Environmentally Friendly IT

Here at ramsac, we take our responsibilities to the environment very seriously. Our environmental policy is set by the ramsac Board and reviewed regularly. We believe that our business has a responsibility to account for its environmental impact. Our aim is to achieve continuous improvement in our environmental management and performance, to minimise pollution and to encourage support from all our staff and suppliers, in order to become a more sustainable business.

We also want to help our client organisations to reduce their environmental impact, by the efficient use of technology. As a small example, remote working solutions can help to reduce the number of journeys made to and from the office or to remote sites. "Thin Client" computing means that customers can use desktop machines for longer, reducing the turnover and disposal of old IT equipment. Improved telecoms and video conferencing can reduce the number of off-site meetings we need which, in turn, decreases the carbon impact of unnecessary road, rail and air journeys.

There are of course, some more straight forward ways to make sure your use of IT is a little bit greener. Recycling IT products is easy, and can not only benefit the environment, but can also benefit local and international charities. You may find the following websites useful:

Digital Links - an organisation that specialises in recycling your old IT hardware, wiping it and re-using it at a variety of charity project sites throughout Africa. Digital Links has a zero landfill policy, so any equipment that can't be re-used, will be recycled.

Donate a PC - an organisation that links donors with charities in need of a PC. This organisation specialises in small donations, whereas many of the re-use organisations will need you to have 20 or more items available for collection.

CHASE - our friends at CHASE Hospice Care for Children operate two recycling schemes - one for waste toner and ink cartridges from your printers and photocopiers, and the other for old mobile phones

Putting our green philosophy into practice, we are pleased to be able to introduce our "Cash for Carbon" scheme. Cash for Carbon means that if we are able to reduce our carbon emissions just a little bit, by carrying out work remotely from our offices, instead of commuting to your office, we will offer you the choice of either a £50 discount from our standard daily rate, or £50 donated on your behalf to the environmental charity, Friends of the Earth.

The WEEE directive came into force in January 2007 and aims to minimise the impact of waste electronic and electrical goods upon the environment. There are all sorts of implications for businesses, and you can read more on the BERR website. However the key message is that all organisations now have to account for how they dispose of old office equipment. To "re-use" is even better than recycling - the organisations listed above can help you to meet all of your statutory obligations as well as benefiting charities the world over.

For more information on ramsac's green thinking, don't hesitate to contact us!