What challenges do companies face in adopting responsible digital technology?

What is responsible digital technology? Responsible digital technology refers to an ongoing improvement process where companies aim to reduce the ecological, economic, and social impact of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Companies that develop a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach are particularly concerned with responsible digital technology. By adopting a responsible digital approach, companies demonstrate their performance to shareholders. Investing in eco-friendly digital technology yields environmental, economic, and operational benefits.

Engaging in responsible digital technology to support your CSR strategy

Most companies with CSR objectives initiate an eco-friendly digital transition. The digital industry has significant environmental impacts, primarily due to the extraction of rare resources and pollution from equipment end-of-life.

The ecological footprint of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

The environmental footprint of digital technology often includes:

NR label representatives state that manufacturing a computer requires 800kg of raw materials, including 600kg of minerals and 200kg of fossil fuels. These numbers are even more concerning considering the estimated average usage period of a computer is four years.

Reducing the ecological footprint with refurbished and reused equipment

To reduce its carbon footprint, a company should invest in responsible digital technology. Manufacturing IT equipment generates the largest share of the equipment’s overall carbon impact. Purchasing refurbished IT equipment can significantly reduce the company’s environmental impact.

Refurbishment involves repairing IT devices for resale. Buying refurbished IT equipment can prevent 80% of CO2 emissions compared to purchasing new devices. This avoids producing new products and disposing of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).

However, it’s important to choose locally refurbished products. American or Chinese providers often lack equipment traceability and have a reduced environmental benefit since the equipment travels long distances by air.

Purchasing refurbished IT equipment also helps combat resource depletion. Reusing IT equipment consumes less water than producing new devices and does not involve extracting new rare minerals, such as tantalum, tungsten, cobalt, or coltan. These minerals, known as “conflict minerals,” are often associated with armed conflicts and child labor.

Economic advantages of eco-friendly digital practices

At Codeo, we extend the lifespan of IT equipment and promote its reuse. The refurbished digital equipment we sell is significantly cheaper than new items. On average, refurbished equipment is sold at 25% to 75% less than new.

Beyond purchasing cheaper responsible digital equipment, companies can also sell their unused IT assets. Unused equipment generates holding costs. Many of your IT devices can have a second life either in their entirety or through their spare parts.

Selling the unused part of your IT assets optimizes storage costs and generates new budgets from selling part of your IT fleet. To manage the end-of-life of your equipment effectively, consider reuse over recycling.

Another technique to reduce your consumption of new equipment is to invest in digital maintenance. IT maintenance allows you to bypass manufacturers’ roadmaps by extending your equipment’s lifespan, helping your company improve its management costs.

Optimizing your company logistics by reducing digital pollution

Opting for IT maintenance to reduce the environmental impact of your digital behavior offers more than just ecological and economic benefits. It also helps maintain a homogeneous IT fleet. The same applies to refurbished equipment, helping you retain familiar, albeit older, references for your teams.

These two strategies are also effective for circumventing supplier shortages. IT equipment suppliers can limit the use time of their products by stopping the production of certain ranges or reducing the availability periods of spare parts. Opting for maintenance and refurbished equipment frees you from the constraints set by manufacturers.

Whether you buy refurbished equipment or sell your IT assets for reuse, your provider must ensure the traceability of your equipment. This can be tracked via IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) or serial numbers, ensuring traceability of their treatment. The provider should also supply documents proving this traceability, such as reuse certificates, dismantling or destruction attestations, WEEE material balance sheets, and carbon certificates showing the volume of CO2 saved through reuse.

Your responsible digital provider should also be certified in data erasure, for example, via BLANCCO certification, ensuring compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

To reduce your IT fleet’s digital footprint, using refurbished equipment is essential. However, it is not the only digital strategy to improve your ecological, social, and solidarity commitments. For all best practices of eco-friendly digital companies, download our white paper on responsible digital technology.

How to ensure homogeneity of your IT fleet while remaining eco-friendly?

Responsible digital technology encompasses various categories of IT devices. You can consider maintaining your computers, printers, point-of-sale terminals, payment terminals, or barcode readers. Most of these devices are also available refurbished.

To ensure these eco-friendly practices do not disrupt your teams’ habits, work with a provider specialized in repairing various brands. At Codeo, for example, our experts can repair devices from a wide range of brands (Motorola, Epson, Zebra, Thales, Psion Teklogix, Ingenico, Sagem, Telxon, PSC, Dell, Lenovo, HP,…). This ensures the homogeneity of your IT fleet and avoids operational disruptions due to stock shortages.