Green IT encompasses much more than paperless working. It means a responsible approach to the purchase and disposal, or the recycling, of used company hardware. The best option from a sustainability viewpoint is extending the service life of IT and mobile equipment. In total 47% of the IT devices EOS submitted to AfB could be refurbished and remarketed through a certified process.
AfB gGmbH is Europe's largest non-profit IT company. In 2021, AfB processed 647 IT and mobile equipment with a total weight of 2.1 tonnes. The secured safety roll containers with decommissioned notebooks, monitors and PCs were taken from EOS to the nearest AfB branch. AfB was able to resell 47% of the equipment after data destruction, hardware testing, spare parts procurement, repair work, upgrading and cleaning.
The decommissioned hardware is usually still fully functional and is erased, refurbished, equipped with the latest operating system and sold. In this way, the useful life of a smartphone, for example, is extended from about two to four years. The avoidance of new production reduces emissions and conserves valuable resources. Devices that cannot be remarketed are professionally dismantled and recycled.
Beyond this ecological contribution, used hardware at AfB is not only "green", but also "social". That is because AfB is a non-profit inclusion company. Of the more than 500 employees, about 45% are severely disabled. Hence the name "AfB": Work for people with disabilities. For this exceptional business model, which successfully combines ecological and social sustainability, AfB was honored with the German Sustainability Award 2021 (Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis 2021) and the Inclusion Award 2020 (Inklusionspreis 2020). As a thank-you for the successful partnership, EOS employees receive, among other things, a 10% discount on AfB devices.
Take a look at our certificate to see the exact ecological and social impact of the EOS hardware donation, and how it is related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We can make a better impact if we handle our IT hardware with care. I look forward to continuing the cooperation with AfB!
