Global Climate Principles

Introduction
Climate change and its consequences are an immediate and global concern. As a leading technology
provider with global operations, a global supply chain and a global customer base, we are subject to thegrowing acute and chronic risks created by climate change. At the same time, climate change issues
present an opportunity for our business to demonstrate our commitment to our company’s purpose. It
also allows us to demonstrate that our products and services can be a part of the solution and do so in a
way that is relevant to our business – that it is possible to do good and do well at the same time.

The significance of climate change
The accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in our atmosphere has led to noticeable changes innatural systems, including changes to migration patterns and growing seasons. Ocean acidification andincreasing ocean temperatures are damaging marine ecosystems. Rising sea levels are increasing risks
to coastal communities and commercial facilities. Further still, the increasing frequency and severity of
weather events – such as temperature extremes, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and droughts – are putting
many of Earth’s inhabitants at greater risk irrespective of location.
As climate-related impacts become more apparent and climate-driven disasters become more frequentand more significant, organizations across the globe are working to accelerate action on climate issues.
The need for society to transition to a low-carbon economy is clear and compelling, and required to meetthe goals of the Paris Agreement. This transition, though, will not be just about enabling humanity to
avoid worst-case climate change scenarios; it will also be about transforming our world throughinnovation, climate-focused programs and initiatives, and environmentally positive investment.

Climate and Dell’s corporate purpose
Dell Technologies is a purpose-driven company. That purpose – “We create technologies that drive
human progress” – drove the efforts that led to the November 2019 launch of our environmental, socialand governance (ESG) plan and goals. The plan is comprised of four primary pillars, with the “Advancing
Sustainability” pillar hosting Dell’s work on climate initiatives, goals and action. We summarize this workwith this statement: “We protect the planet and inspire our customers and partners to do the same.”•

Dell Technologies’ program of climate action supports and is aligned with The Paris Agreement
on Climate Change.

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•Dell understands that our carbon footprint extends across our entire value chain. Accordingly, Dellarchitects its goals and programs to include Scope 1, Scope 2, and all material Scope 3 categories,
regardless of goal timeframe.

Dell’s connection to climate change and climate action
There are both risks and opportunities for Dell Technologies associated with climate change. We facegrowing, acute and chronic physical risks driven by climate change globally. These risks do not present
the same challenges in every location, so our response must be both global and local while looking acrossour entire value chain. Beyond the physical risks, we must address the potential transition risks that willarise as society accelerates action on climate.
In line with our company purpose, we have a responsibility to manage the emissions associated with ourfootprint. This is why we have a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, Scope
2 and all material Scope 3 categories by 2050.
At the same time, climate change issues can offer enormous opportunities. While the Information
Technology sector collectively accounts for approximately 2% of global emissions, Dell believes
technology has an important role to play in reducing the other 98%. Our capabilities, products, services,and technologies can help our customers meet their climate goals, help their value chains to reduce theircarbon footprint, and help the world directly address climate change mitigation and adaptation. These
two overarching issues – Dell's exposure to climate-related risks and the opportunities for our technology– drive our approach to, and programs for, climate action.
•

Dell is deeply connected to climate change, through:o exposure to acute and chronic physical risks
o exposure to transition risks created by global decarbonizationo the footprint of our products and operationso the potential for our capabilities, products, services and solutions to be leveraged forclimate solutions

Dell’s framework for climate action
Our approach to climate action has four facets: Resilience, Responsibility, Customers and Technology.
Each of these demands different actions and initiatives within our business. Together, they enable Dell
Technologies to engage on climate across our entire enterprise.

Resilience
The effects of climate change are increasingly evident, frequent and severe. Because of this, risks that
may have seemed far off and inconsequential are becoming material both to commercial enterprises andpublic organizations.

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When potential risks evolve into real crises, organizations can find addressing other climate issues or
climate action challenging. Protecting the business is, therefore, the foundation of climate action. Dellunderstands that we are not exempt from these risks – either physical or transitional – and we arecommitted to managing climate-related risks in the same manner as other issues concerning ourenterprise.
•

