EXAMPLE PAGE - BLOG - REPORT/ENTERPRISE DOCUMENT - LIONTRUST - Flipbook - Page 43
Our operations
We believe that everyone has a role in combatting climate change, and at 3stepIT
we take that responsibility very seriously. So do our customers. They tell us they only
want to work with the greenest businesses, and we agree. Throughout 2020 we
worked hard to reduce our impact and improve our efficiency – always trying to do
more with less.
Reducing packaging waste
In 2019, we piloted a new Repair
Programme to reuse parts from
unrepairable devices. Our scale,
innovations and sophisticated stock
control made it economically viable,
so, in 2020, we rolled it out across our
European network.
To reduce waste and minimise the
environmental footprint of packaging, we
reuse incoming plastic packaging for the
refurbished product leaving our centres.
The objective behind the Repair Programme is two-fold:
Energy use
Nearly all our sites are ISO 14001 certified. This is the international standard for effective environmental management and
requires demonstrable annual progress.
In 2019, five out of six of our ISO 14001 certified locations used only green electricity, but we wanted to go further. We set
ourselves a target for all sites to be powered by green electricity, converting the remaining electricity supply at our facility
in Vantaa in October 2020.
Location
Source of electricity
Helsinki HQ, Finland
Water & wind power
Tampere, R&D, Finland
Mixed renewable
Vantaa, Finland
Wind power
Stockholm HQ, Sweden
Wind power
Klavreström, Sweden
Mixed renewable
Enköping, Sweden
Water power
Denmark HQ
Wind power
Ski, Norway
Mixed renewable
In both Sweden and Norway, we will be moving our
refurbishing centres in 2021, with new locations designed
to accommodate our growth. These locations have been
chosen to meet our rigorous sustainability standards and
will allow us to make even greater gains in our energy
conservation in the coming years.
ISO 14001 certified
• Upgrade more devices during their restoration,
increasing their utility and resale value
• Repair damaged devices that would have otherwise
been recycled
We began the pilot in our Klavreström Refurbishment
Centre in Sweden, providing space and a small workforce
who we trained in making repairs. When a device cannot
be repaired, we harvest it for parts to fix others. The aim
was to eliminate waste and develop a process that was
as easy as possible to follow, so it could be implemented
across our other markets. As the programme progressed,
the repair team developed new techniques and were able
to repair more devices. During the pilot, we repaired more
than 3,000 devices – a huge success - and so we decided
to roll it out to all our European refurbishment centres.
This idea was conceived by one employee, supported
by management and then rolled out across our global
business. It has fostered a sense of innovation and an
excitement about putting forward new ideas. It has
enhanced our culture of continuous improvement and
we regularly see people from all parts of the company
developing new ways to reduce waste and improve our
performance for customers.
Focused on long-term efficiency, we are continuously
improving our systems to reduce energy waste, including
measures to enhance scheduling and minimise overnight
energy consumption. By increasing production volumes
at our refurbishing centres, we have also reduced energy
consumption per unit produced and we are proud to see
the kWh/unit decline year on year in our operations.
To further improve shipping densities and save material,
3stepIT has developed smart packaging for IT equipment.
This maximises the use of space while protecting
equipment during transportation. We educate our
customers and logistics partners to work with these
methods, increasing efficiency across our operations.
The circular economy in action
The teams in our refurbishing centres
wear uniforms with a green twist –
recycled, recyclable and biodegradable
workwear.
The uniforms, supplied by Houdini Sportswear, are a
fantastic example of the circular economy in action.
Houdini have committed to repair any wear and tear –
giving our uniforms a second life! When a garment is
beyond repair, the material is used to make a new shirt or
composted for gardening. It’s just one of the ways we are
working to eliminate waste wherever we find it.
Through this programme,
we have repaired over 22,000
devices in 2020.
Of these, a quarter were saved from having
to be recycled for scrap, with the remaining
devices upgraded.
Repaired
Energy use for device refurbishing in Klavreström
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Devices handled
38,646
50972
65019
78956
98885
103600
173180
220324
221018
231453
256442
kWh used
237,767
224,494
210618
205324
216719
180588
212314
233585
239418
219325
220019
kWh / unit
6.15
4.40
3.24
2.60
2.19
1.74
1.23
1.06
1.08
0.95
0.86
This table shows consistent improvement in energy use per refurbished device. This is currently only measured at our
refurbishing centre in Sweden, with the intention to extend the measurement to all European refurbishing centres.
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Our Repair Programme
Saved from recycle
Upgraded
Finding new ways to optimise
waste sorting
The Vantaa refurbishing centre recently acquired a
new waste sorting station and the team now sort
energy waste (residual waste that can’t be recycled
but can be generated into energy) and organic
waste, in addition to recycling glass, metal and
cardboard. Any packing materials from incoming
shipments are kept and reused in outgoing
shipments – this includes clean kraft papers, pallet
films and packaging plastics.
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