How green is your organisation?

HOW GREEN IS YOUR ORGANISATION?

A REPORT FROM STONE GROUP

Introduction

We’re all aware of the need for action against climate change and the onus is on all of us to do more to protect our planet and reduce energy consumption, use less and recycle more. While we all have a role to play at an individual level, organisations of all sizes are under pressure to do what they can to ensure they run operations as sustainably as possible.

At Stone Group, we are a leading circular IT provider and we’re keen to find out how green the UK’s businesses and public sector organisations really are, so we worked with market research firm, Sapio to canvas the opinions of 250 senior decision makers with responsibility for green initiatives from businesses and public sector organisations with up to 1000 employees.

The research confirms that, despite business disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and ongoing economic uncertainty, sustainability remains a key priority for UK businesses and public sector organisations. It also reveals what UK organisations’ key priorities for sustainability are, the tactical measures they already have in place; and their plans to make change in the future. It also asks who is driving these sustainability projects; and how they are responding to the Government’s Net Zero 2050 initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.

Stone Group is committed to promoting a sustainable, 360-degree approach to IT purchasing and disposal and the research shows that over a third of respondents are prioritising greener ways to manage their IT estate. However, it also reveals that there’s still more work to be done to effectively tackle the UK’s growing e-waste problem.

If you’d like to discover more about how UK organisations are working towards becoming more sustainable, or how to take a more environmentally responsible approach to IT purchasing and disposal then this report is for you.

Table of contents

How green is your organisation?

Green initiatives

How green is your IT asset management?

How can organisations become more sustainable when it comes to IT asset management?

About Stone Group and Stone360 ™

How green is your business?

Despite the economic and operational challenges that businesses and public sector organisations have faced over the past 12 months, our research shows that sustainability remains a key focus for many. In fact, sustainability was identified as a priority for 37% of businesses, coming in third place to recovery from the pandemic for 48% of respondents and cost reduction and boosting profitability at 44%. Plans to become more environmentally aware and responsible are being prioritised over preparing for a recession, growth plans, and even managing post-Brexit challenges.

The research shows that the biggest driver for behaving more environmentally responsibly is ethical beliefs for over half of organisations. Cost benefits, government targets and pressure from society, customers or other key stakeholders were also identified as key reasons for kick starting green initiatives.

Organisations’ green credentials are becoming increasingly important to their reputations and are considered important by 92% of employees; 88% of customers; and 84% of suppliers.

The research also asked organisations about their green priorities when it comes to purchasing, use and disposal of ageing or broken items:

• Reusing/reducing is the priority for 34%

• For 27% it’s responsible recycling or disposal of ageing or broken items like IT hardware

• 20% of organisations are focusing on green purchasing improvements

• While 19% are prioritising all of these green processes

A number of key business functions or processes have also been ear-marked for green change by the organisations we spoke to:

Environmental responsibility is a key focus for 32% of organisations

45% are introducing a growing number of green initiatives

Green initiatives and responsibilities

The green initiatives being prioritised right now are recycling for half of organisations; implementing smart building technologies for 39%; and green order fulfilment (e.g. less packaging, reduced plastic) for 33%

However, in addition to these obvious contenders, organisations have already introduced or are planning to work towards introducing a whole range of other initiatives including cycle to work schemes; reduced business travel; green procurement; more use of electric company vehicles and even meat free days in the cafeteria.

The people driving these green initiatives come from a range of job functions and some organisations have appointed teams with the sole responsibility of leading on sustainability goals.

In three in five organisations, the CEO is involved in all green initiatives, while over half have sustainability directors or managers. Over a third of organisations have set up their own green task force to help drive environmental change, while a quarter have a departmental green champion.

Net Zero 2050 commitment

In June 2019, legislation was passed by parliament for the Government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100% by 2050. There are many benefits for organisations who choose to work towards becoming Net Zero, including a reduction in energy consumption and costs, and of course reducing the impact your organisation has on the environment.

