{"id":6512,"date":"2022-08-08T11:35:31","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T10:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisetek.co.uk\/uncategorized\/esg-environmental-social-and-governance-and-itad\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T11:35:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T10:35:31","slug":"esg-environmental-social-and-governance-and-itad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisetek.co.uk\/blog\/esg-environmental-social-and-governance-and-itad\/","title":{"rendered":"ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and ITAD"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ever-increasing importance of ESG ratings is leading more global organisations to partner with reputable, sustainable ITAD vendors.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) has become widely recognised by organisations around the world. Those that abide by sustainable and socially responsible principles stand to benefit through better ESG rankings, so it is more important than ever that organisations take initiative and become proactive towards sustainability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most effective ways to achieve higher ESG rankings is to have an ITAD policy in place and to consult with an ITAD vendor. This post will explain how ITAD can benefit your organisation\u2019s ESG initiatives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is ITAD?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

ITAD is an abbreviation for <\/span>Information Technology Asset Disposition <\/i><\/strong>(or more commonly: <\/span>IT Asset Disposition<\/span><\/a>). In brief, ITAD can be described as the system of processes and practices related to recycling, disposal, refurbishment, and\/or repairs for end-of-life IT assets. Moreover, the processes involved in ITAD such as <\/span>Hard Drive Disposal<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Data Destruction<\/span><\/a> should be performed in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While some of the practices involved in ITAD<\/strong> can be provided within an organisation, e.g. ITAD policy and IT asset inventories, organisations have increasingly begun to consult ITAD vendors that specialise in secure and efficient ITAD services. An <\/span>ITAD Company<\/span><\/a> such as Wisetek can provide an organisation with a complete range of services that bolster data security, compliance, and efforts toward sustainable corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals, to name a few benefits.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More information on ITAD can be found in our previous blog article: <\/span>What is ITAD?<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Explained\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Executives within a modern organisation are surely well familiar with CSR and its importance; sustainability and environmental impact factors have been increasingly prominent in CSR since the late 90s.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The term \u201cEnvironmental, Social, and Corporate Governance\u201d (hereafter ESG) was an extension of sustainability in CSR and was first used as a term in 2004 by financial institutions at the behest of the United Nations. It gained prominence in 2015 with the UN\u2019s <\/span>Sustainable Development Goals<\/span><\/a> (SDGs) and has since become a widely used term in business as well as in the public sphere.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ESG is an approach used by organisations around the world which goes beyond corporate profit-seeking and seeks to qualify less tangible aspects of business operations, including social commitments, meeting specific environmental and sustainability goals, and corporate governance vis-\u00e0-vis diversity, equity, and inclusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Having a Good ESG Rating Matters\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Financial institutions and asset management firms measure the ESG performance of firms around the world and assign a corresponding ESG rating based on the organisation\u2019s compliance and commitments to sustainability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating agencies may differ in their metrics and factors considered, but it is important to note that prominent ESG ratings such as the <\/span>Dow Jones Sustainability World Index<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Bloomberg\u2019s ESG<\/span><\/a> dataset contain comprehensive data on tens of thousands of organisations which is becoming increasingly sought after by institutional investors (and to a lesser extent, retail investors).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A good ESG rating<\/strong> is important simply because so many institutional investors now consider environmental sustainability (as well as social and corporate governance) as important as profitability. Thus, a poor ESG rating may make a publicly-traded corporation less attractive regardless of stock performance. Conversely, an excellent ESG rating may attract investors even if stock performance may be less than desirable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How ITAD Companies Can Help Improve ESG Ratings\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are many methods by which an ITAD company can help an organisation improve their ESG ratings. Naturally, the focus will be mostly on the E, environmental sustainability, rather than the other two.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since ITAD is concerned with the disposition of redundant IT assets<\/strong>, a form of electronic waste (e-waste), reducing e-waste and diverting it from landfills altogether will have significant impacts on sustainability and, in turn, improve the ESG performance of the organisation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wisetek does exactly that. Our commitment to a Zero-Landfill Policy and <\/span>Certified Recycling<\/span><\/a> solutions ensure that no needless e-waste is discarded in landfills and is instead recycled or remarketed. Any hard drives, laptops, mobile phones, or other devices that can be refurbished are remarketed for sale through the <\/span>Wisetek Store<\/span><\/a>, thereby contributing to a <\/span>Circular Economy<\/span><\/a> model.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ESG Benefits of ITAD Services\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some of the benefits that ITAD services can provide to ESG performance include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n