QBS becomes 'first net carbon neutral distributor in the UK'
CEO Dave Stevinson says he wants to 'demonstrate to others that it is possible'
QBS has been independently verified as net carbon neutral, claiming it is the first distributor in the UK to reach the target.
The firm, which was named as the 13th largest UK distributor by CRN, has been independently verified under the publicly available PAS 2060:2010 specification, which was in accordance with the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol Standard.
"We have actually been carbon negative for some time, but now we are officially certified and independently verified. It is all about being totally authentic and avoiding the greenwashing," said Anita Bitard, sustainability director, QBS Technology Group.
"This achievement is due to the exceptional hard work of the team - our carbon footprint has been certified at a modest 34.2 tonnes."
The accreditation means that QBS has accurately defined its organisational footprint, agreed boundaries and met all three scopes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
These include the direct emissions from sources it controls, the indirect emissions from the electricity and gas that it consumes and the wider emissions that it is responsible for through its employees and supply chain.
The company also holds the ISO 14001 accreditation, has signed the Pledge to Net Zero and the Tech Talent Charter, is supporting the UN Sustainability Development Goals, and is progressing towards becoming a B Corp - which measures a company's entire social and environmental performance.
"Including the climate impact of our complete supply chain in our carbon calculations was an incredibly difficult, expensive and lengthy process for a company of our size and extensive supply base - yet we want to demonstrate to others that it is possible," Dave Stevinson, CEO at QBS Technology Group, said.
"We believe that our commitment to ESG also brings significant benefits to our business including cost and efficiency savings through reduced energy usage, compliance to anticipated future legislation, improved stakeholder management, and compliance with the most rigorous tender and pre-tender qualification questions for our partner network."