It is clear that there has been a shift in the way Swedish companies think about the use of their IT equipment. Driving forces that used to be economics and security have gained competition - now it's sustainability that is on everyone's lips. Here, Fredrik Spjut, Purchasing Manager at Inrego, talks about the record-breaking interest in circular IT.
More and more people are choosing to buy and send back their used IT products in order to receive financial compensation and give their devices a longer life. In the month of November, Inrego's customers achieved an all-time record in the number of products sent in for reuse, and during Black Week, sales of reused IT from Inrego increased by a whopping 28% from the previous year, despite not giving out a single promotional prize during the hysterical consumer holiday. The fact that more people are seeing the benefits of circular IT says something about the current state of the market. We are no longer on the road to sustainability - we are in the middle of it.
Demand for sustainable IT products has increased significantly in recent years, with both brand awareness and customer satisfaction going hand in hand with circular thinking in IT. The Sustainable IT report, produced by Capgemini 2021, shows that companies actively pursuing sustainability strategies in IT have improved both their ESG (environmental, social and governance) and brand image scores by as much as 61%. In addition, customer satisfaction has increased by 56%. These are figures that cannot be ignored. Working with circular solutions in IT is beneficial - not only for the environment, but also for profitability in general.
Yet many companies are still not quite on board. Only 18% of our companies have a sustainable approach to IT, and a majority of companies in the global marketplace feel they lack the knowledge and experience to implement circular IT strategies. We need to change that.
Together with you, we want to continue transforming our market to a circular economy. We need to be better at sharing how innovative processes and knowledge around reuse have enabled increased value for remanufactured IT. That today we have reached the level where companies can get reused equipment that is just as good as new, without putting unnecessary strain on our planet. You know it, and so do we. It's time for that knowledge to spread globally.
With close research collaboration and 27 years of experience at the heart of the circular economy, we want to share our knowledge. So we've produced an analysis that allows us to drill down to the component level to find out just how circular a company is in IT, and how they can strengthen their sustainability efforts going forward. With increased awareness, we can contribute to major emissions reductions as early as 2023, without having to make drastic changes in everyday life. By buying 20% refurbished and extending the useful life of current IT equipment by 1 year, a company can reduce as much as a third of its total carbon emissions.
We've always said it should be easy to do the right thing. Thank you for proving it right. November's record of the highest number of submissions in 27 years tells us that we no longer have to wait for others to do the conversion work for us. Together, we are setting new trends and leading the way in sustainable development - today.
Fredrik Spjut,
Head of Purchasing, Inrego