Dell Technologies fully supports the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Responsibility
Dell contributes to climate change through the carbon footprint of our operations and products. In thelong-term, our footprint will shrink as the world moves to a low-carbon economy. In the interim, however,Dell is responsible for understanding, measuring, and, to the best of our ability, managing that footprint.
Dell’s carbon footprint involves all parts of our value chain. The largest contributions to Dell’s footprint
come from our supply chain and the energy used by our customers to operate our products. Delladdresses these contributions through our commitment to our long-term sustainability goals, and throughvarious initiatives and actions to make progress against those goals. Additionally, Dell believes theambition level of these goals must be aligned with the most aggressive global targets for managing
climate change.
In April 2021, Dell extended its program of 2030 and 2040 climate-related goals by launching our net
zero goal, publicly stating our commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our greenhousegas inventory by 2050. In support of this goal, Dell also intends to develop a strategy for neutralizing thatpart of our emissions inventory we are not otherwise able to abate. In January 2023, we further refined
our climate ambitions, creating absolute targets for our scope 3 GHG emissions. The Science-Based
Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated these evolved targets in combination with our existing 2030 target
on scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. In addition, the SBTi has classified our scope 1 and scope 2 target
ambition as in line with a 1.5°C trajectory for climate change – which is the most ambitious target
companies can set for scope 1 and 2 emissions. For all of these, and any future climate-related goals,
Dell intends to align its ambition level and goal detail with relevant guidelines provided by the SBTi.
•

Dell’s long-term approach to managing our contribution to climate change is a commitment toreach net-zero carbon emissions across our full greenhouse gas inventory by 2050, inclusive of
scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 carbon emissions.

•

Dell has additionally committed to a series of interim climate-related goals as part of ourcommitment to ESG – these goals are listed in the Annex to this document.

•

As of January 2023, Dell’s current 2030 climate-related goals have been reviewed and validated
by the SBTi. Dell intends to align our net-zero goal, and any future climate-related goals with theguidelines and requirements of the SBTi.

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•As additional guidance on the topic becomes available, Dell will develop and incorporate astrategy for neutralization of unabated carbon emissions into its program of climate-related goals.

•

Dell is committed to reporting on the progress made towards achievement of these goals annuallyas part of our ESG report and other public disclosures.

Customers
Customer interest in climate issues takes many forms, including risk assessment, corporate responsibility,
organizational culture, and market opportunity. Many of our customers want to know that their suppliers
share their values. Some have significant supply chain engagement programs – and, as one of their
suppliers, we participate. And, while our customers certainly look to reduce the footprint of their IT
products, they also look to IT to reduce their footprint in other areas as well.
Perhaps even more important, while the technology sector accounts for only about 2% of global
emissions, applying that technology to address the causes and consequences of climate change offers
an opportunity to make change in the other 98% at an even greater scale. Because our products andtechnology are typically components of larger systems and projects, our customer relationships andengagements create many of Dell’s most significant opportunities for climate action.
Whether our climate-related connections to our customers are due to risk, responsibility, opportunity ororganizational values, we are committed to assisting them in their journeys.
•

Dell’s commitment to net zero emissions enables us to better manage our contribution to ourcustomers’ carbon footprint.

•

Our portfolio of products and services can help our customers manage their overall footprint.

•

Dell’s relationships with our customers and their integration of our products and services into theirown systems and projects aimed at addressing climate impacts potentially represents an evengreater opportunity for meaningful change.

Technology
Addressing climate change requires new technologies, development of new or expanded climate
solutions and significant operational transitions for many of the world’s regions and economic sectors.
Because of our role as a leader in Information Technology (IT), Dell will contribute to many of thesethrough its product and services portfolio, its capabilities and its voice.
The opportunities for Dell in this space are broad. Our commercial customer base connects Dell to climate
issues across all economic sectors; our public sector customer base connects Dell to climate issues
across all regions. Dell products and services support technology solutions in a number of areas,
including cloud, edge, and high-performance computing, big data and data analytics and AI and machinelearning. The solutions developed by Dell customers and leveraging Dell product are deployed in fields
as varied as precision agriculture, energy production, transportation and building management.

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The role of our products, services and technologies provides Dell with its greatest opportunities to makea difference and do so in a way that is relevant for its business.
•

Dell’s connections to climate solutions span across all economic sectors and geographic locations.

•

Dell’s most significant opportunities to assist in the fight against climate change are in the roles
that our products, services, and technologies can play in climate solutions that are either basedon or enabled by IT.

•

Dell believes that the relevance of IT-based climate solutions to Dell’s business goals and metrics
will increase as the effects of climate change become more evident and organizations across theplanet ramp up investment in climate-related solutions for adaptation and mitigation.

Governance and goals
A strong program for climate action requires a comprehensive strategy, a set of processes to ensure that
related initiatives are in place to support the strategy, demonstrable progress on both internal and public
climate goals, and regularly scheduled strategy reviews and updates.

