THG Ingenuity Cloud Services is Laser Focused on Making a Real Difference in its Sustainability Efforts

“THG’s sustainability vision is to leave the world a better place than we found it. We all have an obligation to protect the world’s natural ecosystems and combat climate change, and we must act fast. By taking part in initiatives such as VMware’s Zero Carbon Committed Initiative, we are demonstrating our commitment to reduce our environmental impact and take action throughout the Group, and across all of our business areas. Our aim is not only to transform our own business, but also to help our partners, clients, customers and suppliers to achieve their sustainability goals, too.”

— Phil Pratt, Chief Sustainability Officer, THG

Based in Manchester, England, and serving enterprises with a broad and highly-refined portfolio that includes private, public and hybrid cloud solutions, THG Ingenuity Cloud Services draws on the collective experience of its parent company, THG and its experience providing more than 100 of the world’s best-known brands – including some of the world’s leading beauty companies – with the cloud-based e-commerce platform their businesses depend on.

THG Ingenuity Cloud Services’ commercial footprint is equally robust. More than 1,000 engineers serve more than 130,000 customers worldwide with a global network that includes 7,500 deployed servers, more than 10,000 virtualized servers and more than 50 data centers.

The company’s offerings are also diverse, with hybrid, public and private clouds – including a Managed VMware Cloud – and services that encompass everything from Infrastructure-as-a-Service to high performance computing, custom software, and backup and data protection.

We recently connected with Ashley Davies, Cloud Services Director at THG Ingenuity Cloud Services, and Phil Pratt, Chief Sustainability Officer at THG, to learn more about the company, its participation in the VMware Zero Carbon Committed initiative and why sustainability is so important to the company and its customers.

“Our aim is not only to transform our own business, but also to help our partners, clients, customers and suppliers achieve their sustainability goals,” says Pratt. “THG’s 2030 Group Sustainability Strategy, THG x Planet Earth, outlines the Group’s ambitious goals and targets – all aligned against our three key priorities. These are protecting climate and nature, strengthening our supply chain and circularity, and empowering people and communities.”

The strategy is built around 8 key goals, among them ones that directly address climate change and our intention to achieve net zero emissions. These include targets for the company to be climate positive and offset its historical operational emissions, and to have a net positive impact on nature across all of its own brands.

Some of the 22 targets associated with the company’s goals include transitioning to 100% renewable electricity in its own operations, seeing at least 50% of the company’s suppliers and partners set carbon reduction targets, and using deforestation-free agricultural materials – all by 2025. By 2030, the Group is also committed to seeing 20% of its own brand suppliers introducing restorative agricultural practices.

THG is also committed to setting science-based targets by the end of 2022 that align with the UK’s target for net-zero emissions by 2050. It is also focused on sustainable water usage for its own operations and water-stressed sites. This includes achieving a 30% reduction by 2030.

“THG’s sustainability vision is to leave the world a better place than we found it,” adds Pratt. “We all have an obligation to protect the world’s natural ecosystems and combat climate change, and we must act fast and act together – as only collective action can address these global challenges. By taking part in initiatives such as VMware’s Zero Carbon Committed Initiative, we are demonstrating our commitment to reduce our environmental impact and take action throughout the Group and across all of our businesses. Our aim is to transform our own business and to help our partners, clients, customers, and suppliers achieve their sustainability goals, too.”

Davies notes that THG Ingenuity Cloud Services already sees market demand for, and alignment with, its sustainability efforts among prospective and current customers.

“Many of our customers already have their own carbon neutral roadmaps and want to partner with suppliers who share the same aspirations,” adds Davies. “We understand that real, sustainable impact requires collaborative and coordinated action across business sectors, and also with and between governments, organizations, and individuals.”

“Cloud technologies can play a leading role in the development of carbon-neutral solutions for cloud providers, their supply chains, and their customers. We have an opportunity as an industry to lead the way with business practices that enable a zero carbon future.”

Learn more about THG Ingenuity Cloud Services and its partnership with VMware here.