"When I first started in IT asset disposition more than two decades ago, sustainability barely registered in boardroom discussions. Regulations such as the WEEE Directive in 2005 were among the first to bring environmental responsibility into the IT industry. Fast forward to today and the picture could not be more different. Almost every supplier now presents themselves as "green". That progress is welcome - but it has also created confusion, noise, and, in many cases, outright greenwashing."
"The signs of greenwashing are often easy to spot once you know where to look. Suppliers that rely on vague promises - "eco-friendly" or "green by design" - without supporting data should raise concern. So should carbon-neutral badges built on offsets rather than real reductions. Selective reporting is another red flag: celebrating progress in one product line or geography while ignoring the larger footprint. Net-zero pledges with no short-term milestones are equally problematic."
Sustainability claims in IT procurement and asset disposal have proliferated, producing widespread confusion and frequent greenwashing. Studies indicate up to 90% of technology firms may exaggerate environmental marketing, making ESG reporting and emissions reduction more difficult. Clear red flags include vague language, offset-based carbon-neutral badges, selective reporting, and net-zero pledges without near-term milestones. Specific disposal practices such as hard-drive shredding can waste embodied carbon, and "zero landfill" claims can mask exported residual waste. Buyers should require verifiable evidence, such as SBTi-validated near-term and net-zero targets and rigorously prepared greenhouse gas inventories.
Read at ComputerWeekly.com
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