How do you know if your IT organization is “Being Green”?
28th Jul 2022
How do you know if your IT organization is “Being Green”?
Sustainable IT aims to minimize the negative impact of IT operations on the environment by procuring, maintaining, and disposing of IT hardware in an environmentally-friendly manner. The motives behind sustainable IT practices include reducing your carbon footprint, cutting down on the number of hazardous materials that end up in the landfill, and promoting your ideals and commitment to end consumers and other organizations.
How can these impacts be measured? How does my organization communicate and get recognition for sustainable IT practices? The state of the art is evolving rapidly and many organizations have begun to address the environmental and security impacts of IT asset disposition (ITAD). Despite the lack of a single set of unifying standards, there are a few standards that have been widely adopted that help to set the foundation for more comprehensive measurements.
Currently established standards
The US lags behind European countries when it comes to widely adopting these standards. However, there is a growing movement to change this. One standard that is common for US-based IT recyclers is the R2 certification. This along with Department of Defense data sanitization is the gold standard for domestic ITAD.
R2
R2 is the most widely adopted standard for used electronics. The Responsible Recycling (R2) Standard provides a common set of processes, safety measures, and documentation requirements for businesses that repair and recycle used electronics.
Aligning with R2 Certified partners doesn’t only help protect the environment. It also helps protect your business and customers from data, health, safety, and environmental risks. And using R2 Certified facilities demonstrates a social commitment to customers, employees, and shareholders.
Learn more about R2 certification standards:HERE
DoD Data Destruction Standard
When you dispose of your used IT assets you need to ensure the destruction of any sensitive information. Choosing an IT recycler that does not follow data destruction standards leaves you open to security threats.
The “DoD standard,” referring to DoD 5220.22-M, is often used in the data sanitization industry. But what does this “standard” mean for enterprises, government entities, ITADs, and data sanitization solution providers?
To effectively erase previously stored data, the most straightforward techniques overwrite hard disk drive storage areas with the same data everywhere—often using a pattern of all zeros. The DoD “standard” and others like it take overwriting a step further with prescribed random overwriting methods. At a minimum, such applications will prevent the data from being retrieved through standard data recovery methods.
Velocity Tech Solutions only work with recyclers that are both R2 & DOD destruction certified. When preparing hardware for resale, we follow DoD destruction standards as well.
Contact our team for more information on IT asset disposition.
ISO 14001
This standard has been widely adopted in Europe but is less common currently in the US. It is however slowly making its way across the Atlantic. If your organization wants to demonstrate your environmental stewardship or does business with European-based companies ISO 14001 is something to look into.
ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organizations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and waste reduction, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.
Learn more about ISO 14001 standards:HERE
ESG Score
ESG scores are the future of environmental standards. They are used by investors to measure a company's exposure to long-term environmental, social, and governance risks that are often overlooked during traditional financial analyses.
ESG scores are based on environmental, social, and governance factors and assess issues such as energy use, employee satisfaction, business ethics standards, and executive pay.
Environmental issues covered under ESG scores include:
- Carbon emissions
- Climate change vulnerability
- Water sourcing
- Biodiversity & land use
- Toxic emissions & waste
- Packaging material & waste
- Electronic waste
Learn more about ESG scores:HERE
Velocity Tech Solutions can help
We offer a wide range of sustainable ITAD, refurbishment, and recycling services to help your IT organization meet your corporate environmental goals. Call us to learn how we can help you start down the path to meeting these standards.
