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Gomarsall: We are at the start of the era of re-usability

Former England rugby star says tech industry is 'only scratching the surface' when it comes to sustainability and green IT

There has never been a better time to work in the field of sustainable IT, former England rugby scrum half Andy Gomarsall MBE told CRN's Channel Conference MSP this afternoon.

Gomarsall (pictured, left, with Ultima CEO Scott Dodds) is now a director at IT asset disposal firm N2S, which is currently working with Coventry University to develop bio-leaching technology to extract from printed circuit boards precious metals which are burnt today.

During his Q&A session, Gomarsall claimed that sustainability is set to move to the centre stage in the coming years, particularly as the shortage of rare metals used in tech products, such as indium, worsens.

"We're at the start of this era of re-usability," Gomarsall told Ultima CEO Scott Dodds, who was putting the questions.

"For me it's the most exciting place to be," he said.

"We are only scratching the surface. One per cent of rare earth metals in the world are recycled - which is staggering. Everyone is just focused on the gold because it's the highest commodity. For me [there will be] exponential growth in what we're trying to achieve. We're at a massive tipping point.

"At the moment people burn the metals and it's harmful to the environment - so that's no good. But we have a patent for biotech where we will do this and it's friendly to the environment, it's reusable, we are not taking from the earth's material and we're going to be able to take from the circuit boards - which is where the value is - in the future and take that value back to manufacturers."

Gomarsall said that sustainability is often "the last piece of the jigsaw" for resellers and MSPs.

"It's mostly forgotten about. But I think the time is right to discuss this," he explained.

"Everyone is concentrating on the new technology - how to work effectively, smart buildings etc - and everyone forgets about the legacy. I call it the Dynamo [magician] effect, because when I ask the question, 'what happens to the legacy stuff', everyone says ‘I don't know; it's disappeared".

"I find that difficult to understand. For a marketplace that does care, not a lot of companies understand what happens [to legacy equipment]. But my feeling with my business right now is there's never been a better time."

Gomarsall said that he is currently working with DEFRA to change social policy on decision making in ICT tenders.

"It's coming, so be prepared. It won't just be about pricing anymore, so therefore there has to be something else - as you will be marked on it," he said.