Earth Day 2024: Our Commitments to a More Sustainable Future

By Mary Jacques, Executive Director, Global ESG & Regulatory Compliance, Lenovo

In my time at Lenovo, I’ve watched Earth Day develop from a single day of celebration and awareness in the U.S. – mostly around recycling – to a global event that doesn’t just celebrate awareness in the moment but fosters transparency and collaboration around our common goals all year. I’m proud to see this evolution and to lead the growth of Lenovo’s sustainability programs alongside it. Today, our global technology powerhouse is driving progress for our customers and communities around the world. From our services and solutions to our servers, PCs, smartphones, and monitors, Lenovo is striving to not just meet our own sustainability goals but help our customers on their sustainability journeys as well.

We’re developing solutions and services that support our customers’ sustainability goals. The rapid adoption of AI across sectors is generating a lot of questions for sustainability managers. We know that AI is an important part of our future and an emerging tool that can help us measure sustainability impacts to make more data informed decisions. Today, our Services and Solutions Group (SSG) announced LISSA, a Gen-AI powered Intelligent Sustainability Solutions Advisor that empowers our customers with the data they need to better understand the carbon footprint of their IT purchasing decisions. LISSA is just one of the latest innovations from a suite of options offered by our Sustainability Services Team. Today, they offer ways for customers to manage, measure and reduce the carbon footprints of their IT solutions from the point of purchase and shipment, all the way to the end of a device’s lifecycle.

Just like our services and solutions business, the developers of our servers and devices are constantly examining details and opportunities to increase sustainability. We are immensely proud of the team’s efforts and achievement in plastic-free packaging, repairability, and innovative materials in our PCs, and we know that Lenovo’s Neptune Liquid Cooling technology is the answer for customers who want increased energy efficiency and computing power. Our teams continue to find ways to contribute to the circular economy and make our products more energy efficient. Lenovo has included post-consumer recycled content in our products for well over a decade and continues to push the boundaries of taking a holistic approach to including recycled content in as many applications and products a possible – not just a select few. As part of our journey to net-zero, our business leaders are innovating to improve the carbon impact of our products, aiming to improve energy efficiency of our servers and desktop PCs by 50% (base year 2018/19) and energy efficiency of our laptops and Motorola smartphones by 30% (base year 2020/21).

At Lenovo we know that our journey to net-zero will require the support of our entire enterprise. With this momentum, we’re proud to be on-track in our 2030 emissions reduction goals, the first milestone in our journey to net-zero aligned to Science Based Targets initiative’s Net-Zero Standard. The Net-Zero Standard is the first of its kind standard for companies working toward net-zero, and Lenovo is proud to be in the first group of companies to have its 2050 net-zero targets validated by Science Based Targets initiative. As part of this commitment, we will transparently report on our CO2 emissions each year in our ESG Report – an effort we have made since 2008. We are constantly working to understand and measure our emissions in order to make more data informed decision, and we’re extremely proud of a recent initiative in our manufacturing operations– Lenovo ESG Navigator. The system measured ESG-related data from our factories to empower decision-makers with near real time understandings of our environmental impact. Our understandings can help Lenovo make better decisions but can also help us share best practices across the manufacturing industry to increase sustainability, just like low-temperature soldering, an innovation in our manufacturing process that has been helping us reduce emissions in manufacturing since 2017.

We understand that collaboration is critical to a more sustainable future. While sustainability can provide a competitive advantage, we know it will take collaboration to achieve a more sustainable future. Our transparent reporting, commitment to credible standards and taking a science-based approach, and willingness to share our breakthroughs across the industry demonstrate this value. Additionally, the Lenovo 360 Circle community that serves the IT channel has taken our commitment to collaboration to another level. Led by our international sales team, Lenovo 360 Circle gathers our channel partners, subject matter experts, and thought leaders across ESG to provide resources needed to achieve and expand our collective sustainability initiatives. Additionally, programs like our Work For Humankind that use Lenovo’s smarter technology across our pocket-to-cloud portfolio to support communities are also moving the needle in the right direction. Finally, being truly collaborative means meeting stakeholders wherever they’re at in their sustainability journey and making progress together. We’re proud of our partnership with Formula 1® and the smarter future our partnership is driving toward for motorsports.

On Earth Day 2024, a traditional theme like recycling is still a wonderful way to celebrate our love for the planet and efforts to keep it as our home. However, at Lenovo, I’m proud that Earth Day has become a time to look inward, hold ourselves accountable, and continue to challenge ourselves to make progress toward our goals. You can read more about Lenovo Environmental, Social and Governance goals and programs in our Annual ESG Report.