Meet Sustainability Goals Through Strategic PC Purchasing
A Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Study, September 2024
As the planet warms, businesses and large organizations play an outsized role in helping manage the climate crisis. As a result, organizations today are constantly seeking ways to deliver on growing sustainability priorities. When they assess where they can implement more sustainable practices, PCs are often a big part of the conversation. PCs account for much of an organization’s carbon footprint and cost, creating substantial e-waste and using tremendous amounts of energy, especially as AI use becomes more widespread. Therefore, IT decision-makers (ITDMs) are keen to refocus their PC purchasing strategy to align with sustainability goals.
Many organizations are turning to the lifecycle approach for end-user device purchasing, a strategy that involves managing devices from supply chain through the end of life with consideration for environmental impacts. Often this means considering devices with modular components, purchasing refurbished devices, and partaking in responsible recycling practices.
In June 2024, Intel commissioned Forrester Consulting to refresh an ongoing study to evaluate the current state of sustainability initiatives at organizations across the globe, echoing the methodology used in 2022. Forrester conducted an online survey of 739 respondents who had responsibility for technology selection strategy and PC device investment at their organization. All organizations surveyed had an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) program, and all had ESG criteria for purchasing end-user devices. We found that high-maturity organizations are more likely to implement the lifecycle approach and realize its associated benefits, such as reduced e-waste, reduced carbon footprint, and cost savings.
Key Findings
- IT holds responsibility for meeting increasingly critical sustainability goals. Over the last two years, sustainability has solidified itself as a top priority for organizations. Today, over 70% of ITDMs say that defining their ESG strategy and expanding on sustainability initiatives to address ESG goals is a high or critical priority. As IT departments continue to generate larger carbon footprints — with AI usage affecting power usage and PCs creating significant waste, for example — it’s no surprise that ITDMs have increasing responsibility for setting and fulfilling sustainability goals.
- High-maturity organizations take a lifecycle approach to device purchasing. A lifecycle approach means that organizations consider environmental impacts, minimize e-waste, promote energy efficiency, and support responsible sourcing and recycling when purchasing PC devices. High-maturity organizations are especially keen on this approach, which lets them deliver on employees’ PC refresh expectations without compromising on sustainability goals.
- ITDMs will pay more if a device helps them reach their sustainability goals. Most ITDMs (84%) are willing to invest more in PC devices that align with their sustainability goals. They’re willing to pay more for energy efficiency, sustainable packaging, ethically sourced raw materials, and sustainable supply chain practices. This means that PC manufacturers must also prioritize sustainability to meet the demands of these responsible organizations.
Consulting Team:
Kate Pesa, Market Impact Consultant
Lillie Sinprasong, Associate Market Impact Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s Technology research group
Sustainability is a critical business priority and more important today than ever before. This is in part because governments worldwide are increasingly imposing sustainability requirements on organizations. The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) climate-related disclosure rules, the EU’s CSRD, and California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Climate-Related Financial Risk Act all necessitate that today’s organizations put sustainability at the forefront of decision-making. Aside from increasing requirements, sustainability is also often a competitive differentiator for organizations today. From India to the US to France and many other nations, sustainability is gaining traction with consumers, and what’s important to consumers is often what’s important to the business.1 Emphasis on sustainability and related goals can even help organizations attract and retain top talent.
It’s no surprise, then, that sustainability is a growing priority for organizations. In fact, organizations today are more likely to have sustainability goals than ever before, with tangible means to attain them.
- Today’s organizations consider sustainability a top priority. Even though sustainability has been an important consideration for organizations in recent years, today it is more of a priority than ever before. While in 2022 59% of ITDMs noted that defining their ESG strategy was a high or critical priority, 71% said the same today, a 12-point increase in just two years. More and more organizations are also taking the necessary steps to meet these goals, with 70% of ITDMs noting that expanding their firm’s sustainability initiatives to address ESG goals is a top priority, up from 64% in 2022.
- Organizations are moving beyond the sustainability basics. In 2022, top goals for sustainability included reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions, ensuring 100% renewable energy, and having net-zero emissions. As sustainability gained traction and rose on the priority list, organizations have steadily been able to move beyond these more basic goals. As a result, organizations today are more focused on improving product energy efficiency, ensuring responsible supply chain practices, and working with supply chain partners that align with their sustainability goals (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
“Which of the following are included in your organization’s 2030 sustainability goals?"
