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Operational Excellence

CDW prioritizes operational excellence across our facilities, supply chain, and technology infrastructure. Our focus encompasses climate resilience, energy efficiency, cyber and data security, and responsible supply chain practices. Together, these efforts reduce risk, support compliance, and create long-term value for our business and stakeholders.

Cyber & Data Security & Privacy

CDW maintains robust global data privacy and information security programs designed to protect information assets for our business, coworkers, customers, and partners. We meet or exceed various data protection regulations to the extent applicable, including but not limited to GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, PIPEDA, and related UK privacy laws.

We require annual cybersecurity training for all coworkers, with additional requirements for roles needing specialized knowledge of regulatory compliance. Our Integrated Global Information Security Operating Model enables secure, sustainable growth through focused, agile priorities underpinned by a strong oversight structure. We address cyber threats across eight overlapping domains:

  • Security Business Information
  • Enterprise Security Architecture
  • Cyber Defense
  • Product Security
  • Threat Detection
  • Security Risk and Response
  • Management
  • Security Operations

We implement privacy enhancements to facilitate business agility while ensuring compliance with contractual obligations to customers and regulatory requirements related to the processing, handling, and storage of individuals’ personal data. We remain committed to promoting a privacy-first mindset among CDW coworkers and in all aspects of CDW’s operations.

CDW requires all third-party data processors to execute Data Processing Agreements or similar contractual terms that mandate compliance with applicable privacy laws. We conduct pre-engagement risk assessments through security questionnaires, privacy impact assessments, and review of compliance documentation, with ongoing monitoring to ensure continued compliance with contractual privacy obligations.

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Climate Resilience

CDW's climate resilience approach is grounded in understanding both how our business impacts the climate and how climate may impact our business. We identify, prioritize, and manage climate-related risks through an integrated governance structure that connects with ERM. Our Business Resilience team leads our climate strategy and manages our cross-functional global Climate Committee. The Committee implements our carbon reduction and climate-risk initiatives, focusing on decarbonization activities and progress toward our goals, scenario planning, and engagement with supply chain partners.

CDW's climate resilience approach focuses on two areas:

  • Reducing CDW's impact on climate through targeted carbon reduction projects.
  • Reducing climate impact on CDW by assessing climate risks, conducting scenario planning, and developing risk management plans.

Our emissions reduction strategy is grounded in validated, science-based targets and a structured decarbonization roadmap. Our decarbonization roadmap details our path toward achieving our 2028 supplier engagement and 2030 decarbonization goals. We identify and prioritize emissions reduction opportunities that are most cost-effective, have near-term implementation and positive business impact, or that contribute to long-term partnerships that will support or sustain growth.

Our established near-term emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) include:

  • Scope 1 and Scope 2: Reduce absolute emissions 42% by 2030 (from a 2022 baseline).
  • Scope 3 (supplier engagement): Partners representing 80% of purchased goods and services emissions will have science-based targets by 2028.
  • Scope 3 (value chain): Reduce total Scope 3 GHG emissions from remaining categories (excluding purchased goods and services) by 25% by 2030 (from a 2022 baseline).

CDW collaborates with value chain partners and encourages responsible product use and end-of-life management, driving progress toward a lower-carbon technology ecosystem. We also closely monitor AI trends and assess their potential to impact energy consumption and emissions, focusing on potential effects on our suppliers and on the use of the products we sell.

Energy

CDW’s energy strategy is foundational to how we achieve broader emissions reduction goals. We prioritize environmental management, energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, and sustainable distribution throughout our operations. We procure renewable energy to make progress toward achieving our Scope 1 and 2 climate targets and maintain 100% renewable electricity sourcing across all UK operations. We also procure Renewable Energy Certificates to address electricity-related emissions for a portion of our U.S. facilities.

Our three distribution centers (two in the U.S. and one in the UK) and two UK offices hold ISO 14001 certification, the international standard for Environmental Management Systems. Energy efficiency measures across CDW facilities include indoor and outdoor LED lighting, motion-sensor lighting and conveyor systems in distribution centers, and smart HVAC systems.

