Reuse is the New Latest Thing

In a recent blog on ZDnet, Heather Clancy asks why more effort isn't going into refurbishing technology equipment.  I have a twofold answer: 1) equipment manufacturers continue to make every clever argument they can to entice us to buy new boxes--no surprise, and 2) lots of IT people don't trust the cold hard numbers that quantify the financial benefits of a longer lifecycle.

The reliability and power of modern technology is amazing to anyone who was using computers back in the eighties like me.  The productive working life of a PC is now over eight years.  The hardware is so powerful that most business users will never tax the capacity of a computer that is even several models out of date.  Gartner reports that companies are responding by lengthening lifecycles for all classes of computing equipment.

We all like things that are shiny and new, but it is both financially and environmentally beneficial to lengthen lifecycles, and when appropriate, to refurbish and reuse.  Per every $1000 in original cost, extending a three year lifecycle to four will save over $325; go to 4.5 years, and the savings is nearly $500.  Extend a three year lifecycle to five years, and the savings mounts to over $650.  The lifecycle costs used to calculate these savings included deployment costs, and residual value and disposition cost on retirement.

Manufacturing a PC requires over 240 kilograms of fossil fuels and 1500 kilograms of water.  Deploying it, then recovering and recycling it at end-of-life requires addtional energy. Amortizing the environmental overhead of IT equipment over a longer period of time simply means less impact at any point in time.  In carbon avoidance terms, reusing six PCs instead of buying new is equivalent to taking one automobile off the road.

Because we all like things that are shiny and new, IT people are sometimes tough to convert to the virtues of reuse--not for their own sakes, but because they are responsible for end user satisfaction, and refurbs often show their age. The answer is thorough and professional refurbishment...and believing the numbers. The savings really do add up.

Comments

[Jonathan Jones]

I concur - however I also think that perhaps the manufacturers, software companies(i.e Microsoft) and chip manufacturers do have an interest in moving technology along and feed the need for more power and technology.

IT people or people in the IT circle - they always inherently want the newest and best gadget - I think it's probably somewhat natural (part of their nature and being techologically focused) that these people given a remit wish to use new technologies.

Your facts and figures make interesting reading - this is something I hadn't even considered.