Climate strategy development and operational control
Climate issues affect Dell across the breadth of the company. Accordingly, climate strategy must be
developed and managed using an approach that is inclusive of all internal organizations with connections
to climate issues, regardless of scope and impact categories. This includes issues related to both climate
risk and potential climate-related business opportunity.
Dell’s climate strategy is internally managed by Dell’s Sustainability organization. Dell’s Sustainability
team provides the framework and high-level goals, while working with affected functional organizations
on their specific plans and area-specific strategies. The climate strategy is approved by Dell’s Global
Sustainability Council, which includes representation from key functional organizations. The strategy isreviewed by, and progress is reported to, Dell’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Executive
Steering Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the company’s ESG strategy and most material
topics.
Operationally, climate-related risks are incorporated into Dell’s corporate risk management processes
and managed by the affected organizations. Identified risks also provide important guidance to our overall
corporate-level climate strategy.
•

Dell’s climate strategy is reviewed and tracked through a multi-level approach, ultimately with thehighest-level risk oversight managed by the Audit Committee of Dell’s Board of Directors.

•

The process for identification and management of climate-related risks is incorporated into Dell’s
corporate risk management processes, which includes governance by key internal bodies suchas Dell’s Global Risk & Compliance Council (GRCC).

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Dell’s Commitment to ESG
Dell has a long history of action on climate and related issues. We were on the White House steps during
the launch of the EPA’s ENERGY Star program in 1992. We published our first corporate and social
responsibility report in 1998. We were a founding member of the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition(now the Responsible Business Alliance) in 2004. And, in October 2013, we launched our Legacy ofGood program – our first comprehensive program of long-term sustainability goals covering all aspectsof Dell’s business.
In November 2019, we completed Legacy of Good, and launched our second-generation ESG plan
designed to drive social and environmental impact. Our ESG pillars – Advancing Sustainability,
Cultivating Inclusion, Transforming Lives and Upholding Trust – are how we drive progress on a broad
set of topics expected across all stakeholders. The Advancing Sustainability pillar prioritizes climate
action (supporting the net zero transition on the path to a climate resilient society) and the circular
economy (rethinking, redesigning, reusing and recycling our way to eliminate waste). The pillar also
encompasses our work to champion social and environmental responsibility across our supply chain.
Dell’s sustainability goals serve multiple purposes. Two of the most important are driving internal activities
and programs, and publicly reporting on the progress we are making on our aspirations. Dellcommunicates progress on these goals annually through our ESG report and a number of public,
governmental and NGO-sponsored reporting mechanisms. Details on these goals are provided in the
Annex to this document.
•

Dell drives progress on our climate-related ambitions through a program of long-termsustainability goals that cover all material aspects of Dell’s carbon footprint (see document Annex
for a full listing of these goals).

Engagement
The complexity and scale of climate issues limit what organizations can do on their own. Climate action
requires engagement across a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders. Through ourengagement with others, our teams learn, collaborate, teach, support and inform – and these efforts
assure external stakeholders we are behaving appropriately and responsibly.
•

Dell believes the strengths of our internal and external relationships build capabilities and create
opportunities for climate action.

•

Dell commits to keeping our stakeholders informed as to our progress through regular reportingon its climate-related operational initiatives, such as supply chain engagement and the carbon
footprint associated with our products and services.

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Internal engagement
Our employee community is a significant asset in Dell’s programs for climate action. Many are also
personally interested in, and motivated to, environmental stewardship. Our Planet Employee Resource
Group (ERG), as a proof point, is one of the largest employee groups at Dell. Our team members expect
their employer to be a responsible corporate citizen. In turn, we rely on our team members to help tackle
these issues. Our task is to properly communicate to them how Dell is connected to climate-related risks
and opportunities and how they can make a difference in their roles with the company.
To fully leverage the ambition and energy of our team members, Dell regularly informs our internal
community as to our progress on climate issues and constantly looks for ways to enable our employees
in their own approach to climate action.
•

Dell considers our employee community to be a key stakeholder in, and contributor to Dell’s work
on climate action.

External engagement
External engagement is an important tool for Dell to achieve success within our program of climate action.
These issues are large and challenging, and we know that assistance from our external stakeholder andboth enable and accelerate our work. Effective engagement, however, is a two-way street. We also knowthat we are frequently in a position to support our key stakeholders as they tackle their goals and workon their initiatives. This enables us to deliver greater value to our stakeholders and demonstrate that weshare the values of the commercial and public climate communities in which we participate.
Direct engagement with customers and partners
The climate-related needs of our customers and business partners are a particular focus for Dell. Manyof our customers and partners have climate strategy goals similar to Dell’s. They are looking to manage
their climate-related risks, measure and manage their carbon footprint, and realize their own climaterelated opportunities. Risk identification and management is particularly important for our public sector
customers who directly experience the consequences of climate change. Dell’s relationships with ourcustomers and partners are not just important for creating business value within Dell, they are thekeystone of our corporate culture.
•

Supporting our customers’ climate programs demonstrates that Dell shares their concerns aboutclimate, is interested in their success, and can deliver value to their business.

