Blancco and CO2Neutral launch Carbon Credit Calculator

Organizations enter details about their equipment into the online calculator and are provided an approximate monetary value and estimated number of carbon credits they would receive should they sell the assets for reuse rather than simply destroying them. Depending on the assessed value of the old equipment, cash credits earned by reselling the equipment are used to help decrease or entirely eliminate the cost of securely erasing all data, which is completed prior to the refurbishment and resale process. After the erasure process, the organization then receives carbon credits, which can be used to offset other carbon emissions that a company is generating and helps the organization become carbon neutral, demonstrating its dedication to environmental sustainability.

Alan Bentley, President, Global Sales and Marketing for Blancco, said the CO2Neutral partnership will encourage more companies to consider supporting reuse and responsible recycling of their old IT assets rather than adding them to landfills. This will contribute to building a more “circular economy” where products, equipment and infrastructure are given a second life rather than disposed. The goal is to improve the productivity of these resources and decrease waste, pollution and carbon emissions.

“Both Blancco and CO2Neutral are committed to promoting environmental sustainability best practices, so it made perfect sense that we work together to develop this unique program, and the calculator is a result of that,” Bentley said. “By providing companies with visibility into the real value of their outdated, unused IT assets, we believe more organizations will be willing to work with ITAD refurbishers like CO2Neutral rather than destroy and dispose. They not only gain the financial rewards that come from a reuse and recycling program but also improve their reputations as good corporate citizens who are working to protect our increasingly fragile environment.”

Once an organization’s end-of-life equipment is fully evaluated and its value is determined by CO2Neutral, the company uses Blancco’s data sanitization technology to permanently erase sensitive data from the machines’ storage devices. A Certificate of Erasure is provided for each device that is processed, creating an audit trail to prove compliance with data retention and sanitization regulations. CO2Neutral, the first ITAD to offer carbon credits as well as cash to offset or eliminate the cost of secure data erasure, then refurbishes and resells the assets on secondary markets.

Jeff Glover, Manager of Partner Programs for CO2Neutral, said, “This joint effort with Blancco fits in perfectly with our goals to promote environmental sustainability and climate protection efforts. The calculator we developed will help ensure businesses receive top dollar value for trading in old IT assets for reuse and give them the ability to earn verified carbon credits -- all while helping them realize the massive reputational benefits that come from acting as good corporate citizens. Recycling and reusing end-of-life IT equipment is a win for our customers and the environment.”