In part one, we looked at how IT Asset Management is a necessity for any business today, that it deals with every department in your company, and that it can be made into a strategic business element. In this post, we look at how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) can make your ITAM program even more robust.

Technology is really amazing. It’s like lightning in Prometheus’ hands; adding electric force to whatever we apply it to. Technology can make a good business great and great employees incredible. It can connect people across the globe, and it can generate income for people from practically anywhere in the world.

So, why in the face of this potential do so many businesses dump their End-of-Life IT assets straight in the recycle bin?

Recycling e-waste is throwing money away

The influx of waste that we are dealing with, now that China has closed its doors on our garbage, includes e-waste and goes to show that not every ITAD recycler is acting sustainably. In fact, even before China said enough, the Basel Action Network discovered that recyclers were not being as green as they led people to believe.

Recycling in general is under fire, because it’s proving to not be as sustainable as we once believed. But the real problem is how much value those devices still have left in them at the point of recycling. On average, business IT assets that are sent to the bin still have two to five good years of value left in them for the average computer user.

This means that there are plenty of people in the world who are paying someone else more money for the same exact device as what your company is sending overseas. The economics of this is downright staggering—and it’s throwing money down the drain to not look into the resell potential for your IT assets.

Putting all your ESG in one basket

But more than reselling, there is an added benefit to having an ITAM program or partner with a sustainable outlook. As climate change and other environmental issues take front stage in the minds of the community, businesses are seeing more benefit in boosting their ESG performance. Investors, employees, and even consumers are very interested in how companies handle their ESG.

In reselling or donating End-of-Life IT assets, rather than recycling it, your company gains significant ESG points. This is an added benefit to being more sustainable with your IT Asset Management program; you can change the world while boosting your brand. And with reselling, you could even make some money while you’re at it.

In part I we saw how being sustainable made your program strategic through procurement. In this part hopefully you see how that strategy also improves your ESG rating. Two solid reasons to invest in a sustainable ITAM program or partner.