Is your organization’s IT asset disposition (ITAD) program risk proof? Environmental compliance is one of the areas in which your ITAD program can be a hidden source of risk. Your company’s environmental concerns stem from the government regulations with which it must comply as well as its own culture of environmental stewardship and sustainability. If the process through which your company disposes of its retired and used IT equipment violates government regulations, your corporate principles, or both, your company is facing the risk of having to pay fines and legal fees, diverting company resources to avoidable remediation efforts, and receiving negative publicity.

To minimize the risk of any of these in IT asset disposition your company must recycle the assets it can’t resell according to all local, state, and federal regulations and – if your company has environmental or sustainability goals or policies – be able to produce evidence it has diverted every possible bit of material from landfills back into the supply chain. If your company sells any of its retired IT assets, you must be sure that the buyer will properly dispose of any that don’t work or can’t be sold. Your company is still liable after the equipment leaves your building.

Those involved with risk management policy planning at their corporate enterprise, as a part of a risk management team or a corporate governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) team need to consider the entire lifecycle of their IT equipment, including the end-of-life. To ensure your ITAD program is in line with your environmental compliance obligations, choose an electronics recycling vendor with either of the two following certifications. Both standards prove that an IT asset disposition partner is handling its customers’ electronics waste in an environmentally safe and compliant way. The standards were developed differently, however.

R2/RIOS certification for electronics recyclers

R2 was developed in an open, multi-stakeholder process with sponsorship from the EPA. Combined with the RIOS certification, the broader Recycling Industry Operating Standards (RIOS), this certification ensures proper handling, storage and disposition of all materials.

e-Stewards Certification for IT recycling

The e-Stewards Certification program, created by the Basel Action Network (BAN), formally recognizes electronics recyclers that adhere to environmentally and socially responsible practices when recovering hazardous electronic materials. e-Stewards is a leading international standard that assures an electronics recycler’s clients of full environmental compliance with global and national regulations and industry best practices.

Choose both e-Stewards and R2/RIOS certification for an environmentally risk-proof ITAD program

There are just a few IT asset disposition providers that are both R2/RIOS certified and e-Stewards certied for responsible, environmentally compliant recycling practices. Many large enterprises are now requiring that their electronics recycling vendors hold both. These rigorous third-party audited certifications ensure environmental, health and safety compliance, and industry best practices.

Environmental compliance is just a piece of the ITAD risk management puzzle

In addition to the risk of environmental non-compliance, your company’s IT asset disposition program could be putting it at risk for a data breach or non-compliance with industry regulations. Our “Guide to Minimizing the Risk of IT Asset Disposition” helps policy planners understand the risk inherent in IT asset disposition and offers strategies for minimizing them.