BT Assists Customers in their Transition to a Circular Economy
BT Group plc
BT unveiled a new programme targeted at lowering corporate customers' e-waste by recycling end-of-life equipment and helping them meet their circular economy goals.
It is the next move in BT Group's Manifesto pledge to transition to circular products, networks, and operations by 2030 and to extend this to its whole supply chain by 2040.
The launch of the new programme comes as organisations around the world are upgrading their network and IT infrastructure to enable the most recent multi-cloud deployments. BT environmental specialists will engage with customers to better understand and map the role of sustainability in a digital world as part of this transformation.
Replaced or decommissioned electronic equipment from a customer's network will be returned to Cisco to be sustainably reused or recycled as part of the company's takeback and reuse programme. Up to 99.9% of what is returned gets reused or recycled.
To handle the process, BT has Cisco-certified environmental specialists in the UK, US, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, and Singapore. More countries will be included by the end of 2022.
The programme complements BT's existing smartphone take-back and reuse services by making it simple to update, safely dispose of, and recycle devices through a single, all-inclusive solution.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that 57.4 million tonnes of e-waste was generated in 2021, with only 20% recycled. If nothing is done, this figure might climb to 120 million tonnes every year. WEF also reported that e-waste accounts for 70% of hazardous waste disposed of in landfills.
Hriday Ravindranath, chief product & digital officer at BT’s Global unit, said:
"E-waste is a growing concern and according to WEF now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Our customers and partners have made commitments to report on and improve performance in this critical area. Creating a more sustainable, circular economy, where we prioritise dematerialisation and avoid equipment going to landfill, is vital. It builds on our leadership in sustainability and will help deliver on our BT Group Manifesto commitments and ambition to connect for good.”
Source: BT