Click to see data by region
corporate sustainability initiatives Become carbon negative Achieve net-zero emissions Achieve net-positive water use Reduce our scope 3 emissions Achieve zero total waste to landfill
Base: 739 respondents who are manager or
above
and are responsible for device selection and investment at their
organization
Source: A
commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Intel,
July 2024
IT TEAMS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN MEETING SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
One of the main levers that organizations can pull in meeting their sustainability goals is assessing the PC devices they purchase and looking for more sustainable solutions. Poor PC purchasing decisions could mean increased e-waste, higher energy utilization, and increased carbon footprints.2 Organizations need to evaluate their PC device vendors to ensure they’re helping them meet sustainability goals. This firmly brings ITDMs into the picture and makes them a critical player in helping organizations deliver on sustainability goals. Specifically, we found that:
- IT teams play a bigger role today than before. As a result of IT’s increasing impact on the environment, IT teams are more involved in setting and fulfilling sustainability goals than they were even just two years ago. In 2022, 41% of IT teams and departments were involved in the setting of sustainability goals, compared to 54% today, and 39% were involved in fulfilling sustainability goals, compared to 61% today, a 22 percentage point increase.
- Increased IT involvement means more responsibilities for ITDMs. With IT teams so involved in setting and executing sustainability goals, ITDMs wear many hats in the process, participating in everything from evaluating vendors to maintaining sustainability metrics. This is even more evident when broken out by maturity. ITDMs at high-maturity organizations are more involved in executing sustainability-related goals than their peers at low-maturity organizations. For example, 64% define the products they use, 18 points ahead of low-maturity respondents; 73% evaluate the supply chain for their products, 17 points ahead; 74% evaluate the sustainability of the vendors they work with, 14 points ahead; and 64% mandate certain metrics/uses from their vendors, nine points ahead (see Figure 2).
Figure 2
“As a purchaser of end-user devices, what is your role in executing your organization’s sustainability goals?"
Click to see data by maturity
Base: 739 respondents who are manager or
above
and are responsible for device selection and investment at their
organization
Source: A
commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Intel,
July 2024
More countries than ever before are taking an active part in moving toward a more sustainable future by creating regulations and mandating that certain sustainability standards are met. This presents a significant challenge for organizations that must meet different regulations on a country-by-country basis: Managing the multinational needs of the various countries in which an organization operates and does business was a top challenge for organizations in 2022 and continues to be in 2024.
- Organizations globally consider many ecolabels in purchasing decisions. Nearly all organizations — 98% — look for ecolabels before making a PC purchasing decision, and, on average, they consider four ecolabels prior to making a decision. High-maturity organizations are even more likely to take these into account, looking at five ecolabels on average before a purchasing decision, compared with just three at low-maturity organizations. Most often organizations look at Energy Star ratings, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Registry, and product carbon footprint reporting set out by ISO standards. This applies to countries in all regions of the world, where Energy Star and EPEAT often hold the most weight for organizations.
- Country-regulation-related ESG reporting is very prevalent. Most surveyed organizations note that they do sustainability reporting. Even 83% of less-mature organizations said they do sustainability reporting, though it is much more prevalent at high-maturity organizations, where 94% said the same. For organizations that do sustainability reporting, country-regulation-related ESG reporting was the most frequent type of reporting. And frequently, these sustainability metrics were reported to regulatory and governmental bodies. This is not too surprising, given how many different countries have sustainability-related regulatory requirements these days.
- High-maturity organizations take regulatory requirements into account when selecting PCs. Understanding that abiding by country and regionally- specific regulatory requirements enables them to more easily do business across the globe, ITDMs at high-maturity organizations are more likely to allow these requirements to influence PC purchasing decisions. While only 31% of low-maturity organizations consider regulatory requirements from government when making PC purchasing decisions, 40% of high-maturity organizations do.
Employees constantly ask for faster PC refresh cycles, often leaving IT teams to choose between appeasing their employees or keeping sustainability metrics in check, as new PCs can mean increased e-waste or working with less-than-responsible suppliers, for example. When asked what challenges they face when executing their sustainability goals, ITDMs most often said that employees wanting faster PC refresh cycles was their top challenge. One option for ITDMs that allows them to procure better PCs while keeping sustainability metrics in mind is the purchase of refurbished devices.
