Sustainability is a core pillar of illumynt’s mission. We are committed to driving the circular economy through the sustainable reuse of technology.
illumynt injects green intelligence into the technology lifecycle management process, providing e-waste avoidance metrics and quantifying CO2 avoidance for Scope 3 emissions reporting. All contained within our SaaS-based tracking system, we provide a unified view of the entire technology ecosystem.
We are excited to report on our progress over the past year and to chart our sustainability journey going forward. In 2023, our Green Team established itself as core to illumynt’s operations and worked throughout the year to identify new sustainability-informed initiatives. As a result, we were able to drive operational changes that are bringing benefits across the triple bottom line of planet, people, and profit.
As we formalize our reporting, we are beginning to disclose information on topics relevant to our business that are encompassed within the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Standards, with the intention of publishing a GRI index in the coming years. Our goals and disclosures are also aligned with select United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this way, we are joining a world-wide business community committed to a sustainable future.
This report covers illumynt’s activities for the calendar year January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. This report has no restatements of the 2022 sustainability report.
For over two decades, illumynt has been helping drive a circular economy by extending the life of electronics through innovative reuse strategies. During this time, technology has proliferated exponentially, penetrating every sector, geography, and demographic around the world. Driven by advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cryptocurrency and more, innovation has propelled the adoption of the newest and fastest cutting-edge technology. This race has quickly displaced still-functional equipment to the e-waste stream.
Committed to a vision of sustainability
illumynt delivers data-driven technology lifecycle solutions that maximize sustainability outcomes. As the world contends with a dramatically rising population and diminishing resources, the need to conserve both energy and materials is top of mind. illumynt’s core mission includes furthering sustainability outcomes both for us and for our partners. Since the formation of our Green Team in 2022, we have continuously worked to embed sustainable practices throughout our organization, improving sustainability outcomes in both our services and operations.
From vision to implementation
Our Green Team is responsible for establishing sustainability policies and goals, developing our reporting, and expanding our knowledge by leveraging outside resources and consultants.
Our Green Team is overseen by our executive management team and includes the global EHS compliance manager, who is responsible for identifying and managing the organization’s impacts on the environment and people. The effectiveness of the organization’s processes is continuously monitored both through the certifications we hold, which are audited annually by third parties, and through annual management review meetings.
Any negative impacts or concerns are elevated to the executive management team in adherence to our Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) management systems.
illumynt also embraces the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which strive to create a more sustainable world for all. Our goals align with the following SDGs and provide guidance for our sustainability endeavors:
Identifying goals for 2024
illumynt specializes in identifying ways to extend the useful life of technology equipment by using reuse, refurbishment, and a disposal hierarchy, which, in turn, reduces contributions to the e-waste stream. Our Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) policy embodies illumynt’s commitment to continual improvement. QEHS aligns with our sustainability goals and supports meeting our customers’ requirements while acting responsibly and fairly, incorporating sound environmental practices, protecting workers’ health and safety, and operating in a sustainable and ethical manner.
Our 2024 Goals
Furthering our sustainability progress, we have set the following goals for 2024. In some instances, we are taking the next logical steps for last year’s goals, while for others, we are laying the groundwork for future improvement by establishing baseline data.
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100% accident free in all facilities.
[SDG: Good health & wellbeing]
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Identify areas to reduce energy consumption at facilities wherever possible.
[SDGs: Climate action & Responsible consumption]
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Establish a baseline of CO2 emissions for global transportation.
[SDGs: Climate action & Responsible consumption]
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Extend adoption of Scope 3 avoided emissions reporting.
[SDG: Innovation & infrastructure]
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Reduce operational waste through reuse of packaging and the implementation of more sustainable packaging options.
[SDGs: Climate action & Responsible consumption]
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Establish a baseline of CO2 emissions for corporate business travel.
[SDGs: Climate action & Responsible consumption]
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100% participation in annual corporate trainings.
[SDG: Gender equality]
Quantifying our greenhouse gas emissions
Progress in quantifying avoided Scope 3 emissions
In the context of environmental sustainability with regard to electronics, three major themes emerge:
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The imperative to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
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The drive to make electronics themselves more sustainable
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A shift from a linear economic model toward a circular economy
These trends point to the need to reuse electronics and their constituent parts. illumynt processes tens of millions of assets annually and finds new life for more than 95% of them.
For most electronics, the energy used in their initial production accounts for the lion’s share of the energy consumed in the product’s entire lifecycle.
illumynt specializes in identifying ways to extend the useful life of technology equipment by using reuse, refurbishment, and a disposal hierarchy, which, in turn, reduces contributions to the e-waste stream. Our Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) policy embodies illumynt’s commitment to continual improvement. QEHS aligns with our sustainability goals and supports meeting our customers’ requirements while acting responsibly and fairly, incorporating sound environmental practices, protecting workers’ health and safety, and operating in a sustainable and ethical manner.
Any negative impacts or concerns are elevated to the executive management team in adherence to our Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) management systems.
Calculating avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
When calculating GHG emissions, repurposing and finding a second life for a used asset removes the need to manufacture a new asset. By reducing the need to manufacture new assets, we avoid the associated emissions, including the energy used to extract or refine the materials used as well as the energy used to manufacture the asset. Using publicly available Lifecycle Analysis data (LCAs), illumynt calculates the avoided emissions and reports these finding back to our partners. Rather than adding to their Scope 3 emissions by discarding their unwanted assets, companies avoid emissions through reuse, which reduces the overall Scope 3 emissions attributable to a company. The lower GHG emissions is a win for both our clients’ value chains and for the planet.
