- June 23, 2021
2020 was an unprecedented year. All around the world, individuals and businesses were impacted by the pandemic. It was challenging in so many ways for our customers, our people and our business too.
But from the crisis innovation, creativity and positive change has emerged, as the global community rallies around the recovery. And, despite everything that has been thrown at us, it is heartening to see climate change still remains top of the agenda.
Sustainability is undoubtedly an urgent priority for the businesses we work with. Our customers don’t just want to meet the expectations of employees, consumers and partners in taking responsibility for their impact, they want to lead.
Sustainable technology consumption is an area where they can make big gains on this front. Technology lifecycle management is clearly a cleaner, greener, more efficient way to manage IT, but it is also an untapped way to help organisations reach their sustainability goals – be that zero carbon, zero waste or a positive planet impact.
More than 500 new customers joined us on this mission last year. These growing numbers are by far the most significant contribution we can make to the fight against global warming and electronic waste. Every business that adopts a technology lifecycle management solution represents an office-full of laptops, mobiles and tablets that will not end up in landfill.
98% of devices our customers return to us at the end of contract are resold, with the remaining 2% recycled through our trusted partners. It’s an industry leading rate and it means our customers can have confidence that we will support them to manage their technology responsibly and sustainably. With 2.3 million assets now under our management, we like to think we’re saving the planet one laptop at a time.
Last year, 3stepIT achieved a ‘Grade A’ in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s first ever Circulytics™ Assessment, widely recognised as the leading measure on how successfully a business has implemented the principles of the circular economy. It’s always an honour to win these awards, but it is not a reason to stop challenging ourselves. In 2020, we continued our fight against electronic waste, handling more than 530,000 devices through our refurbishing centres, growing 16% compared to the previous year.
We are very proud of our people, who pulled together to produce these amazing results in the most difficult circumstances. In our Annual & Sustainability Report 2020, we celebrate some of their stories that show how, together, we are living our purpose of taking care of the world’s technology.
Most importantly, we feel incredibly privileged to have been in the unique position to support our customers over the last 12 months, working hand in hand to navigate a rapidly changing environment and deliver the best possible business outcomes, through an unwavering commitment to service excellence.
3stepIT’s full Annual + Sustainability Report 2020 is available here.