Climate Change needs no introduction. Government, businesses and society all need to act and future generations will ask what we did about it. This is why QBS is taking decisive action to be ahead of the curve and to see how we can be part of the solution, rather than the problem.

“Good environmental stewardship is one of the key values of QBS. This year we have significantly improved the scope and granularity of our carbon footprint, aiming to include everything possible. We have also applied greater focus and attention to sustainability by providing training to all staff, and formalising my role as Sustainability & Diversity Officer as well as putting in place a significant number of additional processes and policies.” Therese Stevinson, Sustainability & Diversity Officer, QBS Technology Group

Our QBS Environmental Management System (QEMS) was certified and verified according to BS EN ISO14001:2004 in May 2019 – Certificate No: GBEF1009.

Since then we have developed and articulated our unique set of environmental policies, and linked these to best practices in order to proactively monitor our adherence to policy. Finally our model is to demonstrate ongoing improvement of the standards.

From FY22 we will publicly disclose our footprint and progress on our energy use and carbon emissions reduction in compliance with SECR in our annual accounts. Although we are far too small for TCFD – Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, we will aim to comply with the standard where applicable.

Pledge to Net Zero was launched in late 2019 and is partnered with the UN’s official global-backed campaign, ‘Race to Zero’. It requires signatories to commit to deliver a greenhouse gas target in line with either a 1.5°C climate change scenario, or well below 2ºC.

QBS has been recognised as a channel champion once again in the global fight against environmental destruction — taking the Sustainable Distributor of the Year / Service Provider of the Year titles at the CRN Tech Impact Awards.

Dave Stevinson, CEO of QBS Group, said: “This is a real recognition for the whole group and their tireless efforts to drive our carbon footprint lower by following our purpose of doing what’s right for our people, planet and prosperity.”

We support the tech community in becoming carbon neutral through collaboration with the industry’s leading sustainability movement of IT and tech orientated companies and sharing practical know-how.

QBS proactively works with the membership helping them on their decarbonisation journey and encouraging them to be climate positive.

QBS is pleased to support Terra Carta on their Sustainable Markets Initiative. The Terra Carta, led by HRH The Prince of Wales, provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future; one that will harness the power of Nature combined with the transformative power, innovation and resources of the private sector.

“QBS is pleased to support Terra Carta on their Sustainable Markets Initiative” Therese Stevinson, Group Sustainability & Diversity Officer.

As remote working has shifted carbon from our offices to our employees’ homes, QBS has offset its employee homeworking emissions for 2021. We have chosen our Gold Standard VER (Verified Emission Reduction) offsets from Climate Impact Partners, a certified B Corporation, which is dedicated to tackling climate change and improving lives.

These offsets are a specially selected mix from projects that have additional health, social and economic benefits as well as carbon reduction.

Engaging with and investing in our local communities is critically important to QBS. With seven physical offices and a good proportion of remote workers, we are pleased to have recently supported over ten community initiatives ranging from volunteering to feed the homeless in Paris, supporting a bake-off for a Cork-based breast cancer charity, sponsoring the Great Britain real tennis U21 team and funding the team shirts of a Munich-based basketball team.

QBS has proudly sponsored the 49th Manchester Gold Racquet tournament. We have a strong commitment to ESG, and supporting society (as one of our 5 stakeholders) is core to our purpose.

Our history in sponsorship goes back many years to the late eighties when we were starting out in the fledgling technology business and articulating the value of software, and has encompassed sports including football, basketball, tennis and cricket.

QBS has proudly sponsored the CRN Channel Leadership Forum 2022. This forum deliberates topics that QBS is strongly committed to, such as top technology and service trends, diversity & inclusion, sustainability, mental health, and wellbeing.

We support channel initiatives that are aligned with our ESG strategy and help the channel evolve and have a positive impact on the community and the environment.