Reporting – Echonos
Through the illumynt customer portal, customers can view both their financial and sustainability outcomes as well as detailed reporting and tracking of all assets throughout the disposition process.
illumynt is a Platinum partner of Echonos – a premier SaaS-based digital platform that improves the economics of sustainability by managing all phases of the technology lifecycle.
Echonos also improves the economics of sustainability while helping to drive a circular economy. Leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and market data, the platform seamlessly manages the disposition process while providing predictive analysis to optimize outcomes. Leveraging algorithms developed in partnership with Sustainserv, the platform calculates avoided CO2 emissions. This unique insight helps our customers optimize their returns while maximizing sustainability.
Quantified out-of-waste stream 2023
Our goal is to find a new life for as many of the assets we process as possible. Of the units we processed in 2023, we found a new life and purpose for more than 95%.
Reducing operational waste is also a focus for our global operations. In 2023
we identified opportunities to reuse packaging, removing over 64,000 lbs. of
materials from our waste stream.
Management systems, standards, and certifications
illumynt recognizes that it has a responsibility to protect the environment and employee health and safety beyond basic legal and regulatory requirements.
Our Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) policy embodies illumynt’s commitment to continual improvement. Our QEHS management systems are in place to meet customer requirements and ensure customer satisfaction, lower the risk of noncompliance with laws and regulations, and protect the environment and worker health and safety.
View our QEHS Policy
We use a quality management system to improve our overall performance and provide a sound basis for our sustainable development initiatives.
ISO 9001
Our ISO 9001:2015 certification is proof of this commitment to our customers, vendors, employees, and stakeholders.
As part of our processes, our code of conduct policy covers labor, wages and benefits, humane treatment, non-discrimination/non-harassment, business ethics, health and safety, emergency preparedness, environmental responsibility, and 95% policy against retaliation.
ISO 45001
We have a well-established occupational health and safety management system in place. The ISO 45001:2018 certification demonstrates our commitment to ensuring safe work conditions as well as sound health and wellbeing practices. The Occupational Health and Safety Management system applies to all our processes from IT asset value recovery through data sanitization, refurbishment, reuse, resale, distribution, and brokering of IT equipment and components to global markets. ISO 45001 includes hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation with respect to illumynt’s activities, products, and services.
illumynt employee safety and wellbeing are of the highest priority. Employees are involved in the development and review of policies and procedures relating to EHS performance through participation in training, job hazards analysis, incident investigation, safety committee meetings, and input into corrective actions. Both managerial and non-managerial employees participate in quarterly safety committee meetings.
illumynt employees learn about the QEHS system and their QEHS Management Representative during new hire orientation. They are trained and have the authority to remove themselves from hazardous situations as necessary, without fear of reprisals. Workers are also trained to report dangerous situations to supervisors immediately.
ISO 14001
In line with our mission and as an integral part of our business strategy and operations, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and to continually improving our environmental performance. Our ISO 14001:2015 certification demonstrates our dedication to protecting the environment and delivering quality throughout every level of the organization.
R2V3
For illumynt, recycling is a last resort. Less than 5% of the items we process cannot be reused and therefore must be recycled. No asset is ever simply “thrown away.” Over the past 15 years, a huge amount of work has been done to codify the best practices for recycling electronics. We are certified to the R2v3 (Responsible Recycling) standard, which includes stringent downstream vendor management, verified physical and logical data sanitization, and protocols for the testing, repairing, and brokering of used IT equipment and components. The R2v3 standard protects workers handling electronics at end of life and ensures environmental safeguards are in place.
TAPA
Our business is also predicated on the safe and secure transportation, storage, and handling of our customers’ IT assets. We take security seriously. All facilities are monitored by 24-hour surveillance and maintain controlled access points. Our Columbus, OH facility is also certified to the Transported Asset Protection Association’s Facility Security Requirements, TAPA FSR Level A.
Furthermore, our executive management team actively engages in day-to-day operations and tracks and monitors the communications of critical concerns. For 2023 we reported no critical concerns.
Global locations and Certifications
For 2023, we operated in Columbus, OH, and Memphis, TN, serving the United States, the Netherlands, serving Europe, and Hong Kong, serving Asia. Using sustainability as a primary consideration in our operations, we considered all the transportation associated with the assets we process – both where the assets come from on their way to us and where their likely final destination will be. In the Netherlands, our operations are in the industrial park at the Amsterdam airport. Our Columbus, OH facility is strategically located for its central U.S. location and proximity to prominent shipping lanes.
View our locations and the certifications they hold.
What’s next: Vision for the future – improved outcomes
Even as we report on our sustainability work for 2023, our Green Team is actively working to identify and implement policies and initiatives to further our goal of embedding sustainability values throughout our organization. Beyond our stated goals, we are looking for ways to further support the SDGs we’ve identified.
Our work to quantify Scope 3 emissions is being continuously updated as additional product lifecycle assessment (LCA) data becomes available. We invite hardware manufacturers to continue to contribute their product LCAs to help refine and extend our reporting capabilities.
We are committed to creating sustainable operations and to bringing robust sustainable services to our partners around the globe. As we continue our journey, we welcome the opportunity to partner with sustainability teams within our partner organizations.
Corporate Sustainability
Download the illumynt Corporate Sustainability Report