At Aliter, we seek to inspire, encourage, and influence change. Using Circular IT principles, we aim to keep IT equipment, components, and materials at their highest utility value at all time and making sure they are fit for purpose for clients. Here’s a graphical representation on a principal model commonly known in the movement as the “7 R’s” of circular IT.
RETHINK:
Re-thinking business models and solutions at every level helps to be more considerate on resource use and e-waste production. The rising sharing economy is proof that ownership of material is dropping, driving for fewer resources used. Businesses like Adidas are already looking into renting business models.
Procurement Department: Rethink your refresh cycle and evaluate if you really need that purchase – refuse to procure what you don’t need to.
REDUCE:
Reducing consumption of energy and materials by exploring the possibility of extending hardware further and gaining more return on investment on equipment are proof of this trend in the coming years.
Procurement and Network Manager: Reduce your consumption of energy by switching to low-consumption equipment, turning off unused devices, and reducing your consumption to a “need only” basis. Invest in third party maintenance services in order to make existing equipment within your IT infrastructure last longer contributing to the greater good.
RE-USE:
Reuse through purchase of previous generations’ equipment. Refurbished Service providers like Aliter Networks are already strong contenders as alternatives sources for equipment procurement in the minds of network managers.
Procurement Department: Sell the equipment you no longer use to Aliter and consider purchasing refurbished equipment instead following an established hardware cycle automatically.
REALIGN:
Realign existing departments and their goals with a view to make it more sustainable and efficient in the long run. This helps businesses conform to newer standards when it comes to sustainability and improves profitability as well. As a company, it is important to be mindful of the choices when it comes to buying new equipment which may not align with your future goals.
Personal Efforts: Today, the focus is on working with less environmentally intrusive policies in any domain. This is a chance to review and realign your personal commitment towards sustainability efforts.
RECOVER:
Recover the value in making sure e-waste materials are disposed of properly. 50 million tons of e-waste are generated annually – let’s do our part in reducing that number further.
RECYCLE:
Recycle materials or resources by disassembling components and separating parts. Find new uses for old equipment you no longer need (unused switches were made into a Death Star model before).
Personal Efforts: Separate and recycle!
REFURBISH:
To achieve circular IT, businesses must start with looking at their own practices. They need to realize the value of using refurbished equipment to make the tightening IT budget last. Discovering savings through the use of refurbished equipment can help to re-invest those savings into Innovation or Corporate sustainability efforts.
CSR Department:
By using refurbished equipment, IT teams are able to optimize their savings to 75% or more. These savings can be invested into Corporate sustainability or innovation projects, setting the bar higher with your competitors in your domain.
Save the above graphic for future reference and as a friendly reminder on the 7 R’s of Circular IT and now that you know the 7 R’s, we challenge you to start on one of them and implement it internally within your department ! Let us know what you did by tagging us on social media: @Aliter_Networks
