TD SYNNEX has launched its first corporate citizenship program since the merger of Tech Data and SYNNEX last year, along with an accompanying global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework.
The distribution giant announced the new initiative during the 2022 U.S. meeting of its Varnex partner community, which is taking place this week in Greenville, S.C.
The citizenship program and ESG pledge both include specific commitments by TD SYNNEX to diversify its workforce, lower its carbon footprint, and provide technology, training, connectivity, and support to underserved communities.
“We have a longstanding history of corporate giving, community involvement and philanthropy, and have a unique opportunity to develop a business strategy that incorporates essential principles of ESG to deliver long-term value for our shareholders, co-workers, vendors, customers, and communities,” said TD SYNNEX CEO Rich Hume in a press statement. “We employ more than 22,000 people globally, serve more than 100 countries and support an expansive network of more than 150,000 technology partners. With this global footprint, our commitments to reducing carbon emissions, increasing diverse representation at the highest levels of our organization, and building better communities are vital to moving the industry forward.”
Hume, who as CEO of Tech Data signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge in 2019, is a longtime proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and other corporate responsibility issues.
Commitments under the environmental pillar of the ESG framework, which build on the company’s prior endorsement of the Science Based Targets climate action initiative, include achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2045. TD SYNNEX will also minimize waste through collaborative repair, refurbishment, and recycling programs, deploy environmental management systems, and employ standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to minimize its environmental impact.
Manuel Aguirre, TD SYNNEX’s newly hired global sustainability manager, will spearhead those efforts under the leadership of Director of Global Responsibility Adam Rutstein.
Within the social pillar, TD SYNNEX says that half of its workforce and 40% of its leaders will be people who identify as women by 2030. Without providing details, the company also plans to increase representation of underrepresented groups within its staff by 2025, and to promote 100% growth in employee participation in its five business resource groups for women, veterans, and Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ employees.
Efforts to support children, promote health and wellness, and bridge the digital divide will include partnership with nonprofits to “digitally equip” 20,000 households containing 60,000 people.
In keeping with Hume’s belief in the importance of executive accountability for corporate responsibility ventures, the new citizenship strategy has been reviewed and endorsed by a senior leadership team that includes Hume himself. A steering committee composed of cross-regional and cross-functional leaders will oversee the program, with support from Business for Social Responsibility, an advisory group currently helping over 300 companies implement inclusion and environmental sustainability initiatives.
TD SYNNEX will document its progress against all of those objectives on an annual corporate citizenship report card that it will begin publishing within the next year.
