ESG Compliance: The Key to Sustainable ITAD Operations

ESG reporting is becoming a standard practice in the business world as it provides more transparency and accountability for enterprises. Environmental awareness is more prevalent as companies strive to focus more on sustainability, but governance ESG criteria are perhaps the most important when processing e-waste in the ITAD industry. Many businesses focus on accounting methods and records, but for ITAD processing facilities, compliance is the key to achieving governance ESG goals.

As a new industry standard in the business world, ESG reporting encompasses a range of policies on how a company reacts to environmental, social, and governance issues. ESG reporting is becoming more common in ITAD as part of a shifting industry landscape, including new value-added facets of the ITAD business model. HOBI refers to this change as value-added IT asset disposition (vITAD). Governance ESG criteria focus on the company’s transparency and accuracy in accounting and reporting methods, as well as audits, leadership, executive pay, and shareholder rights. This provides full disclosure for investors who want to know how the company treats its shareholders and how much weight is put on their opinions. 

In ITAD, governance criteria are achieved through compliance, audits, and transparency. Compliance is a key practice to ensure governance ESG goals are being met, and one way to achieve compliance assurance is to maintain certifications. Legislative compliance and certification come hand in hand when operating machinery or processing equipment. Compliance is a core requirement for many businesses, especially those operating heavy machinery or processing IT equipment, and acquiring the necessary certifications helps build a trustworthy foundation for clients to rely on. Additionally, legislative compliance shields facilities from any potential legal issues. 

Certifications play a pivotal role in the ITAD industry, ensuring accountability and instilling confidence in clients. They provide documented evidence that their equipment is in professional hands. Several certifications are available for ITAD facilities, including the R2 and eStewards standards, each serving as a testament to the facility’s commitment to high standards and responsible practices. 

In July 2020, Sustainable Electronics Recycling (SERI) released R2v3, the first significant revision of the R2 practices since 2013. As the highest quality standard certification in the sustainability space, R2v3 compliance can pave the way for achieving successful ESG governance criteria. R2v3 is an updated version of the R2 certification, including tighter safety measures regarding data security and a more detailed description of services, such as a scope statement, process requirements, a list of other locations, etc. The revisions span ten different areas and include new safety measures that are particularly relevant to the ITAD industry. 

Staying compliant with government legislation is one of HOBI’s top priorities in each program. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, HOBI undergoes yearly audits for each of its programs in all three locations to ensure the device refurbishment and recycling process is compliant with local, state, and federal e-scrap disposal legislation. HOBI’s R2v3, RIOS, and ISO 14001 certifications guarantee accountability at all levels of the IT asset disposition process. HOBI provides complete transparency to stakeholders and clients to ensure satisfaction in all facets of the business. 

For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com.