CDW collects energy consumption data annually across facilities where CDW manages utility contracts to provide insights into opportunities to be more efficient. This includes our headquarters, our two U.S. distribution centers, and managed data centers where we track data through greenhouse gas accounting platforms.

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Managing Waste and Logistics

Within our own operations, we manage waste by reducing and reusing packaging and diverting waste from landfills. We also prioritize responsible reuse and recycling pathways to improve sustainability and cost considerations, aligning environmental practices with ISO 14001 expectations, and ensuring that logistics and disposal activities follow environmentally sound and compliant methods.

We focus on recyclable and responsible packaging materials, and influence vendors to improve their packaging. Our Partner Performance program holds suppliers accountable for improving their environmental footprint, including their EcoVadis scores. Our ISO 14001 certification for U.S. distribution centers guides how we manage waste priorities.

Within transportation, our Supply Chain Risk and Compliance program oversees carrier management, freight optimization, and risk-based controls designed to support chain-of-custody integrity, country of origin verification, and continuity of operations during global disruptions. The team coordinates transportation partners and internal functions so we maintain regulatory alignment and are able to rapidly respond to geopolitical, environmental, or operations disruptions. In the U.S., carriers enrolled in the U.S. EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership move a majority of shipments.

Supply Chain

We center our supply chain strategy on building resilience, trust, and transparency through strong governance, risk-based oversight, and alignment with recognized international standards, as well as the principles of The CDW Way Code. We collaborate closely with partners to meet high standards and enable responsible stewardship across our value chain.

As part of our Partner Performance Program, our Supply Chain Scorecard evaluates each distribution partner’s performance across quality, delivery reliability, compliance, ethical practices, and organizational values alignment. We regularly review the Scorecard collaboratively with partners at a cadence determined by CDW spend and a supplier’s risk profile. To oversee our partnerships with original equipment manufacturers, we conduct annual reviews that evaluate the working relationship and business impact for CDW and our customers. We also hold quarterly business reviews with top brand partners. Our annual Partner Summit provides a forum for networking and collaboration.

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Our risk-based framework guides the evaluation and selection of suppliers. Our Partner Code of Conduct outlines our requirements for supplier behavior, including compliance with applicable labor laws, protecting human rights, prohibiting forced labor and child labor, and maintaining safe and non-discriminatory working conditions. We require all onboarded suppliers to complete a DFAR (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation) attestation as part of the supplier qualification process.

CDW partners with EcoVadis to assess and manage sustainability performance across our supply chain. EcoVadis's comprehensive scorecards cover 21 criteria across four themes: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. This gives CDW a consistent, third-party evaluation of our strategic suppliers’ sustainability practices. We engage directly with suppliers through the EcoVadis platform or during business performance reviews. By using this tool, we can more specifically engage suppliers and identify risks and improvements across the supply chain.

We also evaluate our own operations and receive our own EcoVadis scorecard so our customers can feel confident in doing business with CDW. This demonstrates our commitment to globally respected standards and continuous progress toward responsible operations.

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Human Rights

CDW is committed to upholding human rights in all aspects of our operations and supply chain. Our approach is grounded in international best practices and guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We are dedicated to maintaining a work environment free from human trafficking, forced labor, child labor, and other abuses, and we require the same commitment from our partners.

Human rights principles are embedded in CDW's culture and governance through The CDW Way Code. Our always-available Ethics Helpline allows anyone, including coworkers, suppliers, and customers, to report suspected ethical conduct or human rights concerns anonymously.

Physical Security

CDW operates a 24/7 Global Security Operations Center that monitors all CDW facilities and supports coworkers in emergency situations related to weather or site operations, whether coworkers are on site, traveling, or at home. Additional security protocols include monitoring interior and exterior environments across all CDW facilities through a centralized security platform.

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