Choose remanufactured devices to save 200,000 tonnes of Co2, UK government urged
Government criticised for 'almost always' buying new, despite ambitious carbon reduction targets
The UK government would save nearly 200,000 tonnes of Co2 over the next 15 years if it switched to buying remanufactured rather than new laptops.
That's according to Circular Computing, which made the claim following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request showing 10 government Departments bought 146,362 new laptops between them from 2018-2020.
Portsmouth-based Circular Computing remanufactures HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops, claiming they are "97 per cent as good as new" and cost 40 per cent less.
This week it inked a distribution deal with Ingram Micro.
Although government departments work with IT asset disposal firms (ITADs) to recycle end-of-life laptops, they are "almost always" buying brand-new devices to replace them, Circular Computing said, pointing to its FoI.
It claimed the government "has yet to take meaningful action" on its emissions associated with IT procurement, despite recently bringing forward its emissions reductions targets by 15 years (it is now aiming to cut 2035 Co2 emissions by 78 per cent compared with 1990 levels).
Extrapolating from the FoI figures, the Portsmouth-based firm claimed the UK government could slash carbon emissions by 196,502 tonnes between now and 2035 by purchasing remanufactured laptops instead of brand new devices over the next 14 years.
That would be the equivalent of taking 42,735 cars off of the road for a year, and would also save £128m, it claimed.
For every laptop it sells, 316kg of CO₂ emissions and 190,000 litres of water use are saved, and 1,200kg of mining minerals is prevented versus the equivalent sale of a new laptop, the firm - which has a facility in the Unitied Arab Emirates - claims.
"If the government wants to set an example on sustainability and hit its ambitious new targets then it's imperative that it does more within its own organisation," said Steve Haskew, head of sustainability and social leadership at Circular Computing.
"There is a simple, fast way these departments can make a very real impact on both their budgets, and the environment, by moving away from buying new and investing in remanufactured laptops. There is an opportunity here to be seized, and the time to do so is now."