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Corporate Responsibility
“We are committed to understanding and reducing our impact on our environments – it is critical to the sustainability of our business. To support these efforts, Farnell has created a zero-to-waste landfill process to keep electronic waste out of the landfill and to ensure it is properly recycled.”
– Stacy Mendez, Senior Director, Enterprise Risk Management & Resiliency, Avnet
Energy
Primary energy at our UK headquarters and European distribution centres is electrical1 and is 100% sourced from renewable sources. Now over 96% of our European sites source electricity from renewable sources, with plans in place to increase that across all global sites.2
Waste
Our zero-waste-to-landfill policy at our European distribution centres and UK headquarters means that over 80% of waste is diverted from landfill globally.
Recycling
The Greener Path Landfill Diversion Award was awarded to Farnell in April 2024 for the second year demonstrating our ambitious commitment towards waste responsibility and our awareness of how we can seek opportunities to help the planet. Read more
EV charging
We have recently introduced EV charging points at our UK headquarters and distribution centre, charging up to 80 cars per day, carbon-free! We continue to review options to increase these across our facilities.
Packaging
79% of our packaging from our primary warehouses are from recycled materials3 and we are actively working with our supply chain to test new transit boxes, as well as new options for plant-based ESD packaging.
EcoVadis Gold Medal for Sustainability Performance
Avnet has achieved a Gold Medal from EcoVadis, a global leader in business sustainability assessments, placing the company in the top 5% of companies globally. The EcoVadis assessment evaluates 21 sustainability criteria across four core themes: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.
Greener Path Landfill Diversion Award
The Greener Path Landfill Diversion Award was awarded to Farnell in April 2024 for the second year. This award demonstrates our ambitious commitment towards waste responsibility and our awareness of how we seek opportunities to help the planet. Zero waste to landfill was recognized for all three of Farnell’s Leeds locations including Global HQ and two Distribution Centers.
ISO14001
The ISO14001 Environmental Management System is in place across the business at Head office, European and Singapore Distribution Centres. Remaining Distribution Centres are in progress, whilst our local office sites work to our Avnet environmental management system.
BREEAM certificate
Our new UK-based new Distribution Centre credited by BREEAM; the world's leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for sustainable built environments.
As a company with global reach and local presence, we are committed to supporting international charitable organisations and initiatives, as well as smaller local charities that make a great impact on local communities.
From supporting global educational projects for children to supporting local beekeepers and protecting the bee population we took steps to drive positive impact.
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to inspire every child to create their best digital future. They are developing hardware and software that inspires young people to get excited about technology and the opportunities it presents for them.
The foundation is creating free, user-friendly educational resources to support teachers in delivering engaging and creative lessons also they are working with like-minded partners to deliver high-impact educational programmes across the globe.
Farnell has reached a major milestone in fundraising after the latest edition of its annual Golf Day saw more than £200,000 donated to a UK charity across a 20-year period. Sponsors of the Farnell Golf Day included Hammond, EMS Cargo, EDAC, Panduit, Molex, KIVO Freight, Grand Bridges, Harting, Kyocera AVX, Richardson Electrical, Omega, Avnet Abacus, Tektronix, BS Handling and Napier amongst others, with all funds raised going to Epilepsy Research UK.
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For every sign-up, we donated 1 EUR. In addition to that, for each order, we did donate 1 or 10 EUR (MOV). The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund supported WHO and partners’ work to ensure all countries were able to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19. This work was guided by the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.
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During the distribution of our Brand Survey we decided to support charities with £5 for each survey submitted. We donated £1315 to ‘Girls Who Code’. Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Girls Who Code is an organisation that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential to our mission.
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For every sign-up, we donated 1 EUR. In addition to that, for each order, we did donate 1 or 10 EUR (MOV) Plan International is a child-centred organisation that works with all genders to advance children’s rights, we are intentional about prioritising equality for girls through our programmes and advocacy, especially for those who are most vulnerable and at risk of being left behind.
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During the distribution of our Brand Survey we decided to support charities with £5 for each survey submitted. We donated £1400 to 'Save the Children'. Save the Children's work saves and improves children's lives around the world. They work to ensure children have healthcare, food and shelter, as well as learning and child protection services when children need it most.
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During the distribution of our Brand Survey we decided to support charities with £5 for each survey submitted. We donated £780 to DEC Fund. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas.
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We have been supporting Hearty Foundation in Poland for few years. In the past our customers could receive Xmas postcards designed by children in the care of Foundation. During Big Winter Event in 2021 - We had the pleasure to support with our donation projects that the foundation runs to prevent technological exclusion of young people and prepare them to be able to successfully operate in technology lead markets.
Learn moreCorporate Responsibility
At Farnell, we work with global partners to champion sustainability and community engagement—driving corporate responsibility with a global impact.
See what we do as part of Avnet Corporation.
“For over 100 years, Avnet has been guided by the values of integrity and inclusiveness. These values have helped our business navigate through every wave of innovation—from radio parts to PCs and smartphones, and now AI. They continue to shape how we face challenges: by bringing together a variety of perspectives to make thoughtful, forward-looking decisions. Our commitment to sustainability is built on this same foundation. We focus on people, the planet and the possibilities because building the future starts with how we act today.”
– Avnet CEO Phil Gallagher
1. Over 76% of our energy at our UK Distribution Centre and Headquarters is electrical energy and from 100% renewable sources.
2. Currently 42% of our global electricity is sourced from renewable sources. We are working though limitations with local resources and continue to improve this at sites globally.
3. Currently data is for EMEA. We are collating globally through distribution centres. Calculated on units used and weight in kilograms.
4. Taken from Farnell data in the FY23 Annual Sustainability Report.