Future of Work Masterclass - Carbon, couriers and credits; tech transformations go green

Future of Work Masterclass – Join us for a series where we gather the latest insights, trends and knowledge about the future of work, from our expert boxxers.

Tech is always changing and now, more than ever, we must consider the impact of every solution we offer on our environment – we have a collective responsibility for the welfare of our planet and people.

That’s why sustainability is embedded in everything we do at boxxe. It’s not performative, it’s not just something we talk about, it’s a value that’s actioned in all aspects of the business. To do that, we’re constantly asking ourselves ‘what are the best practices to become greener’ or ‘what can we do to be more environmentally aware?’

With Global Recycling Day coming up on 18th March, what better way to reflect on boxxe’s commitment to sustainability than by showcasing the work we’re doing every day to make it happen!

Small things make a big difference.

As CTO, I’m involved in three key areas of the organisation;

• Service delivery – I lead customer facing teams to help bring to life the products we sell.

• Physical delivery – my team considers the whole lifecycle of a product, from how it gets to our warehouse and then onto the customer, to how it is integrated and maintained within their business.

• Internal systems – I’m a big advocate of ‘we sell what we use’, so everything we do internally, we also do for our customers.
  

It means we can speak from experience, which obviously gives us a lot of credibility as an organisation. But it also means that we can set internal procedures which have a ripple effect on our customers.  And when it comes to sustainability, I think that’s how we can have the biggest impact. 

At the very least, we invest in carbon credits which allows us to compensate for boxxe’s emissions whilst supporting action for climate change.

→ We do carbon monitoring – measuring, reporting and reducing our carbon footprint to increase efficiencies across the business, improve accountability to our stakeholders and maintain regulatory compliance. 

→ We have a Buy-back scheme with one partner which is built into a customer’s initial purchase, ensuring that any equipment returned is repaired, reused or recycled. It’s a great way to support the circularity (and therefore sustainability) in the tech sector.  

→ We also donate tech to a number of charities and organisations, who don’t have the money or resources to invest themselves. The benefits are twofold; we repurpose tech and reduce wastage, which gives these organisations access to transformational equipment. 

→ As a remote first company, the most obvious impact we have is on commuting. By negating the need for this, we reduce related emissions and give back time to our colleagues (yes, sustainability practices impact employee wellbeing and productivity too!)

→ We don’t have the associated costs of running and maintaining huge office spaces – less power, less energy consumption, less equipment, less strain on precious real estate.

→ Although we do have two smaller office spaces in York, we’ve worked hard to implement impactful sustainability processes, including light sensors, waste recycling, sustainable energy purchase agreements, and we’ve completed our scope 1 and 2 carbon reporting as part of our Carbon Reduction Plan. 

→ We use a courier organisation (as part of our device management services) to send new or replacement devices to our customers in hard plastic boxes, which are then returned back to the warehouse. So, there’s no need for cardboard boxes and single use plastic wrapping. 

→ With standard (1-way) deliveries, we use fully recyclable cardboard and sustainable packaging.

→ And now we’re looking to get a cardboard shredder so we can turn any cardboard boxes we do have (that can’t be reused) into packing materials for other deliveries.

→ We consider the whole supply chain, only working with suppliers and manufacturers who align with our compliance practices, regulations, and ethical and professional commitments. 

→ The tiniest details are considered – we’ve even found greener alternatives to the plastic inserts on envelopes! 

It’s all about making sure that our business is responsible for the things that we’re doing for our customers on even the most basic level. 

At the end of everything we do and deliver is a human being, and we must never lose sight of that. Everything we do is for our customers – what do they want? What do they need? How can we best serve them?

The real question is; what are they trying to achieve? 

We work with many public sector organisations and there's a huge drive in their tender requirements towards sustainability and improving environmental impact, as they work towards achieving NetZero by 2050.  This in turn, drives us as an organisation to actively seek sustainable solutions to customer problems, with the right policies in place, relevant training, and products or services which best align with NetZero efforts. 

And it’s not just the public sector. Our private sector customers are becoming increasingly concerned with their environmental impact, which affects the solutions we offer them.  As a service provider and value added reseller, it’s our responsibility to have those options available to them, and to provide the information they need to make informed decisions.  Not everyone is there yet, but it’s something we make sure to have at our fingertips because it’s only going to get more common.

Whilst we can reduce consumption and improve efficiencies, we can’t escape the fact that tech consumes energy. It’s definitely something we need to focus on across the wider tech sector. And that’s where green technology comes in – developing solutions from the ground up, with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind. 

Aside from tech, good education is critical to ‘going green’. We must teach people how, when and what they can reuse and recycle safely! 

We can get caught up in new, exciting technologies and developments, cool data insights and innovative products, but the focus always comes back to the customer. If it’s not delivering exactly what they need, then what’s the point? We’re wasting time on tools that don’t have the desired outcome, the relevant impact, the right solution… Where’s the value in that?

Whether we’re talking about sustainability and environmental impact, corporate and social responsibility, operational transformations or improved daily efficiency… Everything boxxe does and offers, is for its people and our planet.