Mobilization seeks to sensitize companies to recycle their equipment, and the funds obtained will be invested in socio-digital inclusion projects, in line with the best ESG practices.
ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies, sensitized to the recent discussions at the climate summit and aligned with the Sustainable Development Objective (SDG) of the United Nations Global Compact (UN), decided to promote a mobilization to reduce the impact to the environment through the proper disposal of IT equipment. Named “Mobilization to reduce inequality”, the campaign launched by the association, in partnership with ReUrbi and the Third Sector Observatory, and with support from Weber Shandwick, aims to support social inclusion projects that promote training in the digital area , through the resources obtained by recycling IT equipment discarded by companies.
The campaign is aimed at all companies in the national territory, members of ABES or not, who have IT equipment to discard and who are interested in participating in this movement with a positive impact on the environment, always complying with ESG practices (Environment) , Social and Governance). “The mobilization comes to ensure, free of charge, simple and easy for companies, regardless of their size, to adhere to the best social and environmental governance practices, in line with the UN Global Compact. In addition to offering an adequate purpose for products in disuse and protecting the environment, the participating companies will contribute to the inclusion and socio-digital qualification ”, explains Rodolfo Fücher, president of ABES. “The year 2020 showed society and companies that it is necessary to improve the relationship with the environment and that access to education and employability necessarily involves digital inclusion, this is the path to a more just and inclusive society”, he points out .
The companies participating in the action will benefit from the exemption of logistics costs, will receive legal documentation of the discards and the Social and Environmental Impact Report (RIA) with information on environmental, economic and social impact for use in their Sustainability and Social Responsibility Reports and will be able to indicate social projects that will receive the returns of the resources generated through the program ReciTech - which collects, recycles and reinserts the equipment in the production chain.
It is estimated that Brazil currently generates 2.1 million tons of electronic waste per year, and approximately 10% of this amount comes from the technology sector, that is, 210 thousand tons, which can cause an impact on the environment of 400 thousand tons of greenhouse gases (GHG), similar to a city of 532,000 inhabitants each year, such as Florianópolis (SC). Private sector companies, in general, are responsible for approximately 30% of discharges and the government for another 35%. The global trend is for exponential growth in the generation of this waste. The amount of electronic IT equipment that becomes obsolete after 3 years of use discarded by companies in Brazil is approximately 23,240,000 kg / year and would generate annual revenue of R ﹩ 162,680,000.00, taking into account that on average 30% of the discarded equipment would be able to be reconditioned and reinserted in the economy and the other 70% would be recycled.
“Considering that only 5% of this revenue generated from the recycling and reconditioning of equipment discarded by companies across the national territory were reverted to social projects, we would have R ﹩ 8,134,000.00 to be invested per year in social inclusion projects. Each refurbished equipment, if applied to a social inclusion project, impacts 11.8 people per year. By 2023, more than 880 thousand people would benefit, ”says Joel Scala, director of the Third Sector Observatory. Within 3 years, through the correct disposal of private sector companies, 6,278 tons of obsolete IT equipment would be generated for recycling and / or reconditioning, equivalent to 11,883,544 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) and 74,027 tons of toxic metals that would no longer be emitted. This total is equivalent to the electronic waste generated by 8,731,737 inhabitants per year, being able to compare 17 times the population of Florianópilis / SC or the population of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro / RJ and Curitiba / PR together.
“Through the Reverse Logistics process and recycling of disused electronic equipment, ReUrbi has already avoided the emission of more than 2,460,000 kg of greenhouse gases and more than 15,330 kg of toxic metals. This important mobilization partnership with ABES, Third Sector Observatory, ReUrbi and Weber Shandwick will make it possible to increase these results, which are so important for the environment and access to technology, by encouraging the growth of the more than 80 socio-digital inclusion projects already served by our company. company ”, concludes Ronaldo Stabile, CEO of ReUrbi.
Companies that have electronic IT equipment that want to contribute to the environment and invest in social projects, should follow the instructions on the website ReciTech . Entities that have a social project aligned with the purpose of the campaign can apply to receive the funds through contact with the Third Sector Observatory: contato@observatorio3setor.org.br.
About ABES
ABES, Brazilian Association of Software Companies, aims to contribute to the construction of a more digital and less unequal Brazil, in which information technology plays a fundamental role in the democratization of knowledge and the creation of new opportunities for all. In this sense, it aims to ensure a business environment conducive to innovation, ethical, sustainable, dynamic and globally competitive, always aligned with its mission of connecting, guiding, protecting and developing the Brazilian information technology market.
Since its foundation in September 1986, ABES has sought to be relevant to its associates and a national and international reference in the technology sector. Currently, the entity represents approximately 2 thousand companies, which total about 85% of the revenue of the software and services segment in Brazil, distributed in 22 Brazilian states and the Federal District, responsible for the generation of more than 208 thousand direct jobs and an annual revenue around 63.7 billion in 2019.
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