Celebrating Earth Day by Enabling Sustainable IT

On Earth Day, IGEL is underscoring its vision to transform the way the world works by creating better outcomes for people, organizations, and the planet.

Our mission is to enable sustainable IT. We do this by helping organizations reduce their carbon footprint by extending the useful life of their endpoint hardware. We also help to optimize resources across the IT infrastructure and reduce energy consumption.

Why is Sustainable IT So Important?

Across almost every industry, IT is a contributor to serious sustainability challenges. More than 57 million metric tons of e-waste were produced worldwide in 2021 alone. The production and use of new devices are compounding this problem. Just slowing down the use of new device purchases can offset a great deal of sustainability drain, not to mention the obvious CAPEX savings.

Consider for a moment that 83% of a device’s total carbon footprint is generated during the manufacturing process. If we simply slow down the adoption of new devices, it can have a tremendous effect on e-waste as well as our global carbon consumption.

Now let’s consider the effect of end user computing itself. Research has found that as much as 2.5% of our global emissions come from end user computing and 3% of the world’s power generation is consumed by end user computing devices. That is a significant tax on the Earth which we have the power to affect.

See more about the impact of devices on the global e-waste problem and how technology can help in this video:

IGEL’s Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle  

At IGEL, we have taken our role in enabling sustainable IT to heart. As such, we’re focused on evangelizing responsible business practices to protect the environment. It’s a fundamental part of our policies and partnerships. At the core of our sustainability program are the interconnected principles of what we call the “Three Rs:” reducing, reusing, and recycling resources and products to lower IT’s impact on e-waste and the global carbon footprint. Following is our guidance for IT organizations that also wish to increase sustainability:

• Reduce – By focusing on making responsible choices for energy-efficient devices and optimizing the resources IT and end users use, we can reduce CO₂ emissions and conserve energy. Here we share the importance of choosing devices that have been responsibly manufactured, and enabling devices to reduce power consumption through software that is more efficient (such as with IGEL OS).
• Reuse – We encourage, and through IGEL technology also enable, the reuse of devices and resources enterprises already own. Aging devices can be given new life, so organizations can reduce the need to purchase new devices for longer, thus reducing e-waste and lowering the carbon impact of manufacturing new equipment.
• Recycle – IGEL also advocates the responsible management of IT asset disposal to reduce e-waste and the subsequent adverse effects on human health. By supporting social projects that reuse aging devices and partnering with services for responsible disposition, we are empowering IT sustainability.

Embracing a Culture of Sustainability Beyond Earth Day

Sustainability is an integral part of the IGEL vision, mission, and values. At our core, IGEL has the vision to transform the way the world works, creating better outcomes for people, organizations, and our planet.

Because this sustainability is at our core, we continue to build responsible partnerships and corporate social responsibility programs that underscore our values.

One such program is our involvement in the Plant for the Planet program. Here, we are taking action for a more sustainable future by planting and growing trees while conserving and restoring forest carbon sinks worldwide.

If your views match ours, we invite you to join us in planting and protecting trees. With our partners and customers, IGEL has already raised donations to plant 16,154 trees. We’re close to our 20,000-tree target.

If you’d like to join us in this incredible cause, learn more here. It’s a very meaningful way to celebrate Earth Day together.