Certifications are a part of any business, and they can be difficult for some industries to achieve due to how complex they have become, especially in the ITAD industry. According to e-Stewards’ acting certification director, Selena Turnock, certification standards all over have been getting longer and more tedious. For this reason, e-Stewards have announced plans to develop a certification option that is more tailored to the daily operations of those in the ITAD industry.
“At a time when standards may be getting more prescriptive or longer, we found the need to maintain the ethics and integrity of the e-Stewards program while providing a certification solution for these niche organizations that will not be overburdensome,” Turnock said.
The new standards are being partially funded by Samsung, who is part of the e-Stewards leadership council and offered to help with financial support to bring together the right people. According to Turnock, typically certifications focus on processing and commodity recovery, something smaller ITAD facilities may not do. e-Stewards has garnered interest from the industry for a certification that does not require certain safety plans for safe management for companies that do not handle mercury, shredding, smelting or other hydrometallurgical processes.
“We’re hoping that – especially for some of the new organizations that are coming in – that they don’t get so overwhelmed with some of the larger standards and they can do this as a good stepping stone,” Turnock said.
e-Stewards is not the only organization moving toward this change. In the wake of SERI’s switch to the R2v3 standard, the company has also announced programs to help increase accessibility and remove certification barriers. The new certification standards are largely influenced by the new R2v3 standard, which aims to streamline certification by allowing companies to meet core standards before choosing specialization tracks based on the services they offer.
Turnock explained that she’s hoping the final standard will be released by the end of the year, “We’re still in the development phase,” she said. “We’re working with our standards committee, getting different perspectives from current e-Stewards companies, and we anticipate that we will be able to have it published as a first draft for public comment by the fall.”
As an R2v3, RIOS, WBE and ISO-14001 certified IT asset management and disposition facility with three locations and more than 30 years of experience in the industry, HOBI prioritizes compliance and maintains certifications in addition to yearly audits. For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com.