Our digital world is growing, and it’s more important than ever to be aware of the impact we have on the environment. Many companies are striving to reduce their carbon footprint by creating environmental ESG goals, and one way companies can achieve environmental goals is by partnering with an ITAD provider for responsible, environmentally-sound IT asset disposition. ITAD enterprises function as a one-stop-shop for all end-of-use needs, helping reduce costs and the amount of carbon emissions used.
The Rise of E-Waste & Pollution
The last decade experienced a significant rise in technology, creating an influx of e-waste. In 2022, only 22.3 percent of the world’s e-waste was documented as recycled, leaving the remaining 77.7 percent disposed of improperly, or not collected at all. E-waste makes up about 70 percent of the world’s toxic waste, and continues to be a global issue.
Electronic waste is considered hazardous because of the chemicals it releases. When e-waste is sent to landfills these chemicals are absorbed into the soil over time without proper lining. Eventually, the chemicals will contaminate groundwater, and pollute the surrounding water supply. Animals and people living nearby could potentially ingest the chemicals and experience detrimental health issues. Incineration facilities are a popular method of e-waste disposal, but burning e-waste results in these chemicals being released into the atmosphere, causing air pollution. Additionally, landfills and incinerators both contribute to carbon emissions, so e-waste disposal using either method will only hinder companies’ environmental goals.
Scope 3 Emissions
One of the more difficult components of reducing emissions is reducing scope 3 emissions. Carbon emissions are broken down into 3 categories:
- Scope 1 – direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources controlled or owned by an organization.
- Scope 2 – indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling, and are a result of the organization’s energy use.
- Scope 3 – indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.
It is easy to reduce emissions a company uses itself, but it is more difficult to control what vendors use. ITAD providers offer a one-stop solution for disposition needs while also helping reduce scope 3 emissions.
ITAD Solutions with an All-Inclusive Provider
The process of IT asset disposition includes a number of different factors such as data security, repair and remarketing considerations, materials recovery, logistics, and recycling. Working with multiple vendors can become extremely costly and overwhelming, but it also increases a company’s carbon footprint. Working with one vendor eliminates a significant amount of scope 3 carbon emissions, therefore, reducing the stress of keeping up with scope 3 emissions from several different vendors. ITAD enterprises like HOBI prioritize mitigating environmental liability and practice legislative compliance in every aspect to ensure clients that our environmental standards are up-to-date.
HOBI is an R2v3, RIOS, WBE, and ISO 14001 certified ITAD enterprise with more than 30 years of industry experience. HOBI offers a plethora of end-of-use services including onsite data erasure, repair, refurbishment and remarketing, customized reverse logistics, data center solutions, materials recovery, and e-recycling. HOBI also offers donation programs for value maximization.
For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com.