The UK government wants all workplaces to be NetZero and for organisations to measure and track carbon; reduce total energy demand; use renewable energy resources; and work towards other initiatives such as achieving zero waste.

We asked our survey respondents to tell us if they are working towards Net Zero 2050 and 75% confirmed that they are. 17% said they don’t know if their organisation is working towards it, while just 8% said they weren’t.

For those with a plan for Net Zero 2050 in place, there were mixed responses to the impact the Coronavirus pandemic has had on their plans:

• Half of respondents claimed that it had derailed their plans and that they were keen to get back on track

• 42% said the pandemic had helped their plans, forcing them to adopt remote working practices more quickly

• While under 10% of respondents claimed that the pandemic hadn’t impacted their plans and they are still on track!

How green is your IT asset management?

Responsible recycling or disposal of ageing, broken or redundant IT hardware is one way that organisations can make a positive contribution to their sustainability goals. For most organisations, IT upgrades are typically required every three to four years as ageing devices and hardware becomes slow, unreliable, and increasingly costly to maintain. Everything from cables to printers, servers, broken tablets or PC monitors can be recycled, but still an alarming amount fails to be processed responsibly.

The Coronavirus pandemic has seen demand for devices to enable remote working increase exponentially. As a result, many poor old desktop computers are sat unused, gathering dust in offices up and down the country. We predict that as many as 50% of desktop workstations are currently now redundant in the UK.

Our research shows that there’s still some way to go to encourage organisations to dispose of their e-waste more responsibly, with a quarter of businesses unsure of what happens to their redundant kit or admitting it gets sent to landfill.

The statistics on how much e-waste ends up in landfill, is incinerated or is shipped abroad each year make for alarming reading. Last year alone, 53.6 million metric tonnes (the equivalent of 350 cruise ships) of e-waste was generated globally, while in the UK each person is responsible for generating 23.9kg of e-waste – the second highest per capita in the world. As one of the world’s fastest-growing waste streams it needs to be disposed of responsibly as it contains toxic substances that not only causes harm to the environment, but to human health too.

53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste generated globally

However, our research also showed that some organisations are doing their best to give their old kit a second life with two in five organisations (41%) donating old IT hardware to charities or schools, while 31% use an IT asset disposal facility. Some organisations (32%) choose to keep their broken or ageing equipment and repair it to keep as spares; and 23% are worried that the data on their old devices will end up in the wrong hands so instead choose to keep them onsite to safeguard them. The research also revealed that organisations are realising the benefits of purchasing refurbished IT. The chart below reveals the buying choices our survey respondents make when it comes to buying refurbished IT.

Despite the significant benefits of buying refurbished IT equipment, 39% of the survey respondents are concerned that they will be inferior to new models, while 36% worry that refurbished models don’t have adequate guarantees.

Almost a third of respondents are also reluctant to purchase refurbished IT as they don’t believe it will have a long shelf life. Some respondents’ IT choices are restricted by their organisations preferences or policies. For example, 27% are only allowed to purchase kit from certain manufacturers; 23% claim their staff prefer new IT equipment; while 16% have IT policies which state that they must buy new.

32% We only purchase new equipment

25% We always purchase refurbished IT equipment where possible

42% We purchase a mixture of refurbished and new equipment

However, refurbished IT equipment is a more cost-effective way to get the processing power organisations need at a lower price. In most cases these concerns are unfounded as reputable sellers of refurbished IT equipment ensure that these models are sold in a like new condition. They also typically offer warranties that rival those offered on sales of new devices.

To find out more about the benefits of purchasing refurbished IT from Stone Group visit: www.stone-refurb.co.uk

How can organisations become more sustainable when it comes to IT asset management?

There is no reason to hold onto unwanted, damaged or redundant IT equipment or commit it to landfill, as using an IT asset disposal (ITAD) facility is a responsible way to manage the IT estate at its end of life.

