You probably love collaborating with clients who “get it.” The synergy and streamlining of values just makes everything so much better from both the production side, as well as from the relationship side, of business. It’s understandable then, that when Charles Schwab saw how we do everything in our power to extend the use of dispositioned devices, it was such a joy to see their internal Schwab Employees for the Environment (SEE) team “get it.”

A shared heart for the planet

Financial institutions are constantly upgrading their technology to stay ahead of the needs of their clients. As such, Charles Schwab was going through electronic devices so regularly that the employees wanted a better solution than to just recycle them, as they had been doing with their previous ITAD partners. In the face of this frustration, a solution was created. Sponsored by Charles Schwab & Co., in partnership with their employees, the Schwab Employees for the Environment (SEE) launched its Donation Program on January 1, 2019.

Initially, when Sage won an RFQ with Charles Schwab, it was business as usual. But then, Sage’s mission resonated with SEE so well that we were soon asked to have involvement with SEE’s collection events and community-oriented programs in addition to the ITAD work we were doing.

This synergy originated because of Sage’s Heather Rinderle’s ongoing devotion to Charles Schwab. Because of her relationship with this client, Heather learned about SEE and sought out the team to see if more sustainable collaboration could be made. She saw how “Their generosity and commitment to sustainability is refreshing and inspiring.”

Amber Exum, a Charles Schwab Product Manager—and the National Chair of SEE—echoed our own thoughts when she said, “We could not be more excited to partner [with Sage] to support worthy causes in local communities, and to extend the life of Schwab’s electronics.”

SEE’s vision and technology’s role

This Employee Interest Group, SEE, was created to inspire and educate fellow Schwab employees to visualize their individual role in sustainable living. Not just for the environment, but also in enhancing diversity and inclusion, professional and leadership development, and community outreach efforts for the employees; SEE is a tangible way for Schwab employees to join arms with corporate action and individual responsibility.

Technology is always a catalyst for innovation, and with SEE, technology was the roadblock to Schwab employees being a truly sustainable team. As much as they wanted to promote sustainability, at the end of the day, Schwab had been forced to shred or recycle most of its perfectly good devices. With Sage’s 7-point process, however, the SEE team—and Charles Schwab overall—are now able to safely and securely disposition their devices in a completely sustainable way.

But it doesn’t stop there! Now that these capabilities are known, and the GoodTogether program thrives on ongoing donations, the SEE team is looking to expand their wildly popular personal-electronics collection event from once to multiple times a year. This is the event where employees and community members can bring their personal devices in for responsible processing—an extension of sustainability to the community.

This ability to engage employees who are concerned about being more responsible with their electronic devices works so perfectly with Sage’s own desire to be sustainable with IT assets that the match has exceeded expectations. Sage’s owner Jill said, “I admire Schwab’s strong adoption of ESG principles throughout their business and into their supply chain. They truly embody the social, environmental and governance principles of today’s most progressive companies.”

This kind of enthusiasm goes to show just how powerful sustainability can be when like-minded companies strive for environmentally responsible behavior. We are thrilled to be able to capture back from recycling so many perfectly viable IT assets that would have otherwise gone to the shredder. “Sage enables Schwab to do more computer donations by providing a turn-key solution that takes the burden and risk off of the enterprise.” Jill said.

And in making the most of these donations, she continued, “By including certified data erasure, thorough testing and cleaning, Microsoft licensed software, a 1-year warranty, ongoing support, free recycling, and beautiful packaging delivered to the non-profit or individual—the outcome is predictably awesome.”

Predictably awesome is exactly why Charles Schwab’s SEE team agrees that this partnership allows them to put their own vision into action. A wonderful partnership that serves as another fantastic example of what being sustainable with IT assets can do for business.