Acer CEO: Our industry needs a more cohesive approach to sustainability
Speaking exclusively to CRN, Jason Chen (pictured) opens up on Acer’s aim of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2035, prioritising recycled materials, green energy, global tech aid, and collaboration.
Once famously quoted as saying Acer would be the ‘last man standing' in the PC market, Jason Chen's passion for not only his company, but also the environment and his people, shines through. He is a man determined to make a difference.
CRN caught up with him a the BETT show in ExCel, London, where Acer was showcasing its education-focused products including laptops and desktops made from recycled materials, gaming machines, an e-bike, plus much more.
Q: Can you give an insight into Acer's sustainability strategy?
By 2035, we intend to get ourselves to 100 per cent renewable energy use - right now we are at about 50 per cent. I am talking about all our subsidiaries which is north of 200 sites globally - it is a big commitment. But we are committed. By 2050 we will have achieved net zero - it is all about setting a target and making sure that we are making progress every year.
We are doing this in three ways.
Firstly, we are committed to recycled materials and are coming out with new product lines based on recycled materials. Ocean bound plastics are also coming into play - we are very committed to these actions and projects. The whole industry needs to be doing the same thing. If PC recycling can work, why not? If ocean plastic materials can do something in our chassis and other product areas, then why not use them? This is everybody's work, not just Acer's.
The second level I would call an investment in smart solutions - smart cities, smart lighting, smart parking - all these smart solutions, along with smart medical. Investing in and using these solutions will help carbon reduction, save energy and help increase productivity. All these smart solutions, we think, will be very important.
Finally, we are getting more into critical areas of energy. If ESG becomes a burden to any business, people start to talk about ‘green tax' or an incremental cost to implement ESG. But we are looking at how we can make ESG a business opportunity so it becomes sustainable. Sustainable for the planet, but also for our efforts. If we can do that, then the whole thing will become a positive cycle.
What we have done is actually invested in a battery company, then we got ourselves into developing a battery pack, and started to come up with mobility solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes. Then we invested in a power station business, covering personal use to home use to industrial use - on a container-sized scale - systems up to and beyond one hundred megawatts. Our storage systems then start to complement green energy initiatives. You need a storage system to complement the green energy production from wind and solar or it becomes wasted energy.
That is how much we have already committed ourselves - we think that is the right direction to be moving in, but it is only the beginning. Our efforts will continue.
What technology achievements are you most proud of?
Everything I mentioned above is all relative, but if you want me to point out one area that I'm particularly excited about, I have to talk about AI medical, the AI-based medical image diagnostic screening solutions that we have developed. Most recently, we released a solution that can measure bone density from an X-ray image.
Previously, you needed different equipment. But we have trained up an AI model that is able to tell bone density from an X-ray chest image - that is already working in hospitals as well as any other more expensive medical equipment, and is proving popular in medical institutions.
We are very proud of that - because 20/30 years ago, people were talking about how we [as technology companies] are here to bridge the digital divide. Now we are here to bridge the medical divide - so people in Africa and emerging countries can have the same access to medical technology as you get in London and developed countries. With AI, we can push the solutions to allow the less fortunate societies to have the same level of medial support. I feel very touched by that. Because ours is a software solution, it is not that expensive. We can push it around, propagate it and make it available everywhere.
How is Acer working with the channel, and how does sustainability fit into this?
There are multiple levels we engage with the channel. We are working with channel partners to scale up our business - whether they are distributors, resellers or retailers - we are working to engage with them in the different programmes that we have. They have been around for years.
If anything, we want further alignment of our visions into either new business development or via ESG initiatives. This is not just a channel play, but also across our entire supply chain. We are asking for multiple levels of our supply chain to declare their carbon footprint. Otherwise, we will not buy from them. We intend to push that further into our channel upstream and downstream. People have to do the same thing. It is the right thing to do. It is only when you know the position you are in that you know how to improve and can commit to a target to get to that position together.
How is Acer working with all its suppliers to reduce emissions across its global supply chain?
We have multiple ways of working with our partners to reduce emissions across our supply chain. The first thing is we have asked them is to declare their carbon footprint, but not everybody knows their carbon footprint yet. We are asking them ‘are you 100 per cent renewable energy?' - but not many suppliers have that level of commitment at the moment. We ask, ‘What about transportation - can you use bio or sustainable fuels'? We are proud to say that we are the only one in the PC industry doing that. Yes, it will be a higher cost, but we will make it up.
If we can make ESG a true business then we can neutralise the incremental cost rather than pushing that extra cost to our channel and our consumers. I think that is where we should all work together to make this a reality. If that works, and I think it can work - ESG can be a value creation in a positive way, then the so-called green tax, or incremental ESG cost should not bother people that much.
Us, our channel, our suppliers, if everybody thinks about it - where else can we create value? We can neutralise the costs - I am always thinking how we can make money from this opportunity.
Q: Is the industry working together enough to tackle climate change?
Not enough to be totally honest. Every major company has its own initiative - but not in a cohesive way - and I wish we could have a more collective effort so that we can all align in one direction, rather than everyone doing a different thing. The smaller to medium companies are still scrambling what to do and where to go - that is where we, as vendors can lead. Opinion leaders like CRN and a brand company like us , we have a role to play to make sure that people understand they can work together. How do we neutralise the incremental cost of ESG and make it a business? I think we should advocate for that to make ESG a proper business opportunity - it will be beneficial for all our businesses and the planet.
So, what is next for Acer in the coming 12 months?
What's next for us? Really there are two things, number one that the ESG effort will continue - it is a persistent and consistent effort for us as a company. The thing is making ESG into a business opportunity. When people see that it is a business opportunity, then money talks, doesn't it? We want to get there in an efficient and effective way.
Secondly - I have to talk about AI - AI is a big deal - it is a wave that we are very keen to ride out and to surf. We think this time that it is real - this isn't the metaverse or cryptocurrency. This is real. This is generative AI. People use their computers today mostly to search, now the newer model I call ‘ask'. You ask the computer and it will be able to tell you what you need using generative AI.
I think this will be an important area, taking this generative AI technology and making it into applications. We do have a subsidiary that is a generative AI accelerator. It is doing extremely well and we have tens of enterprise customers with proof of concept and a few of them are ready to declare victory. From proof of concept, they are now getting into production. We are very excited about that. We want to see more AI-based solutions coming into play - whether in medical area or in public sector, or education for example. There are many areas in which we will be able to excite the industry and create a value for our customers and partners.
You once said that Acer would be the ‘last man standing in the PC space'. Is this still the case?
I am even stronger on this belief than ever - We will continue to stay focused on our computer business - it is very mature - and has been there for over 40 years - but we are excited to see new use models coming in the next few years because the business model is changing and it will stimulate demand.
We are using our core business to incubate new companies and technology. In the last six years we have had 12 subsidiaries go through an IPO. In the pipeline we have between another five to ten. In the foreseeable future we are going to do two to three IPOs every year in a regular cadence. I've never seen that in my life before. We would love to see this cadence continue because we will add value for our shareholders and create career opportunities. We have created 12 CEO, 12 CFO, 12 CIO positions [plus many more] over the last few years - people don't have to kill me to become CEO now, we have tens of CEO positions! We have a strong belief that only when a company has a future, and when employees can see a career future within that company, then [employee] retention becomes sound.
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