Sustainability has become an important factor for businesses across many different industries, and ITAD services can actually be an asset to your sustainability practices. In fact, ITAD, or IT asset disposition, is actually more of an overlooked strategy for meeting these sustainability goals that your business may have. It’s not only an important part of business to ensure that you are in compliance and abiding by regulations, but it’s also an important part of keeping your business sustainable. We’re going to give a little more insight into how ITAD can help lower environmental impacts and increase compliance within your company.
What is ITAD or IT Asset Disposition?
ITAD, or IT asset disposition, is the process of disposing of electronic devices or software that holds sensitive information. It essentially is the practice of erasing all of that information and disposing of the actual physical devices in a compliant way, so that unauthorized users cannot access any of the sensitive information again. This is an important part of many businesses, and it’s become a non-negotiable for businesses everywhere, due to the rise of potential breaches and sensitive information.
Why Does It Matter?
There are a few reasons why this matters, which one of them is to keep this sensitive information away from people who are not allowed to have access to it, keeping data security in place. However, there are a few more reasons why it’s important that have to do with sustainability. For example, it helps to keep e-waste down which is a growing issue across the world withing different industries as more technology is being used. Not only this, but if you are improperly disposing of these items, then it can harm the planet and the environment.
Reducing E-Waste Through Recycling
There are specific environmental standards put in place for e-waste to ensure that these items are not left out and causing more environmental harm. ITAD services are put in place to help recycle these items and ensure that they are not left to fill up our environment, while being as efficient as possible as they are reused for other devices and technologies. We can all relate to how recycling does great things for sustainability as a whole and the environment, so technology and e-waste should be no different. E-waste is filling landfills, so if you are a company that uses a lot of electronics and technology within your business, then it’s important to look into an ITAD service that can help with your environmental impact as a company.
Helping to Build a Circular Economy
A circular economy is essentially reusing and recycling product in order for them to be used again in other instances. This allows for the environmet to take less of a hit when it comes to e-waste. IT products, especially, are one of the products that should be refurbished and remarketed in order to extend the product life of it instead of throwing it in a landfill. With this being said, there are also other programs that your company can be a part of, such as reduce and reuse programs that utilize refurbished technology in schools or communities that are underserved and may not be able to provide these technologies without these programs. Overall, there are many different avenues to take when it comes to ITAD and supporting a circular economy where things are refurbished and reused, instead of just thrown out.
How Data Security and Sustainability Work Together
Being eco-concious is very important in today’s time because of the increase in how many people and businesses are throwing out trash and other products on a daily basis. The landfill situation and environmental impactsof this have taken a toll across the world and it’s become an important part of businesses to stop this and lower their environmental impact. Investing in ITAD services allows your company to both practice safe data security while also lowering your impact on the environment.
You can avoid risks for both environmental fines, as well as fines that are associated with improper data disposal and possible breaches from that. Being in compliance with e-waste is important to keep your business from experiencing any repercussions and avoiding breaches, which can taint the trustworthiness of your business. ITAD services know the regulations and understand what is needed from businesses in order to stay compliant and avoid any issues with regulators, so it’s a huge asset to your business in order to work hand-in-hand with sustainability, but also being compliant with environmental and privacy laws.
How to Measure Your Sustainability Impact
There are multiple ways you can go about measuring your sustainability impact and what your business is doing in that sector. One way to do this is by using an IT asset disposition service and using their metrics. They can provide metrics and insights such as how much CO2 has been avoided and the number of devices that you’re reusing or recycling as a business. This also helps with keeping track of what you are doing when it comes to ITAD and sustainability, so you have a record in case investors or regulators ask for this information.
ITAD is a Strategic Sustainability Partner
As we’ve discussed throughout this article, IT asset disposition is a huge asset when it comes to sustainability, as well as data security. ITAD is an essential part of industries that use technology and software, so taking advantage of the fact that it helps with sustainability as well can be a huge help in lowering your environmental impact and overall doing more as a business. If you are looking for a strategic partner is your data security and sustainability efforts, looking for an ITAD service is the key way to accomplish this.
These services are able to keep you in compliance so that you no longer have to worry about breaches, fines, or legal action taken against your company due to any issues arising from improper IT asset disposal. You can find an ITAD partner that is certified and experienced to turn IT asset disposal, which is already an essential for most businesses, into a sustainability opportunity to make a better, more sustainable impact on the environment.
