Your hardware has a carbon cost before it’s even switched on. CSRD makes you report it.
Understanding IT Procurement Under CSRD
Most businesses are comfortable with Scope 1 and Scope 2. Scope 3 is harder: the carbon embedded in everything you buy, including every laptop, server, and switch your IT team procures — all the indirect emissions across your value chain. If the CSRD applies to you or to a customer you supply, you must declare this number, and auditors and investors can then question it.
Why Carbon-Aware IT Procurement Matters Today
CSRD mandates Scope 3 reporting, which includes the carbon embedded in the goods you buy — and IT hardware is one of the largest contributors. The rules phase in by size:
- Large EU companies with 500+ employees — already reporting.
- Other large EU companies meeting two of three thresholds (250+ employees, €50m+ turnover, €25m+ balance sheet) — coming into scope.
- Listed SMEs — phased in later.
Why it matters: Hardware carbon is now a reportable, auditable line item, and procurement is the function that controls it.
Common Scope 3 Mistakes in IT Procurement and How to Avoid Them
These pitfalls quietly inflate a Scope 3 number or weaken its audit trail. Each is avoidable inside your existing process.
1. Overlooking Embodied Carbon in New Hardware
Embodied carbon is the greenhouse gas emitted to make a product — mining, manufacturing, assembly, shipping. For a laptop, 70 to 80 per cent of lifetime carbon comes from manufacture, not use: roughly 300 kgCO₂e before it is switched on.
Why it matters: It is locked in the moment you order; renewable energy does nothing to reduce it.
Tips: Treat the purchase decision as the primary carbon lever and record the embodied figure for each model.
2. Defaulting to New When Refurbished Would Do
Buying refurbished avoids triggering new manufacturing, so the embodied carbon stays with the original purchaser — the single highest-leverage Category 1 decision available, though not always the right one.
Why it matters: Bulk refresh cycles bought new create a Scope 3 spike, and refurbished is typically 30 to 50 per cent cheaper.
Tips: Default to certified refurbished for standard laptops, desktops, and short deployments. Justify new for high-performance workloads, six-year-plus deployments, or regulated environments with strict warranty rules.
3. Misreading Which Scope 3 Categories Apply
The GHG Protocol splits Scope 3 into 15 categories; three touch IT. Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) — the manufacturing carbon of what you buy — is the big one. Category 5 (Waste Generated in Operations) covers hardware you retire or sell on, and disposal moves to Category 12. Category 11 (Use of Sold Products) applies if you lease or sell.
Why it matters: Filing hardware under the wrong category undermines the audit trail.
Tips: Map each flow: purchased estate to Category 1, retired kit to Category 5, resold or leased equipment to 11 or 12.
4. Relying on Estimates Instead of Vendor LCA Data
CSRD requires documented data, not estimates. HPE publishes Product Carbon Footprint sheets with a cradle-to-gate (embodied) figure; Lenovo and Dell offer online tools to look up a model’s footprint by part number.
Why it matters: Documented LCA figures create the audit trail your ESG team needs; estimates do not survive scrutiny.
Tips: Pull the LCA report for each shortlisted model and specify EPEAT Gold as an auditable minimum (Silver meets the mandatory criteria; Gold has a higher share of optional ones). It does not replace LCA data but is a credible baseline.
5. Skipping End-of-Life Documentation
What happens to retired hardware — landfill, recycling, or resale — has different carbon outcomes, all of which require documentation under the CSRD.
Why it matters: Undocumented disposal leaves gaps in both Category 5 reporting and data-security compliance.
Tips: Use a certified ITAD (IT Asset Disposition) vendor that issues destruction or recycling certificates; they double as audit evidence.
Examples of IT Hardware and Their Carbon Considerations
Knowing the categories is useful; the numbers are what go into the report. The figures below come from HPE, Dell, and Lenovo LCA reports — use the one for your exact model.
|
Device |
Embodied Carbon |
Buying New |
Buying Refurbished |
|
Laptop (14") |
~300 kgCO₂e |
Full carbon triggered |
~70–80% lower |
|
Desktop workstation |
~400–500 kgCO₂e |
Full carbon triggered |
~70–80% lower |
|
1U rack server |
~1,500 kgCO₂e |
Full carbon triggered |
~60–70% lower |
|
24-port network switch |
~200 kgCO₂e |
Full carbon triggered |
~65–75% lower |
Laptops and Desktops
The most common part of any estate, and the most widely available as certified refurbished stock.
Procurement focus: Default to refurbish standard office use and record each model’s figure.
Rack Servers
The biggest single-unit risk. One 1U server is around 1,500 kgCO₂e — about five laptops in one machine. Most companies run dozens, replaced every three to five years, so totals climb fast.
Procurement focus: Scrutinise refresh cycles; extend them where security patching allows.
Networking Equipment
The part most people overlook. A 24-port switch is roughly 200 kgCO₂e — small on its own, but it adds up across an entire office.
Procurement focus: Include networking in the carbon inventory, not just endpoints.
Practical Tips for CSRD-Ready Procurement in 2026
These steps give the most CSRD coverage with the least disruption:
- Build a hardware carbon inventory — list the estate by category and attach each model’s embodied figure for a baseline Category 1 number.
- Add LCA requirements to RFP templates, shifting the data burden to suppliers.
- Set a refurbished-first policy for standard devices, with a documented, auditable exemption process.
- Extend refresh cycles — moving a laptop from a three-year to a five-year cycle roughly halves its annual Scope 3 contribution.
- Document end-of-life disposal through a certified ITAD vendor.
- Start with the inventory; the rest follows from there.
Frequently Asked Questions About IT procurement under CSRD
Does CSRD apply to UK businesses?
It can apply directly to UK businesses with large or listed EU subsidiaries, or to UK parent groups with significant EU net turnover. Even when it does not, UK suppliers are often pulled in when EU customers request Scope 3 data.
What is the difference between Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
Scope 1 is direct emissions from owned sources. Scope 2 is indirect emissions from purchased energy. Scope 3 is all other indirect emissions across the value chain — typically around 75 per cent of corporate emissions.
How do companies calculate Scope 3 emissions?
Three methods exist: spend-based (financial data and industry-average factors), average data (physical quantities and per-unit factors), and supplier-specific (primary data from suppliers). Most use a hybrid approach.
When does refurbished hardware make more sense than new?
For standard laptops and desktops, bulk refresh cycles, short sub-three-year deployments, and tight budgets. New is justified for high-performance workloads, six-year-plus deployments, and regulated environments with strict warranty rules.
What is the difference between EPEAT Gold and Silver for procurement?
Silver meets EPEAT’s mandatory criteria. Gold also meets a higher share of the optional criteria. For CSRD, specifying Gold sets out a credible, auditable minimum, though it does not replace LCA data.
