An enormous amount of CO2 is released into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels around the world.
Scientists now agree that this is causing climate change, and the results are already visible in many places on our planet
IT-recycling decided to measure its impact on CO2 emissions. On the one hand, our business activities cause CO2 emissions, mainly due to road traffic.
On the other hand, we also reduce CO2 emissions by recycling computer equipment. Recycling emits less CO2 than production using new raw materials does.
IT-recycling therefore emits CO2, mainly from road traffic, but on the other hand reduces CO2 emissions.
The main purpose of this CO2 footprint measurement is to gain insight into our CO2 management.
We have been calculating our footprint every year since 2013. In 2021, we started using BLUE diesel in some of our smaller vehicles, namely one passenger car and two vans. This concerns 30% blue diesel, in other words fuel containing 70% mineral diesel and 30% vegetable diesel. At the end of 2021, the manufacturer issued a statement based on the quantity of fuel consumed. It revealed that our small diesel vehicles emitted 27% less CO2, which represents a reduction of 4% in our entire CO2 emissions. In 2022, our trucks are running on 100% blue diesel; another major reduction in CO2 emissions. This page contains a summary of these calculations. On request, we can send you the complete calculation with an explanation.
2021 CO2 footprint
| CO2 emissions | 2021 |
|---|---|
| CO2 emissions from road traffic Reduced by using blue diesel | 77 tonnes -3 tonnes |
| Emissions from office and workshop in Uden Total CO2 emissions in 2019 | 3 tonnes |
| Total CO2 emissions in 2019 | 77 tonnes |
The majority comes from trucks used to collect computer waste and take scrap metal to recycling companies.
Reduce CO2 emissions by recycling unwanted computers
| 2020 | Figures |
|---|---|
| Amount of computer equipment collected in 2021 | 587 tonnes |
| Emissions of CO2 if new equipment was produced from raw materials to replace all this obsolete computer equipment | 11,743 tonnes of CO2 |
| Reduction of CO2 emissions through recycling (25%) | 2,935 tonnes less CO2 |
| Total emissions of CO2 | 77 tonnes of CO2 emissions |
| Negative footprint for 2019 | 3,012 tonnes |
IT-recycling therefore reduced CO2 emissions by 3,012 tonnes in 2021.
For every kilo of CO2 that we emit, we ensure a reduction in CO2 emissions of 37.23 kilos.
Improvements to our CO2 Footprint
As mentioned, our trucks are the biggest emitters of CO2. In 2022, trucks switched to 100% blue diesel. 100% fossil-free journeys with trucks are not yet possible, but low-fossil certainly is. We therefore expect to be able to once more considerably reduce CO2 emissions in 2022.
Historical data in the period 2015-2021
Numbers of tonnes (1,000 kg) CO2: ratio between our emissions and CO2 savings.
| Year | CO2 emissions | Computer waste | Footprint | CO2-figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | 587 | -3012 | 37 |
| 2020 | 74 | 482 | -2339 | 32 |
| 2019 | 78 | 492 | -2301 | 30 |
| 2018 | 74 | 529 | -2571 | 35 |
| 2017 | 65 | 481 | -2430 | 36 |
| 2016 | 59 | 348 | -1683 | 29 |
| 2015 | 59 | 400 | -1940 | 32 |