The first E-recycle week at Visma has proved to be a huge success, collecting close to 100 laptops, 150 hard drives, and a selection of cables, docking stations and other electronics. All through the week, engaged Visma employees brought in large and small devices from their home or office space to our Oslo office.
Also read: Embracing the circular economy at Visma Megaflex
An increasing environmental problem
IT hardware can be a significant environmental problem if not treated properly when discarded. Electronic waste, or e-waste, describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It often features toxic and hazardous substances such as mercury, posing a severe risk to human and environmental health.
According to the UN, in 2021, each person on the planet will produce on average 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tons will be generated worldwide. Only 17.4% of this electronic waste, containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials, will be recorded as being properly collected, treated and recycled.
Reducing our impact
Sustainability Manager at Visma, Stina Wahlsten is one of the initiators behind the E-recycle project at Visma. She believes creating awareness about the environmental impact of IT hardware is important.
“As an IT company, a significant part of our emissions stems from IT hardware. We want to create awareness about this issue as many people might not know that old electronics can be reused or repurposed. To reduce the impact of our e-waste, we are now focusing on how to reuse our old devices,” she explains.
Through our partner, Drig, a company engaged in sustainable solutions, the old electronics are collected during E-recycle week will be reused. The portion of the equipment that is not suitable for reuse goes to material recycling. All possible profits will go to charity.
Security is an important aspect for Visma, and we get a certificate for each device, stating that all the data is securely erased from the equipment.
“We feel good knowing that by recycling our electronics we help people who might not afford to buy a brand new laptop or a mobile phone themselves. In that way, we get to help both people and the environment, making everyone involved a winner,” Stina says.
After its initial success, the E-recycle week is set to take place at more of Visma’s locations throughout the year.
Learn more about how we work with sustainability on our website.