Our research revealed that 61% of organisations use an IT asset disposal service to securely remove, refurbish or recycle their unwanted IT equipment and respondents have a range of reasons for choosing this service:

• 40% use an ITAD facility because all data is securely wiped from old devices

• It’s the chosen disposal route for 31% who prefer their old kit to be recycled or refurbished

• For 28%, it’s the ease of this disposal method that wins as all unwanted kit is picked up directly from their organisation and taken away for recycling.

For those who use an IT asset disposal company, 38% of businesses admitted that occasionally arranging collections of old kit can be problematic and that they would prefer if the same company could supply the new or refurbished kit (41%)

Of those organisations that don’t use an ITAD facility, 46% cited concerns over the security of the data on their devices; 39% haven’t got round to enlisting the services of an ITAD provider; while 13% admitted that their IT estate has grown so significantly that they’re unsure where their end-of-life kit actually is.

If you haven’t worked with an ITAD provider before, or looking for a new one, here are five top considerations for choosing who to work with:

1. Check out their ITAD accreditations to verify their service complies with environmental, security, health and safety laws and regulations.

2. Ensure that the ITAD partner can provide a full report and traceability that your unwanted IT equipment has been disposed of responsibly.

3. Choose a provider that can guarantee that zero waste will be sent to landfill

4. Is it easy and convenient to book a collection of your unwanted kit? If not, chose an alternative provider.

5. Some providers charge a huge premium for collecting old kit, which typically means they outsource disposal to a third party. End of life kit can hold some residual value so find a provider that offers rebates for old kit.

Steadfast in our approach to e-waste

Stone Group’s WEEE compliant recycling facility guarantees end of life IT assets are recycled securely, protecting organisations from data breaches and financial penalties. Using industry-leading data wiping software Blancco, Stone Group ensures that all data is correctly and securely disposed of in accordance with GDPR regulations and to the same standards as the MOD. Customers are provided with a full audit report and certificate of disposal to ensure complete traceability.

Stone Group’s onsite ITAD facility is fully WEEE accredited and has the following certifications including:

• ISO 27001: Information Security Management

• Asset Disposal & Information Security Alliance (ADISA) Distinction

• Defence Infosec Product Co-operation Group (DIPCOG)

• Cyber Essentials

Stone Group is also certified as a Zero Waste to Landfill provider, as certified by Valpak, meaning you can be assured that your unwanted tech stays in the circular IT economy, instead of ending up in landfill.

Stone360 ™ app

The Stone360™ app is a revolutionary approach to green IT asset management, empowering organisations to take control of their e-waste with a few simple clicks.

The app, which is free to download on iOS and Android devices, enables every business and public sector organisation across the UK to effectively manage their e-waste. Via the app, organisations can arrange collection of their redundant IT equipment and all items are then taken to Stone Group’s dedicated ITAD facility for secure recycling or refurbishment.

Stone Group has partnered with the National Forest and users of Stone360™ earn points for their kit donations. For every 1000 points earned, a tree will be added to their ‘virtual woodland’ and a donation made to the National Forest.

They can also track and manage rebates on their old IT assets, cashing in the value of their recycled goods or collecting points to use to purchase refurbished or new IT from Stone.

“At Stone, we believe it is our responsibility to work with our new and existing customers to help them take a 360-degree approach to the lifecycle of their IT assets. To facilitate positive change, we’ve developed the Stone360™ app to help our customers with their own sustainability goals and to contribute to efforts to reduce the vast amounts of e-waste currently blighting our planet.”

Simon Harbridge

“The Stone360™ app is a complete gamechanger. It not only gives customers a shortcut to manage their end-of-life IT assets, but it also allows them to track their rewards. Use of our ITAD service and the new app is completely free and offers customers a complete 360-degree approach to IT – from first hardware purchase through to its end of life.”

Tim Westbrook

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