My website claim is “buy refurbished and save the planet” . This not only an “emotional” claim, it’s a way to live, not only for me but i hope , for everyone live in a sustainable way.
The everyday use of home appliances, laptops or mobile phones is an obvious cause of CO2 emissions. While obvious, everyday use is not the main cause, which comes when manufacturing the product. In this case, recycling appliances or IT devices reduces landfill waste, but increases CO2 emissions, because it increases the need to manufacture replacement products.
Across society, sustainability has become a critical issue, so it is important to understand how to make your business and operations more sustainable. Saving energy is good, but reducing emissions is better. Companies should consider using circular supply chains and refurbishment services. Rather than the traditional ‘take, make, dispose’ model, a circular economy reuses and refurbish products and materials to minimise waste and make the most of our natural resources.
From a sustainability perspective, while recycling obsolescent appliance or device should ensure some valuable metal reuse, it is only a partial solution. Every time an organisation throws away a laptop, or an owen a blender they need a new one to replace it. By comparison, if old appliances or devices are refurbished they can be reused by a less demanding user and displace the need to manufacture replacements.
Evidence of human impact on fragile ecosystems surrounds us, and we continue to overconsume finite resources. Refurbishing is part of the solution: one way to reduce the carbon footprint, raw materials used and e-waste produced.
The choice is not between being sustainable and being profitable. There is a business case for more sustainable behaviour: Quite simply, refurbishing Appliances or IT will extract more value than recycling. Sales departments can sell used refurbished products , avoid recycling fees and landfill taxes. There is also a change coming in buying behaviour: organisations with sustainability policies will require suppliers to meet their sustainability standards; this practice started in Sweden, and is spreading south. Even if not a mandatory buying criterion, demonstrable sustainability can help differentiate your organisation and create a competitive edge.
IT devices are natural candidates for circular business models. Use a qualified and certified refurbishment service based on a circular economy approach, and your products policies offer a route to more sustainable electronic. This is a simple step to improve the sustainability of your operations while developing a plan to do better. Not only does this choice makes good commercial sense, it is also the right thing to do for the planet.
Let’s talk about it
mik