•

Dell is a member of our customers’ supply chains and accepts the responsibilities for performance,transparency, and engagement that the role demands.

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Participation in climate-related initiatives
As the consequences of climate change become clearer, Dell expects an increasing number of climaterelated initiatives. Traditionally, these have been driven by non-profit, mission-based organizations andgovernments. Recently, however, these have been joined by other initiatives created by individualcommercial entities and industry organizations.
Dell believes participation in these initiatives is valuable. Industry organization initiatives provide Dell an
opportunity to work with our peers on climate issues. Collaboration can also take the form of collective
industry engagement with other climate actors, most notably governmental and policy organizations, andmission-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Engagement in other commercial initiatives
directly supports Dell’s programmatic goals, as well as enables Dell to support the efforts of key external
stakeholders. Lastly, engagement in public-sector and civil society initiatives demonstrates ourcommitment to supporting global efforts and creates opportunities for us to assist those directly.
•

Dell is and will continue to be a participant in public and private climate initiatives that are alignedwith our climate related ambitions and those of our key stakeholders, such as the CDP Supply
Chain program and the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA).

Advocacy and engagement on issues of climate policy
The scale of climate issues is such that global progress requires significant cooperation between theprivate and public sectors. Engagement with policymakers and regulators enables Dell to learn how it
can best support global efforts, to communicate where external support can make Dell’s work on climate
more effective, and to work with governments to develop and implement climate solutions.
To that extent, Dell has identified a number of areas where policy initiatives can help Dell to leverage ourcapabilities and portfolio for accelerated global progress on climate. Dell will work with publicorganizations on these topics and will be a public advocate to help communicate the potential for policy
to drive progress on climate issues.
Specifics on policy that enable Dell to be a stronger contributor to climate action can be found in the
Annex to this document.
•

Dell believes public policy can accelerate and amplify climate action success, particularly in theareas of climate research, mitigation and adaptation solutions. It can also enable the transition toa low-carbon economy while addressing risks to affected industries and regions.

•

Dell frequently participates in and supports programs for climate action, including the World
Economic Forum’s “Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders”, the “We Mean Business Coalition”, andthe RE100.

•

Dell is committed to work with public entities, including the U.S. Administration, on climate change
actions and policies.

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Other climate-related engagement
A number of other organizations, most notably the socially responsible investor community (SRIs) andthe analyst community, look for engagement with Dell as a means for assessing Dell’s climate-related
performance and positions. These organizations use this information to provide guidance and insights toothers, including decisions related to company investments and overall industry trends.
•

Dell welcomes climate-related engagements with socially responsible investors and the analyst
community and believes that transparency on performance is aligned with our corporate purpose
and supports our long-term progress on climate issues.

Investment
Making progress on climate does not come without cost. Tackling climate and supporting the needs ofour stakeholders require Dell to develop new capabilities, new approaches to energy sourcing and an
innovative portfolio of products and services.
•

Dell understands that its program of climate action requires investment in processes, capabilities,
programs and innovative products, services, and solutions, and that these investments will return
significant business value back to Dell.

Operational processes, capabilities, and initiatives
Our business is constantly evolving to adapt to change. Business environments, markets and customer
needs are dynamic, requiring us to respond appropriately. Dell’s processes and capabilities for managing
climate-related issues are no different.
Effective climate action requires Dell to re-examine many parts of our business. Doing so includes andis not limited to risk management, resource use, and measurement and reporting of climate-related
metrics. Our investment to make these changes can come in several forms – investment in our people,
investment in our processes, and investment in our tools.
•

Dell invests in processes, capabilities and tools that support its ambitions for climate action.

Product carbon footprint
Dell is committed to using science to assess where investment can have the most powerful effect on
reducing product carbon footprint. For example, we have found the majority of the carbon footprint of ourclient systems (notebooks and desktops) occurs upstream in our supply chain. Dell is working to reduce
this footprint both through design and material choices, as well as supplier engagement focused on
operational energy footprint and energy sourcing.