Refurbished devices are only one part of the lifecycle approach equation, defined as the strategic management of devices from supply chain through end of life with consideration for environmental impacts, minimizing electronic waste, promoting energy efficiency, and supporting responsible sourcing and recycling practices. This approach further opens the door for ITDMs to provide refreshed devices without sacrificing sustainability with more modular devices, reused devices, and ultimately recycling options. A lot of the drive toward this approach stems from cost savings, which can be significant when upcycling components and purchasing refurbished devices. However, that’s only one part of the story. When looking at adoption of the lifecycle approach for device purchasing, we also found that:
- High-maturity organizations in particular have invested in the lifecycle approach. Partaking in the lifecycle approach means putting emphasis on modularity, reuse, and recycling of PCs when making device purchasing decisions. As sustainability requirements become more common, more organizations specifically seek out these attributes, with over 63% of respondents noting that they take a lifecycle approach for end-user PC purchasing decisions. This is even more common for high-maturity organizations, where 69% take this approach. High-maturity organizations take things a step further, with 76% saying that the modularity of the device is important when making a PC purchasing decision, 67% finding the ability to reuse devices internally to be important, and 64% saying that working with suppliers that have upcycling programs is important or critical (see Figure 3). When looking at refurbished device investments, two-thirds of ITDMs say that their organization has already invested in these devices. Again, this is even more prevalent at high-maturity organizations, which are more likely to invest in refurbished devices than low-maturity organizations.
Figure 3
“How important are the following when making end-user PC device purchasing decisions?"
Click to see data by maturity
[CONTENT]
Base: 739 respondents who are manager or
above
and are responsible for device selection and investment at their
organization
Source: A
commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Intel,
July 2024
- Quality and security matter most in a refurbished device. As it’s a device that’s had a previous owner, it’s expected that the quality of a refurbished device will come under scrutiny. But this scrutiny doesn’t come just from the IT department; nearly 40% of ITDMs note that handling employee concerns about the quality of refurbished devices is a challenge. Therefore, ITDMs often prioritize warranties, software support, and any certification of successful testing and repair prior to purchase of a refurbished device (see Figure 4). Similarly, security is often cited as a major concern for a refurbished device, as these devices could have incomplete data erasure, outdated software or firmware, or unknown hardware modifications. This means that ITDMs are highly critical of refurbished device vendors, and device security is their topmost consideration when purchasing a device.
- Using the lifecycle approach for end-user PC device purchasing yields many benefits. Investing in the lifecycle of devices and considering devices with modular components to extend their lifespan, purchasing used but perfectly sufficient devices, or recycling devices when they do reach the end of their lifespans yields many benefits for organizations. It’s why so many organizations opt for the lifecycle approach for device purchasing. Cost is often one of the top reasons to consider this approach, and over half of ITDMs note that this is a top benefit. The benefits, however, reach far beyond just cost savings. A lifecycle approach also greatly helps organizations meet sustainability goals, and many ITDMs note that they experience the following benefits: Nearly 50% see a reduction in their carbon footprint, 44% have reduced e-waste, and nearly 40% have improved compliance with country-specific regulatory requirements.
POLL
Which of the following factors matters most when considering the purchase of refurbished devices?
[CONTENT]
POLL
Which of the following factors matters most when considering the purchase of refurbished devices?
Poll 4
With sustainability being an increasingly critical priority today, many organizations are seeking actionable ways to deliver on sustainability goals. For many, this starts with reassessing sustainability goals to ensure alignment and progress with the overall sustainability strategy. On average, organizations are reassessing their sustainability goals every 2.5 years, six months more frequently than estimates from 2022. This reassessment is even more routine at high-maturity organizations, typically happening at intervals shorter than two years. These realignments allow organizations to continue upleveling their sustainability maturity by focusing on more strategic goals after achieving basic ones, as well as identifying any shortcomings. For many organizations, a refocus on responsible supply chain practices and investment in sustainable PC devices top the list. Specifically, we found that:
- ITDMs will pay more for devices that help them meet sustainability goals. For most organizations today, meeting sustainability goals is nonnegotiable. As such, most ITDMs say they would pay more for a PC that aligned with their sustainability goals: 84% of overall surveyed ITDMs said that they would pay more, while at high-maturity organizations, 90% said the same. Specifically, ITDMs would pay more for energy-efficient devices (51%), sustainable packaging (46%), devices with ethically sourced raw materials (45%), and more sustainable supply chain practices (43%) (see Figure 5).
