Choosing an e-waste removal provider can be stressful and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. When you consider the rewards of partnering with a non-profit e-waste removal and management provider, such as the social and environmental impact in your community, it becomes a much easier decision. Read on to learn the top nine reasons why you should use a non-profit e-waste removal provider.
It Benefits You and Your Business
1. You reach a whole new audience. When engaging with non-profit organizations, other donors and volunteers may hear about your business too (with your permission, of course). These volunteers, partners, and supporters may also become your customers or future employees.
Collaborating with a non-profit also increases your brand visibility. Working with your partner allows you to plug into their network — and vice versa. Additionally, the partner organization can feature your brand across their marketing channels, effectively multiplying the amount of reach your organization can generate from a single transaction.
2. It improves company morale. Nothing brings people together like helping others. When your company pursues non-profit e-waste removal, your employees may get the chance to participate in events held by that provider, allowing your employees to share the experience of going into the community and directly seeing the impact of their work.
This is especially important since, according to a Qualtrics survey in 2020, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), along with belongingness, were seen as the strongest factors in driving employee engagement. According to Lindsay Johnson, XM Scientist, Qualtrics, “In the wake of a pandemic, calls for racial justice and unprecedented change, it’s even more important for your people to feel they have the space to be their real selves. And not only that, but what they’re part of is having a positive impact on the world. It makes sense that these ideals are becoming integral to the employee experience.”¹
According to Gómez, in addition to being the direct beneficiaries of the specific social activity, the employees who carry them out can discover a new dimension of their work and put it at the service of others.² The employees then can achieve their own tangible development goals, at the same time that the companies can also acquire a greater human, solidarity and social dimension.
3. You create a good image for your company. We are in the midst of a great shift in consumer behavior. Consumers are demanding that companies take bold action to protect the environment or generate social equity through their operations. A recent IBM study shows that sustainability has reached a tipping point. “With 18,980 respondents from 28 countries, nearly six out of 10 consumers surveyed are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact. Nearly eight out of 10 respondents indicate sustainability is important for them. And for those who say it is very/extremely important, over 70 percent would be willing pay a premium of 35 percent, on average, for brands that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.”³
Through partnering with a non-profit e-waste removal provider, your company will be able to show consumers your commitment to environmental stewardship and social equity go beyond just press releases.
4. Giving makes you feel good. Science has identified a link between generosity and increased activity in the area of the brain that registers happiness also known as “helper’s high.”
A 2008 study had participants receive an envelope containing either $20 or $5. The participants were randomly tasked to either spend the money on themselves, or on someone else by the end of the day. Those who spent their money on other people reported having better moods than those who spent the money on themselves.
On the other hand, a different group was asked to predict outcomes of the experiment and most believed those who spent money on themselves would be happier. But they were wrong. Significantly wrong. The study suggests that “thinking about money may propel individuals toward using their financial resources to benefit themselves, but spending money on others can provide a more effective way in increasing one’s own happiness.”⁵
5. Tax Deductions. This one’s easy. The IRS allows you to claim a deduction for the donations you make to qualified non-profit organizations. Just make sure to get the necessary documents from your non-profit ITAD provider to be able to claim your tax deductions.
6. Secure Data Disposal. Non-profit e-waste removal providers safely and responsibly dispose of outdated technology assets while adhering to relevant laws and regulations, such as DoD and HIPAA compliance laws.
It Benefits Your Community
7. It promotes advocacy on sustainability and volunteerism. Connecting with a non-profit e-waste management provider improves community awareness on issues relating to social equity and environmental sustainability at the same time. Companies engaged in corporate volunteerism have been found to enhance their corporate and social images within the strategic action of social responsibility, indisputably improving the health and well-being of people within their communities. ⁶
8. It provides help to people who need it the most. Non-profit e-waste removal and management providers help bridge the digital divide in communities by providing technology to people who need it. Some non-profit e-waste vendors, like human-I-T, take the extra step of providing recipients with low-cost internet connections and free digital literacy training to ensure they can take full advantage of their new devices. The necessity of these services becomes especially evident when one considers that 19% of US adults can be considered digitally illiterate.⁷ Noting this stark skills divide, it should be apparent that organizations of all sizes, for profit and non-profit, can come together to ensure equal access for all to digital opportunity.
