David Nadsady Marketing Director

Q. What role can communications play in the success of our asset recovery program?

A. Communications is essential to building awareness for your IT asset recovery and disposition program, particularly in large, highly distributed organizations. This not only helps increase participation in the program, it also can prevent uninformed associates from using local, low-cost recyclers whose policies and processes aren't up to your company standards—creating regulatory and financial risk for the enterprise. Recent news stories from BusinessWeek and 60 Minutes have both highlighted organizations whose e-waste has ended up endangering workers and the environment. That's the kind of publicity no organization wants. Effective communications can also make employees feel better about reusing equipment. When associates understand how they are helping the company reduce environmental impact and be more profitable, they will feel better about accepting a refurbished PC. This is truer today than ever.

Take advantage of existing communication vehicles, such as newsletters, intranet sites and email, as much as possible. Your intranet can provide an ideal platform for delivering in-depth information about the program, as well as your policies, for those associates who are especially interested or will play a large role in supporting the program. Sponsoring an Employee Electronics Collection Event or making refurbished surplus equipment available for Employee Sales Programs are also excellent ways to build awareness of the importance of responsible e-waste management.

Redemtech has developed a turnkey Communications Toolkit to facilitate the development of program communications.

Q. What type of information should be communicated to associates?

A. First, it's important to provide some context around the issue. More and more of your associates are looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact so there is a real interest in this issue. Plus, with increased media attention, the stakes for your business are higher than ever. The more associates understand the issues, and the problems the industry is currently experiencing with unethical behavior, the more likely they are to be active advocates for a program that ensures company assets are being managed responsibly. Make sure they know who your partner is, why you chose that partner and how your partner supports the company's environmental, social and financial objectives in relation to IT asset management. It's also important to explain to employees how they work with the partner. This protocol is ideally maintained on the intranet.

Once the program is launched, provide regular communications focused on results. That would include things such as the amount of electronics diverted from landfills, the environmental and financial savings generated from the reuse of technology and the amount or percent of hard drive data that was verifiably sanitized. It can also include the number of systems donated to charities or sold to employees, the amount of equipment from collection events or proceeds generated from the resale of surplus equipment. You can even translate your results into broader environmental savings to make them easier to relate to. For example, you can show the number of houses that could be powered for a year with the energy saved by the program.

Q. Should we publicize our program outside the company?

A. Environmental responsibility is playing a larger role in the purchasing decisions of both consumers and businesses, so there are benefits to telling your customers and prospects about the positive actions you are taking. Several Redemtech clients have issued news releases about the launch of their program that have positioned the organizations as leaders in addressing e-waste. (See "E-waste: A blight on the environment and a company's good name.")

There may also be opportunities to integrate the asset recovery and recycling efforts into broader stories about your company's commitment to environmental responsibility or sustainability. Of course, these communications must accurately reflect the objectives, commitment and actions of your organization. Trying to capitalize on the environmental movement by making hollow or false claims is likely to backfire. Fortunately, Redemtech clients can be confident that their electronics are being recycled responsibly. They can often promote other programs that divert electronics from the waste stream and reduce carbon footprint, such as reuse, remarketing or charitable donation.

Also, be aware that there will be an opportunity to communicate your commitment to environmentally responsible recycling through the new Basel Action Network (BAN) e-Stewards Initiative. You will be able to promote your company as an e-Stewards Enterprise by agreeing only to use certified e-Stewards recyclers.

Q. How can we get executive leadership more engaged in the program?

A. Executives are one of the most important audiences you have to reach as their support can make or break the program. Our experience has been that executives will get engaged with the program if it includes metrics that can be used to evaluate success and these metrics are the basis for periodic updates on program results to the executive team. It’s a mistake to think that executives aren’t interested in the program. After all, a well-managed asset recovery program can significantly reduce the risk of a security breach, cut capital expense and diminish your carbon footprint – all hot issues in the boardroom. Consider quarterly or annual reports to the executive team that summarize hard cost savings or cost avoidance, environmental impacts and other soft benefits such as the impact of surplus systems donated to charities or sold to employees.

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