While learning about Revolve Electronics and their company’s commitment to developing high performance, earth-friendly products for our latest TechRec blog post I started thinking about an article that I read recently that discussed how the recent recession has stalled or even ended many organization’s green IT initiatives. This is unfortunate because without a long term approach to green IT, companies will only see inconsistent results and reduced return on investment.
Many companies may be missing out on easy opportunities to become a little greener and the win/win/win of reducing costs, helping the environment and maybe even helping others in need in your community may inspire larger green initiatives. In the first installment of this two-part series we will cover how to go green with mobile devices.
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement not only enhances productivity and connectivity; it is an inherently green solution as it reduces and consolidates the number of smart devices needed to manage both our corporate and personal lives. If we can avoid using a second device, we can save a substantial amount of energy and natural resources. Manufacturing a smart device requires about 1.8 tons of raw materials, about the same amount as required for a mid-size automobile, and about 240 kilograms of fossil fuels. Additionally, studies have shown that BYOD users are more careful with devices they own as opposed to units supplied by their company, resulting in a reduction of lost or damaged products that require replacement.
There are so many easy ways to ecycle your cell phones and computer products that it amazing that the EPA still finds that of the 2.25 million tons of TVs, cell phones and computer products that can be recycled, only 18% were recycled and 82% were disposed of in landfills. Many cell phone service providers offer “buy back” programs, offering gift cards or credits on new purchases for recycled phones. A growing number of malls around the country have ecoATM kiosks that will identify the recycled item (like your basically new iPhone), quantify its condition and worth, and offer you compensation in cash or coupons.
In an effort to reduce mobile device related waste, Beijing Big Ben Technology has developed recyclable SIM cards made mostly out of paper. While the actual cards themselves are made of recyclable ABS plastic and metal, the card’s holder is actually made from 100 percent fiber paper. This material is far easier to recycle than the plastic that most cards are currently made from and the company claims the products cost the same as plastic cards.
Finally, our friends at Revolve Electronics have made it their mission to reduce the hundreds of thousands of proprietary chargers that end up in landfills by creating an earth-friendly charger made of sustainable, recycled materials that is compatible with more than 3000 devices. To learn more, read our blog post TechRec: Give Your Gadgets Some Green Juice – Revolve Powers Everything Under the Sun.
To help consolidate and define recycling efforts, The Device Renewal Forum (DRF) has announced an official standard that includes an environmentally responsible recycling plan for mobile devices. The goal of the standard is to double the number of recycled phones in the next five years to both preserve the environment and lengthen the life of the technology. Many recycled phones will go to developing nations, such as Africa, where mobile is seeing a significant growth. This is very encouraging news as many believe with more comprehensive standardization we can make significant progress in reducing the number of reusable devices that end up in landfills each year.
Check back for part-two of this series we will discuss green IT in the cloud.
To learn more about how Green IT can benefit your business and to find out how you can participate in our GreenBack™ Community Outreach Program, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 920 0788 x210.
