Westcon-Comstor names first Chief Sustainability Officer amid record growth

Global technology distributor Westcon-Comstor has appointed its first Chief Sustainability Officer in an effort to decouple emissions from its buoyant growth.

Kevin Brzezinski takes on the newly created role of Chief Sustainability Officer, in addition to his existing responsibilities as Senior Vice-President of Global Operations. 

He is responsible for minimising the company’s own carbon footprint, aiming for a 50% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050. More importantly, he will have to work with vendors and partners to cut increasing supply chain emissions.

The company’s revenue grew almost 15% year on year in the first half of 2023, surpassing US$1.85 billion. But this record growth is also leading to a significant increase in Scope 3 emissions. In its latest greenhouse gas analysis, Westcon-Comstor reported a 17.4% uptick in Scope 3, to 785,953 tonnes  – more than 99% of its overall footprint. 

The company has set a target to cut Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030, so engaging with partners and suppliers will likely be a key aspect of Brzezinski’s role.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “We’ve built up a very strong ESG team in recent years and I’m looking forward to leading them as we double down on sustainability and embed a data-driven approach to minimising our environmental impact.”

Earlier this month, Westcon-Comstor had its 2050 and interim climate targets validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.

At the time, Head of ESG Mark McLardie said: “In many ways, the hard work starts now. We are fully committed to making our vision of a net-zero future for our business a reality and rewarding the faith that the SBTi has placed in us by validating our targets.” 

It seems the appointment of Brzezinski as Chief Sustainability Officer was the first step towards making these targets a reality.

“We felt it was important to formally give sustainability a C suite-level role, and Kevin is undoubtedly the right person for the job,” added Westcon-Comstor CEO David Grant.