The sustainability movement is not slowing down - recent studies have shown that consumers are increasing their demand for sustainably marketed products. The IT sector can play a driving role in environmental action by adapting operations to a circular economy model without creating disruptions to the corporation. A circular economy keeps materials in use for longer, diverting them from landfill and incineration resulting in waste elimination and carbon reductions.

Customers are Choosing Companies Based on Their Sustainability Performance

Recent consumer trends shows that consumers are not just talking about the importance of sustainability, they are choosing to take action with their wallets. A report from the Center of Sustainable Business (CSB) has revealed that sales for sustainably marketed products grew by 50% between 2013 and 2018.1 Consumers are willing to pay more for products and services that are environmental, compared to another product of same quality and slightly lower price point.

As consumers are caring about the sustainable actions and choices of businesses, the IT sector can play an important role in leading the charge on these initiatives. If you look at the environmental impact of the IT sector, the numbers relating to resource use and waste production are astounding – take a look at some fast facts:2

• It takes 1.5 tons of water, 530 lbs of fossil fuel and 40 Ibs of chemicals to manufacture a single computer and monitor.
• Computers tend to be replaced every three to five years eventhough they can last considerably longer than that3
• It is estimated that globally, 50 million metric tonnes of electronic waste ends up in the landfill every year. This is equivalent to 4,5004
• According to the United Nations, electronic waste is the fastest growing stream of waste globally.
• The carbon footprint of ICT makes up 1.5% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. While this might seem like a small number, the footprint will grow to account for as much as 14% of global emissions by 2040.

In the US, the rate of recycling for electronics is close to 25%.5 However much of this is sent to landfills overseas in Tanzania, India, Vietnam etc. Runoff from these landfills can contaminate water used for bathing and drinking which exposes people to dangerous chemicals.6 “Thousands of tonnes also find their way around the world to be pulled apart by hand or burned by the world’s poorest workers” notes the World Economic Forum. As these issues are becoming more prominent, consumers are demanding for businesses to implement sustainability initiatives to reduce these environmental and social impacts.

The Solution – Go Circular

While these global issues might seem challenging to tackle, one way to reduce the environmental impact of IT is to adopt a circular economy model.These waste issues arise from the traditional supply chain model that relies on the extraction of resources, manufacture of brand new products and landfilling/burning of goods once they are no longer needed – the produce, use and dispose model.7 In a circular economy, products and its materials remain in the use phase for longer instead of being disposed. The aim is for products to never end up in landfills through reuse and recycling initiatives.

Diagram 1 – Circular economy model.8 The circular economy model leverages reuse and recycling to create a new supply of materials that can be put into the manufacturing of new products. This reduces the need to rely on raw materials and cuts down on the production of waste creating environmental benefit.

There are many benefits to adopting circular solutions such as to ensure availability of raw resources, reduce loss of materials, meet the growing demand of devices, reducing carbon pollution and prevent environmental hazards. When technology is put towards reuse, it eliminates the carbon pollution that would have been produced during its manufacture process.

There are three main components of the circular model: (1) product/service design to prevent waste and pollution, (2) Product and material design to ensure prolong use, and (3) end of life management to enable ease of reuse and recycling. The end of life management of products can also promote the lengthening of a produce lifespan by allowing devices to have second and third lives.

The circular economic model is focused on retaining and maximizing the value of the original product in each reuse and recycle sequence. Since technology assets contain materials of high value such as rare earth minerals and metals, it is crucial that these materials are managed at their end of life to retain their high value.

The circular economy model also seeks out methods to regenerate products while reducing energy use and waste production. This can be challenging in the IT sector as the separation and extraction of raw materials from computers and servers can be energy intensive and polluting. Not to mention the re-manufacturing of products can create a large carbon footprint.

Implementation – Incorporating Recycling and Reuse for End-of-Life Technology

It is inevitable that businesses will keep demanding the latest and greatest technology as recent innovations are making devices more efficient and intuitive. The two main methods to manage End-of-first-life (EOFL) technology and divert materials from landfill is through recycling and reuse. Businesses should work with IT asset disposition (ITAD) management companies that promote recycling and reuse while ensuring top management of information security risks.

Data Security

IT assets can contain extremely private personal and proprietary information that may leave a company vulnerable if the information falls into the wrong hands. It is crucial for businesses to check that an ITAD management organization provides the highest standards in data security including:

• Secure pick up of data-bearing assets
• Issue of receiving audit and logs to ensure that devices received matched what was shipped
• Highly trained ITAD technicians
• ISO-Certified processing facility for asset audit, testing, de-branding and wiping
• High standards of data erasure to guarantee proper sanitation of disk drives such as adhering to the U.S. Department of Defense standards for data cleansing.
• Certificates of erasure/destruction for every disk drives

Recycling

Consider that around 80% of electronic waste is incinerated or sent to landfills meaning valuable metals are put to waste as only 30% of global e-waste is formally recycled. Internationally, only 10 – 15% of gold in e-waste is successfully recovered while the remaining 85 – 90% remained unrecovered. According to the United Nations, precious metals stored in electronic waste is estimated to be 40 – 50 times more abundant than from deposits found in ores mined from the earth.9 The World Economic Forum reported that “There is 100 times more gold in a tonne of mobile phones than in a tonne of gold ore.”10

When choosing an ITAD partner, ensure that the organization is taking the right steps to minimize their environmental footprint and that they are not putting material into the landfill. Organizations that provide recycling and reuse capabilities are often more cost effective as they are able to create value from aged assets through the remarketing of used devices, or the sale of recycled materials to the manufacturing sector. Businesses should ask for proof of environmental compliance to keep ITAD partners accountable and confirm that used assets are not leaving behind a large footprint.

