LENOVO
Measurable impact phase Lenovo 360 Circle is now moving into what Virginie calls the impact phase, where the focus shifts to demonstrating measurable, business-related outcomes. For the past couple of years, partners themselves have been asking Lenovo for incentivisation mechanisms to reward sustainability progress.
“ They recognise that it’ s complex,” Virginie says.“ So we’ re working closely with them to shape what the next phase should look like, particularly around monetisation, business transformation, assessment and recognition.” Currently, 850 members participate across 68 markets, with 48 % having partial or dedicated sustainability resources.“ This is particularly important because it really demonstrates that the community is evolving in the right direction,” Virginie explains.
Accelerating momentum“ A lot of people have asked me if, over the past 12 months, we’ ve seen a slowdown,” Virginie says.“ No – it’ s accelerating.”
Partner participation is growing as sustainability becomes increasingly embedded in customer expectations and procurement requirements, with request for proposals placing greater emphasis on credible sustainability capabilities and progress.“ There are two key aspects,” Virginie continues.“ Regulation is clearly one, particularly in Europe, but we’ re also seeing the cost dimension become increasingly important.” Recent industrywide component cost increases have also had a huge impact on the shift toward circular economy practices.
“ We wanted to build a sizable community to make sure that we were having the right impact and the right influence. The bigger you are, the more influence you have”
Virginie Le Barbu Executive Director, Global Sustainability Lenovo
From connect to lead Lenovo 360 Circle’ s aspiration is to help partners move through three stages: connect, learn and lead.
For partners at the Connect stage, Lenovo is developing additional support to help them assess their current sustainability position, identify priority areas and understand the practical steps they can take to start making progress.“ One of the key elements of the assessment is helping partners understand which sustainability offerings they can bring into their portfolio and take to their customers,” Virginie explains.
Products with recycled content and a low carbon footprint are relatively easy offerings that sellers can position to customers, but this requires significant education of the sales force.
86 September 2026