Over the last decade, the great eco debate has provoked opinionated musings from just about every corner of this country. Environmental sustainability has been embraced by key political figures, humanitarians and, increasingly, business pundits. It’s no surprise then that the issue is gaining an increased amount of attention amongst small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The boom in environmental awareness has spurred small enterprise to implement several eco-friendly business practices; from setting the office thermostat a few degrees cooler to powering down computers at the end of each day. While these organizations should be applauded for their progress, many tend to overlook key areas of business operations that have a profound environmental impact.
The obvious question becomes: where should an eco-conscious SME focus its efforts in order to make the most of its environmental initiatives? The answer may surprise you.
Years of research have identified electronic waste (e-waste) as being one of the most detrimental by-products of business today. Take Ontario, for example, where only 14,000 of the 42,000 tonnes of annual e-waste is recycled. The remaining 28,000 tonnes – much of it toxic – ends up in local landfills. In fact, electronic waste makes up 70 per cent of the toxic waste in our landfills. As a result, these toxic chemicals, which are absorbed into the earth and atmosphere, have been purported to affect the health of nearby communities – an often overlooked consideration when shopping for office IT products… or disposing of them.
The IT life-cycle conundrum
The reality is that one of the most effective ways for Canadian SMEs to “green” their business is to consider proper End-of-Life (EOL) solutions for their IT related e-waste. Ironically, most SMEs put little or no thought into how they dispose of old IT hardware because they see EOL solutions as nothing more than a burden to the bottom line. Research has proven that EOL disposal and other sustainability issues are virtual non-factors in corporate IT purchasing decisions. Traditional considerations such as price and quality are cited as the most important factors when sourcing IT hardware. The reality is that there are distinct advantages (both financially and ethically) to implementing EOL recycling programs. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by Samsung suggests that 83 per cent of businesses have either saved money or broken even when implementing IT recycling solutions.
What’s an eco-conscious business owner to do?
SMEs have many factors to consider when sourcing IT end-of-life solutions. Luckily for business owners, many IT companies have implemented programs that offer small businesses a number of smart ways to help make the world a better, cleaner place. For example, Samsung offers a program that provides commercial-sized bins to businesses throughout Canada in which old electronics can be disposed of and hauled away at no charge to the customer. Products accepted through the B2B program include conventional and mobile phones, printers, projectors, monitors, keyboards, netbooks, notebooks, desktop computers, cameras and camcorders, audio and video equipment and multimedia players, such as MP3 players.
The recycling program is facilitated by Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP) – an industry leader in developing, deploying and promoting innovative, cost-effective, environmentally conscious end of life solutions for IT products.
The bottom line – collaboration is key
When it comes to end of life disposal of IT products, it’s easy to think you can pass the environmental buck onto manufacturers; yet the current green IT conundrum is a collective challenge and not one that can be met by a single stakeholder group. After all, each of us has a stake in the environment. In order to implement the most effective recycling strategies, SMEs should consider long-term solutions for e-waste by asking the following questions:
Do you know how to dispose of what you’re buying when you buy it?
Are you purchasing only what you absolutely need and looking for ways to reduce excessive hardware?
Are the products that you are purchasing manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner?
Are you purchasing products from a vendor that will dispose of them responsibly at little or no cost to your business?
By asking these simple questions and collaborating with IT providers to consider EOL solutions, business owners can save money while greening their bottom line.
Peter Grady is director of sales and marketing, IT division, Samsung Electronics Canada.
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