Case study: Rothschild

Investment bank Rothschild started its involvement with Computer Aid International two years ago.

An IT department employee first brought the charity to the attention of the firm, and the London office has been donating its used PCs ever since.

The company previously disposed of computers by sending them to be crushed, but there was always a concern about what might happen to confidential data, says Rothschild corporate social responsibility executive Caroline Pyke.

So regulatory concerns and data security were high on the company’s agenda when it decided to donate legacy equipment ­ with the added bonus that the computers were going to a good cause, says Pyke.

“It was very important that our old equipment was put to good use, while destroying all the data and meeting very high security standards,” she says.

The firm has so far donated 168 computers, 49 monitors and 20 laptops this year. “All the computers from our London office go to Computer Aid now, although regional offices make their own arrangements,” says Pyke.

Rothschild was spending an average of £60 per computer to wipe data and dispose of legacy equipment.

“The decommissioning process is all free when PCs are donated to Computer Aid, so there is definitely a business case for donating,” says Pyke.

Apart from the cost advantages, there is an added expectation that the scheme will improve company morale.

Pyke has taken an additional role in the area of corporate responsibility and it will be her task over the next few months to communicate the benefits of working with Computer Aid throughout Rothschild.

“The IT department has always led the Computer Aid activity and historically they have not communicated what we are doing to the rest of the company,” she says.

The co-operation will continue as an ongoing programme that comprises monthly or bi-monthly donations that vary in quantity.

“Some months we donate 50 computers and some months it might be 10,” says Pyke.

The bank refreshes PCs every two to three years because of the need for increased computing power, so the machines that the charity receives from the bank will never be more than three years old.

Though the age of the donations might sometimes be an issue, the size of the donation volumes is not something that would create problems.

“There are other organisations that are very happy to receive donated computers, but Computer Aid has the advantage of being a big organisation so it is able to operate more efficiently and faster than some of the others,” says Pyke.

“And without doubt we would certainly recommend the charity to other companies.”