An app that helps organisations take a sustainable, 360 degree approach to IT, from first hardware purchase through to its end-of-life has today been launched by Stone Group, a leading UK ICT solutions provider.

The Stone 360 app enables every business and public sector organisation, including schools, colleges and universities, across the UK, to effectively manage the entire lifecycle of their IT assets, in just a few easy clicks. Via the app, organisations can arrange collection of their redundant IT equipment for secure recycling. App users can then track and manage rebates on their old IT assets, and collect points to use to purchase new or refurbished IT from Stone.

With tech companies still pushing the latest models and constant upgrades of hardware, the IT sector continues to fail at dealing with the 53.6 million metric tonnes of global e-waste  generated just last year, 2 million of which from the UK alone. And, with the Coronavirus pandemic forcing organisations to adopt mobile devices to facilitate remote working, it is likely that there will soon be a glut of redundant desk top hardware to add to this growing e-waste mountain.

“At Stone, we believe it is our responsibility to work with our new and existing customers to help them with their own sustainability goals and to contribute to efforts to reduce the vast amounts of e-waste currently blighting our planet.”

“To facilitate positive change, we’ve developed the Stone 360 app, it’s a complete game changer. It not only gives customers a shortcut to managing their end-of-life IT assets, it also allows them to boost their own sustainability, track their rewards and use them to replace their old kit.” said Tim Westbrook, director at Stone Group.

“It’s crucial that the IT industry does more to minimise its negative impact on the environment and we think it’s time resellers stepped up to the challenge. At the end of the day it’s the resellers who have the customer relationships and sell them new hardware.”

“While many resellers appear to champion the sustainability message, we see far too few back it up with real action. How many have invested in their own on site, fully accredited recycling facility? Very, very few as far as I’m aware. They think it’s ok to pass that responsibility off to a third party and that’s simply not good enough.”

At its ITAD facility in Staffordshire, Stone Group recycles or refurbishes IT hardware such as laptops, desktops, monitors, printers, servers, or other peripherals. Stone’s team of skilled engineers securely process and wipe all items of any data using industry-leading software from Blancco and any items that can be salvaged are refurbished and resold.

“As we’re able to give significant quantities of IT equipment a second life, our customers are also helping small businesses, schools, hospitals or charities who really need access to low cost IT, as well as helping the environment. Recycling old IT equipment with us is an incredibly rewarding process in so many ways,” concludes Westbrook.

Use of the ITAD service and the new app is completely free of charge and Stone plans to encourage use by pledging to plant a tree for every 200 items its customers recycle. Via the app, users will be able to see a visual representation of the trees planted on their behalf. They can also choose to cash in the value of their recycled goods if they choose not to purchase new IT.

Stone’s ITAD facility is fully accredited with certifications including ISO 27001: Information Security Management, ADISA Distinction, DIPCOG and Cyber Essentials.

The Stone 360 app is available on both iOS and Android devices.