has outlined its commitment to become net-zero by 2050 and pledged to positively impacting 15 million lives through philanthropic programmes and partnerships by 2025 .

Visionary governments across the region have implemented a variety of initiatives as they strive for a more sustainable future. The UAE has a number of federal and municipal policies in place that set clear goals for the country in order to shape its future in a more sustainable manner. Among the UAE’s environmental projects are the UAE Vision 2021, the UAE Centennial 2071, and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which calls for the country to use 50 percent clean energy by 2050. Several sustainable development goals have already been established in the UAE, and they serve as the foundation for most new initiatives, including Lenovo’s expansion of the CO2 Offset Service.

Mohammed Hilili, General Manager, Gulf, Lenovo, said: “Lenovo recognizes the importance of the global effort to mitigate climate change, having set our own science-based emissions reduction objectives. The launch of our CO2 Offset Service was always meant to assist our customers in their own sustainability efforts, and we’re proud to now be able to offer that assistance to our customers. Recent developments in the UAE include the launch of four pioneering national initiatives to ensure the sustainability of water resources, a program to attract young people to be part of local and global green initiatives and, financing clean energy projects and becoming the first Gulf nation to commit to net zero emissions by 2050.”

The carbon offsets provided by the Lenovo CO2 Offset Service will help communities in the Middle East and around the world benefit from sustainable development benefits such as improved air and water quality, reduced energy consumption, and support for safe waste disposal. To date, Lenovo’s business customers have offset more than 500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions through the purchase of Think PCs (desktops, workstations, laptops). That equates to the amount of GHG emitted by more than 100,000 passenger vehicles driven in a single year.

Lenovo has revealed how customers are helping to usher in a green revolution in commerce by choosing to offset the carbon emissions of new Think, Legion, and Yoga products at the point of purchase as part of the company’s new CO2 Offset Services initiative.

Offsetting an entire product lifecycle

Lenovo CO2 Offset Services aims to meet customers’ growing desire for eco-transparency in all of their purchases, and it is one of the first companies in the world to tie dedicated offsets to individual products, allowing customers to better understand their individual carbon footprints.

The service calculates emissions from the manufacture and shipping of each individual product, as well as those for up to a typical five-year usage period. This amount is then offset through one of many partner initiatives, such as projects overseen by the United Nations and ClimeCo, one of the largest producers of voluntary carbon credits in the United States under the Climate Action Reserve.