Reuse

Keeping aging technology assets might not make sense for companies that demand the latest in technological advances. However, there is a market for other organizations who do not need the most up to date technology to operate effectively. Compared to recycling and disposal, reusing is the best way to reduce the environmental impact of electronics.

Companies can create initiatives to give old equipment to employees for personal use, or sell it at a discount to their friends and family. According to IT professionals, companies often do not do this as it requires added cost and effort to wipe old devices and clean them to make them usable.11

Refurbished devices are considered to be reuse since they preserve the value of the device into its second and third life when at end-of-first-life, not all parts were fully functional. Devices that are partially functioning or that have sustained some cosmetic damage can be refurbished and restored to a like-new working condition and appearance. Refurbishing not only enables technology to return to full working order, it can also promote upcycling and increase the value of the device through the installation of new software and hardware.

Devices that are refurbished have a smaller carbon footprint. Carbon emission reductions are created when used devices are remarketed as it replaces the need for manufacturing a new piece of technology.12 In fact, ITAD solutions provider CO2Neutral has been able to generate carbon credits through the remarketing of aged technology. These carbon offsets can be used for companies to be put towards their goals of carbon neutrality to improve their sustainability image. Global companies such as HSBC and Nike are already leveraging carbon credits to reduce their carbon footprint, showing their consumers that they are serious about environmental action.

As it is projected that technology use and its associated waste and emissions production will increase over the next decades, consumers are starting to take action and vote with their wallets. According to Tensie Whelan, Director of the Center for Sustainable Business, there has been a massive shift in consumer habits over the last five years. And there is no sign that this sustainability movement will slow down.

References

1. 1Reints, R. (2019) ’Sustainability Is the New Disrupter.’ How Consumers Are Making Eco-Friendly Products Marketable. Fortune. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2019/11/05/sustainability-marketing-consumer-spending/
2. Electronics TakeBack Coalition (2014) Facts and Figures on E-waste and Recycling. Retrieved at http://www.electronicstakeback.com/wp-content/uploads/Facts_and_Figures_on_EWaste_and_Recycling.pdf Sarokin, D. & Weedmark, D. (2019) What is the Life Span of the Average PC?, Retrieved at https://smallbusiness.chron.com/life-span-average-pc-69823.html
3. Ryder, G. & Zhao, H. (2019) The world’s e-waste is a huge problem. It’s also a golden opportunity. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-a-circular-approach-can-turn-e-waste-into-a-golden-opportunity/
4. LeBlanc, R (2019) E-Waste and the Importance of Electronics Recycling, The Balance – Small Business. Retrieved at https://www.thebalancesmb.com/e-waste-and-the-importance-of-electronics-recycling-2877783
5. Maier, C (2017) How Do Computers Pollute the Environment, Sciencing. Retrieved at https://sciencing.com/how-do-computers-pollute-the-environment-13660586.html
6. Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017) What is a Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept
7. Sims Recycling Solutions (2019) Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://www.simsrecycling.com/global/circular-economy/
8. Garretson, C. (2010) Recycling IT assets is serious business. Computerworld, retrieved at https://www.networkworld.com/article/2192528/recycling-it-assets-is-serious-business.html
9. CO2Neutral (2019) What are Carbon Credits? Retrieved at https://co2neutral.ca/#carbon-credits

Footnotes

1. Reints, R. (2019) ’Sustainability Is the New Disrupter.’ How Consumers Are Making Eco-Friendly Products Marketable. Fortune. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2019/11/05/sustainability-marketing-consumer-spending/
2. Electronics TakeBack Coalition (2014) Facts and Figures on E-waste and Recycling. Retrieved at http://www.electronicstakeback.com/wp-content/uploads/Facts_and_Figures_on_EWaste_and_Recycling.pdf
3. Sarokin, D. & Weedmark, D. (2019) What is the Life Span of the Average PC?, Retrieved at https://smallbusiness.chron.com/life-span-average-pc-69823.html
4. Ryder, G. & Zhao, H. (2019) The world’s e-waste is a huge problem. It’s also a golden opportunity. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-a-circular-approach-can-turn-e-waste-into-a-golden-opportunity/
5. LeBlanc, R (2019) E-Waste and the Importance of Electronics Recycling, The Balance – Small Business. Retrieved at https://www.thebalancesmb.com/e-waste-and-the-importance-of-electronics-recycling-2877783
6. Maier, C (2017) How Do Computers Pollute the Environment, Sciencing. Retrieved at https://sciencing.com/how-do-computers-pollute-the-environment-13660586.html
7. Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017) What is a Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept
8. Sims Recycling Solutions (2019) Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://www.simsrecycling.com/global/circular-economy/
9. LeBlanc, R (2019) E-Waste and the Importance of Electronics Recycling, The Balance – Small Business. Retrieved at https://www.thebalancesmb.com/e-waste-and-the-importance-of-electronics-recycling-2877783
10. Ryder, G. & Zhao, H. (2019) The world’s e-waste is a huge problem. It’s also a golden opportunity. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-a-circular-approach-can-turn-e-waste-into-a-golden-opportunity/
11. Garretson, C. (2010) Recycling IT assets is serious business. Computerworld, retrieved at https://www.networkworld.com/article/2192528/recycling-it-assets-is-serious-business.html
12. CO2Neutral (2019) What are Carbon Credits? Retrieved at https://co2neutral.ca/#carbon-credits
    

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Ru Yap
Ru Yap is a Marketing and Sustainability Coordinator at CO2Neutral, an IT asset disposition solution provider that is helping companies achieve their carbon neutrality and waste reduction goals through the IT sector. She is a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program at the University of Toronto and believes that knowledge exchange is the first step to spark sustainable action and global change.