9. It promotes a cleaner and healthier environment. By donating your unwanted IT assets to non-profit e-waste removal providers, you help reduce the amount of electronic waste that ends up in landfills, thus preventing thousands of people from suffering the health consequences of interacting with toxic waste. If you think the health consequences we’re alluding to are overstated, we invite you to read this shocking report on our blog. Warning: it may shock you.
And make no mistake: there is a ton of electronic waste (e-waste) polluting our world right now. One study found that out of the 13.1 million tons of e-waste generated in 2019 in the US, only 1.2 million tons were collected and properly disposed.⁸ That is just 9.4% of the total e-waste generated from that year in the US alone. Globally, we generated 53.6 million million tons in 2019, and only 17.4% of this was officially documented as properly disposed. The total amount of e-waste generated in the United States has grown by 1.8 million tons since 2014, while the total amount of e-waste generated globally increased by 9.2 million in that same time. This increase indicates that our recycling efforts are not at pace with the global growth of e-waste.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these already ailing conditions. The implementation of lockdowns, whether full or partial, has created major consequences forcing societies to resort to information, communication and technological (ICT) based measures to act as an alternative to physical interactions. Families, schools, business offices and other sectors, turned to increased use of electronic devices to bridge the gaps created by the lockdowns worldwide. The already mounting challenge of proper electronic waste (e-waste) is likely to be compounded by the conditions that remain after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
While the development of ICT based options as a viable alternative to face-to-face interactions may not be a negative development, we cannot also shrug off the fact that the existing frameworks are inadequate to manage the resultant increase in e-waste in most developing countries. Noting this, we must exercise caution in embracing these ICT options while simultaneously crafting new methods to ensure that there is also an increased capacity to manage and dispose of this newly generated e-waste. In a survey of 600 entities, 97 percent of companies said that they had to buy laptops, and 77 percent of American respondents say they also had to purchase a new device to adjust to the normal. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2020 was also able to record 59 tons of e-waste from 2019, and predicts a rise of up to 81 tons by 2030. We therefore have to exert greater efforts towards more efficient IT Asset disposal if we want to beat global warming. “The best step that can be done now is to stop the cycle of buying new and opt for used or refurbished,” Howley said. “We need to motivate people to recycle electronics more. Less than 1% of smartphones sold globally are recycled.”
Our Commitment
We, at human-I-T, are committed to solving your business needs while making a community impact. We offer full-circle e-waste removal and management services, from international and nationwide logistics, to comprehensive data sanitization and reporting. It is our mission to merge social consciousness with eco-friendliness: repurposing technology for underserved communities while protecting our partners and letting them enjoy the benefits of aligning with a non-profit organization.
Human-I-T is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization thus the donated device is fully tax-deductible as acceptable by law. Each donation is properly documented which includes a tax-deductible donation receipt that details the Make, Model, and Serial Number for all items donated.
Sources:
- 2021 Employee Trends, 2021. Qualtrics.com.https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/employee-experience-trends-2021-2/ 03 June. 2021
- Gómez, S. Voluntariado Corporativo para el Desarrollo como Herramienta para las Areas de Gestión de Recursos Humanos Fomento de Valores y Desarrollo de Habilidades. In Voluntariado Corporativo Para el Desarrollo: Una Herramienta Estratégica Para Integrar Empresa y Empleados en la Lucha Contra la Pobreza; Fundación CODESPA: Madrid, Spain, 2012; pp. 195–199. 03 June. 2021
- Karl Haller, Jim Lee, Jane Cheung, 2020. https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/EXK4XKX8 03 June. 2021
- Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Akin, Michael I. Norton (2008). Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness. Science 21 March 2008: Vol. 319, Issue 5870, pp. 1687-1688. 03 June. 2021
- Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Akin, Michael I. Norton (2014). Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2014 23:41. 03 June. 2021
- Saz-Gil MI, Cosenza JP, Zardoya-Alegría A, Gil-Lacruz AI. Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility under the Background of Sustainable Development Goals: A Proposal to Corporate Volunteering. Sustainability. 2020; 12(12):4811. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1212481. 03 June. 2021
- Mamedova S, Pawlowski E (2018) A description of US adults who are not digitally literate. In: Hudson L (ed) Stats in Brief. US Department of Education, Washington DC. 03 June. 2021
- Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., Bel G. The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities, flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Rotterdam. 03 June. 2021