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For many of our enterprise products, including most server systems, the carbon footprint hotspot occurs
in our customers’ facilities as a result of the energy required by our products in operation. Our products’energy needs are driven by a number of factors, including our component suppliers’ design, our system
implementations, our customers’ operational practices, and, in some cases, pure physics.
Making progress on reducing Dell’s product carbon footprint also requires innovation and investment.
These investments, however, return business value back to Dell, our suppliers and our customers - mostfrequently in the area of energy costs, energy-related infrastructure, and energy-related features, suchas battery life.
•

Dell invests in initiatives to reduce our products’ manufacturing carbon footprint and operationalenergy requirements. Innovations resulting from these investments support our customers’ needs
for reduced energy costs as well as progress on their carbon footprint goals.

•

Dell’s goals, including our commitment to reduce the emissions intensity of our supply chain
activities, help us and our suppliers focus on climate-positive improvements.

Neutralization of unabated carbon emissions
While Dell Technologies has a wide range of strategies in place to reduce its carbon emissions, weunderstand that, while the world’s grids are decarbonizing, there be will residual carbon emissions
associated with the manufacturing and use of our products. A net-zero commitment requiresorganizations like Dell to supplement their reduction activities with programs and initiatives that remove
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
The guidelines for credible neutralization programs have, as of April 2021, not been finalized. In fact, Dell
expects these guidelines to evolve significantly in the short- and medium-term. Regardless, we will haveto put a GHG neutralization strategy in place to address that share of our GHG emissions we cannot
abate. This strategy will likely require investment in future programs, though it is difficult, at this time, toanticipate the level of investment that will be required.
•

Dell’s net zero goal will also include a focus on strategies for neutralizing unabated carbon
emissions. We will follow generally accepted guidance on the nature of these types of programsas that guidance becomes available.

Climate-positive solutions
While Dell must ensure our resilience to climate change and reduce then eliminate our contribution to the
problem, Dell’s biggest opportunity to make a difference is in the role our technology can play in climate
research and in IT-based climate solutions. Many of these solutions include development and deploymentof system transformations, particularly around energy, land use, waste, water, transportation,
manufacturing and buildings.

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High-performance computing, cloud storage and computing, virtualization, big data analytics and edge
computing are just a few examples of how IT supports advanced climate research and innovative
mitigation and adaptation solutions. Dell continually invests in further development of these technologies,
as well as the capabilities required to build, deploy and manage complex IT-based solutions.
•

The role that Dell’s portfolio of products, services and technologies play in climate research andsolutions create Dell’s most significant opportunities for effective climate action.

Conclusion / wrap-up
Through governance and goals, internal and external engagement, and investment in our operations andportfolio, Dell is in a strong position for climate action. Our intent is to ensure continued resilience of ourbusiness to the effects of climate change, reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to climatechange, serve our customers’ climate-related needs and interests to the best of our ability and focus ourtechnology on climate-positive solutions. Through these areas of focus, and with the power of ourenterprise and our employee community, our commitment is to make good on our purpose to createtechnologies that drive human progress.

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AnnexDell’s current sustainability goals
With respect to climate action, Dell’s most relevant sustainability goals are:•

We commit to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050.

•

We commit to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by FY2031 from an FY2020
base year.

•

We commit to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services 45%
by FY2031 from a FY2020 base year.

•

We commit to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from use of sold products 30% by FY2031
from a FY2020 base year.

•

We will source 75% of electricity from renewable sources across all Dell facilities by 2030 – and100% by 2040.

•

By 2030, for every metric ton of our products a customer buys, one metric ton will be reused or
recycled, 100% of our packaging will be made from recycled or renewable material or will utilize
reused packaging and more than half of our product content will be made from recycled,
renewable or reduced carbon emissions material.

Dell positions on advocacy and policy
Pairing public policy and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enables innovative andeffective approaches for addressing climate change. Dell supports public policy to address climatechange, particularly policy which:•

Fosters continued research into the mechanics and impacts of climate change,•

Drives investment in the research, development and deployment of climate change mitigation andadaptation solutions, with specific focus on those solutions that enable sustainable development
and offer economic opportunity for a growing world population,•

Encourages early and beyond-required actions on a level playing field across regions andsolutions, including consistency on the implementation, magnitude and timing of taxes on carbon
emissions, and•

Accelerates the transition to a low-carbon economy, while supporting industries and regions as
they manage related transition risks.

•

Supports global standards for the reporting and disclosure of climate performance data, including
information on climate-related risks and opportunities, governance of climate issues, andgreenhouse gas inventories for Scope 1, Scope 2, and those Scope 3 categories that make amaterial contribution to an organization’s overall footprint.

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Updated June 13, 2023

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