Big companies and industry leaders have been reporting on their sustainability achievements for some time now. Today, for most household brand names, it is important to chart a sustainability course of action and to “go on the record”. For smaller, privately held companies, the demand isn’t there so much. There are no shareholders demanding climate action.
But for illumynt, charting a course toward sustainability and going on the record is core to its mission. By the nature of its business, illumynt is creating sustainable outcomes for technologies otherwise destined for recycling. However, understanding that providing sustainable services is not sufficient, in 2022 illumynt began an in-depth self-examination through the lens of sustainability.
Creating a green team to represent key organizational functions and the various geographies represented, illumynt used the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a rubric for its first materiality assessment. For the team, many sustainability concepts were new, and its first report reflects a year of growth.
In addition to reporting Scope 1 and 2 emissions company wide, illumynt is going beyond strictly environmental sustainability and is working to incorporate social goals to insure an equitable, ethical and diverse organization. As it charts its course over the coming years, the illumynt green team will continue to expand its charter to identify “what’s next”. More than anything, everyone understands that this journey will never be “one and done”.
One major accomplishment is the creation of the capability for illumynt’s customers to report on the avoided Scope 3 emissions as a result of their assets finding a new life. But this capability itself is not a “one and done”. This capability is predicated on the lifecycle assessments of the devices processed. As technologies are perpetually changing, illumynt will incorporate the lifecycle assessments of new products as they become available and welcomes (and treats proprietarily) the lifecycle assessments from newer technologies as these products begin to end their “first lives”.
illumynt’s first sustainability report is a big deal. Yes, because it testifies to the work illumynt has done over the last year. But more importantly, it says illumynt is committed to being a sustainable organization and is backing up its commitment with tangible actions. As illumynt pursues its journey, it is committed to transparency in its processes. As a growing company, it wants to encourage other like-minded organizations to go on the record and publicly commit to taking action. We are one planet and we need to work together.
Be sure to read my continuing blog series as I discuss all things related to sustainable electronics.
