When you think about climate change—rising global temperatures, increasingly perilous weather and fragile ecosystems in disruption—your organization's servers and laptops may not immediately come to mind.

However, as vital as technology and your IT assets are to getting the job done, they play a role in climate change; digital technologies contribute to 4% of greenhouse gas emissions and that number is rising as more of the world industrializes.

Technology devices have a surprisingly large (and dirty) carbon footprint. From mining operations to pull raw materials from the ground to the semi trucks that transport devices to beyond the assets’ life cycle, almost every phase of a device brings some negative impact on climate change.

Worse yet, more than 50 million metric tons (5.5 million US tons) of e-waste is created each year; only 17.4% is properly collected and recycled; the vast majority of e-waste ends up in landfills where they leach toxic metals into groundwater and soil and require more mining to replace raw materials lost in trash piles.

The situation may be dire but it is far from hopeless. There are proven solutions you can enact now to reduce your IT assets’ impact on climate change. Here’s where to begin:

Choose Right from the Start

Before you ever place an order for new IT assets, really consider what you need and what you’re buying. Ask yourself a few questions, like:

Can we do the same work with less? Rightsizing your IT tech stack helps you avoid buying and eventually disposing of too much gear while reducing your GHG emissions. If you buy fewer devices, it’s less energy to make and run them with lower resource consumption overall.

Are these IT assets efficient? From monitors and laptops to servers, there are plenty of points of reference to understand just how energy efficient (or not!) they truly are. When shopping for new tech, look for labels and certifications, like Energy Star and other commitments to sustainability, like Cradle to Cradle, Green Seal or SMaRT Certified. In the context of a data center, calculate the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) to measure the efficiency of your technology.

How do we power our technology? Research what’s producing the electricity your tech runs on, information you can get from your utility company. Is your technology powered by coal, natural gas or other climate change worsening fuel supplies, or something renewable like wind or solar power?

Recently, GreenTek Solutions switched over to 100% renewable wind power. There are plenty of programs to easily change over to solar, wind and green energy sources, an effective strategy that has a multitude of benefits, including how your employees and customers perceive your commitments to sustainability.

Embrace the Circular Economy

The circular economy, a system based on reusing and regenerating materials, is a powerful way to fight climate change because it’s focused on sustainability, smarter consumption and proper waste management.

Thinking about the full life cycle of your devices is a helpful mindset to use when considering their impact on climate change; do your devices have a lifespan that ends in e-waste, or do they live on in some way?

For example, when it’s time to decommission a datacenter or upgrade your technology, reusing those devices is an ideal option. GreenTek Solutions extends the lifespans of devices by refurbishing them, putting them back into use where their extended use reduces their environmental impact. Instead of devices being prematurely recycled or even improperly thrown away, they’re put back into the supply chain.

Embracing the circular economy isn’t only possible when disposing of items. GreenTek Solutions makes refurbished, tested and warrantied IT assets available to customers for sale, often at a significant cost savings over brand new items. Your organization can reduce its impact on climate change by committing to shopping for refurbished items before buying brand new.

What Can’t Be Reused, Recycle

Of course, not all technology is worth refurbishing or reusing; the company laptop still running Windows 95 or a 20-year-old point-of-sale system has only one future and that’s recycling.

Recycling IT assets offers several benefits:

Proper disposal: IT assets cannot legally be disposed of in standard landfills. So, trusting your devices to an ITAD provider who will properly break down, handle and recycle these materials is a surefire way to not only avoid environmental harm, but prevent hefty lawsuits or fines. It’s risk prevention meets doing the right thing.

Raw material recapture: Mining for metals makes up approximately 8% of the global carbon output and, with more devices in more hands across the globe, mining will only increase. However, inside every server, laptop or phone is a treasure trove of useful, precious raw materials that can be salvaged, broken down and reused in new devices.

Up to 98% of a device’s components can be recycled, meaning valuable copper, gold, silver and palladium is diverted to be used again as electroplating, circuit boards and multi-layer ceramic capacitors. Even materials like glass, plastic, aluminum, steel and rubber in devices can be saved from the landfill through proper recycling.

Smaller landfills: Landfills claim many acres of land around the globe, growing constantly to meet the demands of more trash and waste generated by consumers. And while e-waste should never end up in a landfill, many tons of styrofoam, plastic, cardboard and packaging waste from purchasing new devices does end up in landfills.

When it comes to recycling done right, GreenTek Solutions will recycle your IT assets while exceeding R2v3 guidelines, stringent standards designed to ensure responsible handling of recycled materials—including evidence of proper data security.

Plus, GreenTek Solutions’ extensive data tracking allows organizations to truly measure and analyze their e-waste production, from how many tons they produce to how much GHG emissions they offset by properly disposing of e-waste to stats on environmental impact, like toxic metal landfill diversion. This all goes a long way in tracking and measuring Scope 3 emissions, which are notoriously difficult to assess, and can even inform an IT strategy when purchasing new equipment.

Take the Next Step Towards a Smaller Carbon Footprint

Climate change continues to threaten both humans, wildlife and the earth, but it’s clear any organization can take modest, meaningful steps to reduce their contribution to a warming climate.

Whether it’s time to upgrade or expand your IT asset inventory with refurbished items, properly dispose of unused IT assets or really commit to achieving your ESG goals, GreenTek Solutions is here to help.

Get in touch with us now for a free quote and no-cost advice.

Climate Change Reduction Checklist

Purchasing IT Assets

• Plan efficient IT tech stack
• Shop for refurbished equipment first
• Analyze energy efficiency of devices
• Purchase devices

IT Operations

• Plan IT asset life cycle, including repairs/maintenance and decommissioning
• Upgrade (if possible) power supply from carbon-based on green/renewable
• Develop communications strategy to announce green initiative to internal team

End of Life Cycle

• Develop IT inventory list of decommissioned items
• Contact GreenTek Solutions for quote
• Analyze data/reports for opportunities and achievements
• Communicate positive environmental impact with internal/external audiences