LONDON, UK – 1^st December 2022 – Westcon-Comstor, the global technology provider and specialist distributor, today announces the appointment of Sarah-Jane McGaw as ESG Lead EMEA. The hire follows Mark McLardie's promotion to Head of ESG, and will strengthen the distributor's ESG capabilities, help implement its five-year roadmap to decarbonisation as well as outline ways in which they can help partners reduce emissions.

The distributor's ESG Team has increased this year from two to seven employees. Its most recent hire, McGaw, joins from EcoAct where she was an environmental consultant specialising in climate change. With over three years of experience advising businesses on environmental best practice, McGaw will help develop Westcon-Comstor's Net-Zero plan. McLardie, who leads the team, will be accountable for coordinating the delivery and strategy of Westcon-Comstor's ESG program. A core focus of this will be in using Westcon-Comstor's scale and influence to promote and enable environmentally responsible technology solutions across the channel. 

The distributor's sustainability strategy is wide-ranging and embedded in every part of the business. The company has also:

• Joined the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign and committed to reducing their emissions by 90% to reach net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
• Established baseline Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, using data from a range of sources to paint a clear picture of Westcon-Comstor's carbon footprint.
• Developed a five-year roadmap towards decarbonisation.
• Launched a Sustainability Employee Resource Group (ERG) to get employees talking and thinking about sustainability.
• Set targets to achieve ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) in its own supply chain facilities in the UK and the Netherlands.
• Revamped its Environmental Policy and will soon introduce a new Supplier Code of Conduct that ensures sustainability best practices across the supply chain.

"Every business has a role to play in helping to limit the effects of climate change which is why we're taking real steps to address our own impact on people, communities and the environment at large —and bring our partners with us," said David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor. "Creating a more sustainable business is now a part of any partner success story, this means providing high quality services while helping partners manage their carbon emissions. The channel is, after all, a massive collaboration—we can only tackle this issue by working with our partners to build a sustainable future."

"Climate change is one of the most urgent threats the world is facing, and every organisation needs to play its part in reducing carbon emissions," said Mark McLardie, Head of ESG at Westcon-Comstor. "It's not just about reducing our own emissions; we want to encourage change and have a big impact, and this means helping our partner community as well. This is why I'm really excited to see Sarah join the team and help us build out our decarbonisation strategy for us and the channel ecosystem." 

"The carbon cost of IT services and IT waste is only going to increase as businesses demand more data and faster services. It's vital that we work with our suppliers to find solutions that will provide the best service while minimising our environmental impact," said Joanne Ballard, ESG Strategy and Compliance Director at Maintel. "So many businesses—vendors, distributors, MSPs and the businesses we service— are looking for ways to reduce their climate impact, and the best way forward is collaborating with those who share our goals."

About Westcon-Comstor

Westcon-Comstor is a global technology provider and specialist distributor, operating in more than 70 countries. It delivers business value and opportunity by connecting the world's leading IT vendors with a channel of technology resellers, systems integrators and service providers. It combines industry insight, technical know-how and more than 30 years of distribution experience to deliver value and accelerate vendor and partner business success. It goes to market through two lines of business: Westcon and Comstor.

About Maintel

Maintel is a cloud and managed services company with a focus on communications. Its people are experienced, trusted technology advisors, who improve their clients' organisations through digital transformation.  

Founded in 1991, Maintel has a proven track record of delivering communications solutions and services to both the private and public sector. In that time, the company has gained the expertise to solve the challenges

associated with digital initiatives, and its managed services approach ensures clients realise the full value of their technology.  

This is achieved by specialising in three key pillars of digital transformation: making organisations more effective, efficient, and collaborative with digital workplace solutions; allowing organisations to acquire, develop, and retain more business by using technology to create more meaningful customer experiences through outstanding service; ensuring organisations' employees, customers, and partners always have seamless access to their data and applications through reliable, secure connectivity.   

Ongoing growth of Maintel's cloud and managed services offerings continues to allow the company to keep supporting the increasing demands of the market.  Please visit www.maintel.co.uk for more information.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Priscilla Chun / Matthew Denby
CCgroup forWestcon-Comstor
+44 20 3824 9200
westcon@ccgrouppr.com