By opting for remanufactured laptops instead of brand new ones, UK businesses could save billions of dollars, while also cutting their carbon footprint drastically.
This is according to the sustainable IT experts at Circular Computing, whose latest report claims organizations could stand to save $10.72 billion over the next nine years. By embracing sustainable IT, UK firms would also emit nine million tons less carbon into the atmosphere and use up 5.4 trillion fewer liters of water.
Putting these statistics into perspective, that’s like removing 193,000 cars from the road or saving 10 percent of the volume of the North Sea.
Circular Computing says this approach is important because the UK is falling short of the emissions reduction target that is needed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It is no longer enough for businesses to reduce the carbon footprint within their own operations; they now need to turn their attention to the environmental impact of their supply chains.
According to Steve Haskew, Head of Sustainability and Social Leadership at Circular Computing, making this change would not cause significant disruption, as many buy laptops “on increasingly arbitrary, often three-year buying cycles.” These devices don’t offer great enough performance gains to justify the purchase, he believes.
“By acquiring that discarded stock and taking it through a thorough 100-step remanufacturing process, we’re able to produce laptops that deliver 97 percent of their original performance and provide businesses with reliable, enterprise-grade machines at significant cost reductions,” said Haskew.
“I’d encourage all organizations looking to reduce their environmental impact to interrogate their IT procurement and see if they can make it more sustainable, because IT shouldn’t cost the earth.”