Figure 5
“For which of the following would you be willing to pay more?"
[CONTENT]
[CONTENT]
Base: 622 respondents who are manager or
above
and are responsible for device selection and investment at their
organization and are willing to pay more for a device that meets their
sustainability goals
Source: A
commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Intel,
July 2024
- Increased AI usage by employees will change purchasing considerations. AI is a significant trend affecting all industries. It has dominated the conversation since late 2022, promising to boost employee productivity, improve collaboration experiences, and fast-track innovation, among other benefits. However, with employees using AI more for their work, the tremendous energy needed for AI processing is also increasing. Therefore, ITDMs are keenly aware that their device purchasing strategy will need to change to accommodate sustainability goals as employee AI usage soars. A third of ITDMs are already considering support for powerful AI applications and workloads to be a significant factor when selecting an end-user PC device, and 60% consider power efficiency when running AI applications to be important in purchasing decisions. For many, AI PCs will become a real consideration when refresh cycles are up, as these devices mean longer battery life, improved performance, and extended lifecycles.3
- More stringent vendor selection processes will be implemented. Much of the equation of meeting sustainability goals falls within the practices of the supply chain. In the coming years, ITDMs will set goals to ensure responsible supply chain practices and to work with supply chain partners that align with organizational sustainability goals. Many organizations have already moved beyond the initial goal-setting step and have either outlined a strategy or made concrete steps toward realizing these goals. Some of the top ways ITDMs plan to meet or already realize their sustainable supply chain goals include working with renewable energy and utilities partners to improve clean energy use, screening potential partners for conflicting sustainability practices, and distancing themselves from partners that don’t meet sustainability standards (see Figure 6). Furthermore, ITDMs are requiring more from their vendors in terms of sustainability in the coming years, most often expecting device attributes like long-lasting batteries, easily recyclable packaging, reusable components, and clear reporting metrics from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Figure 6
“Which of the following steps, if any, are you taking as an IT organization within your company to be more sustainable?"
Click to see data by timeframe
[CONTENT]
Base: 739 respondents who are manager or
above
and are responsible for device selection and investment at their
organization
Source: A
commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Intel,
July 2024
Environmental sustainability is fast becoming a matter of corporate differentiation and survival. Savvy IT and business stakeholders at firms in many vertical markets know that a comprehensive sustainability program — including operational processes, corporate activities, and technology purchasing — helps them reduce their environmental footprint. Forrester’s in-depth survey of stakeholders participating in sustainability and PC purchasing decisions yielded several key recommendations:
Appendix A: Methodology
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 739 respondents at organizations in North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific who are manager-level or above and are responsible for device selection and investment at their organization. Respondents were offered a small incentive as a thank-you for time spent on the survey. The study began in June 2024 and was completed in July 2024.
Appendix B: Demographics/Data
Region
| North America | 15% |
| EMEA | 43% |
| APAC | 43% |
Company Size
| 100 to 499 employees | 14% |
| 500 to 999 employees | 20% |
| 1,000 to 4,999 employees | 34% |
| 5,000 to 19,999 employees | 20% |
| 20,000 or more employees | 12% |
Industry (Top six shown)
| Technology and/or technology services | 9% |
| Financial services and/or insurance | 8% |
| Manufacturing and materials | 7% |
| Telecommunications services | 7% |
| Retail | 6% |
| Healthcare | 6% |
Current position
| C-level executive | 14% |
| Vice President | 20% |
| Director | 32% |
| Manager | 34% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding
Appendix C: Supplemental Material
Related Forrester Research
Guide Your Environmental Sustainability Program With The Forrester Sustainability Maturity Model, Forrester Research, Inc., April 22, 2024
The State Of IT Environmental Sustainability, 2023, Forrester Research Inc., March 29, 2023
The Year Of The AI PC Is 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., March 28, 2024
Appendix D: Endnotes
1 Source:
Guide Your Environmental Sustainability Program With The
Forrester Sustainability Maturity Model, Forrester Research, Inc., April 22,
2024.
2 Source: The State Of IT Environmental Sustainability, 2023, Forrester Research Inc., March 29, 2023.
3 Source: The Year Of The AI PC Is 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., March 28, 2024.
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