Drinks giant Coca-Cola has this week donated 1,750 items of used computer equipment to charity Computer Aid International for re-use in education projects in developing countries.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has been working with the charity to dispose of old kit for the past two years as part of the firm’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.
With Computer Aid’s help, CCE tracks the progress of its used computers and follows the projects they are used to support.
For example, the company’s old systems are helping communities in rural Ecuador where computer labs have been set up to provide IT training to schoolchildren. Another shipment has been placed with the not-for-profit Todo Chilenter programme, which helps disadvantaged schools in rural areas of Chile.
“Our partnership with Computer Aid not only provides us with a simple, cost-effective solution for disposing of our IT equipment, but it also ties in perfectly with our CSR schemes which focus on waste reduction, charitable donations and sustainability,” said Chris Grao, field IT manager at Coca-Cola Enterprises.
“Computer Aid’s decommissioning process adheres to our Blanco data-wiping requirements, and as an Authorised Approved Treatment Facility, the charity also allows us to fulfil our legal obligations under the WEEE directive. The PCs and laptops that we make redundant will often have many more years of useful life in disadvantaged communities. It’s a cause that we’re proud to support and we have communicated the good work to our staff internally as well.”
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s recently pledged 5,000 used PCs to Computer Aid which will be used in schools and hospitals in Africa.
Computer Aid is Computing’s charity partner, and we are currently campaigning to raise money for a telemedicine project to equip rural health clinics in Africa with equipment that allows them to communicate with city doc tors to improve diagnosis, saving thousands of lives.
For more information on the telemedicine project, click here.
IT professionals urged to donate used PCs for campaign to equip schools and hospitals in Africa 16 Jun 2009
Generous Computing readers sponsor first two telemedicine centres in our charity appeal 11 Jun 2009
UK IT sector provides some cheer amid the economic gloom 14 May 2009
Watch how your sponsorship money could help an ambitious telemedicine project save thousands of lives in rural Africa 07 May 2009Computing is appealing for help to supply rural African hospitals with telemedicine systems that give the sick a better chance of survival 07 May 2009IT professionals urged to donate used PCs for campaign to equip schools and hospitals in Africa 16 Jun 2009Generous Computing readers sponsor first two telemedicine centres in our charity appeal 11 Jun 2009
Bag for life manufacturer says major stores do not prioritise reducing plastic bag use and the UK lags behind other countries 07 Jul 2009
Plastic spirit bottles and lightweight glass are on the shopping list as supermarkets commit to cutting packaging waste within three years 04 Mar 2010
Charity Computer Aid International claims research firm's stats on refurbished kit export mask the real problem 30 Jun 2009
Desert tortoise fears allayed? 19 Mar 2010
Cameron presents pre-election energy policy, promising greater investment certainty for low-carbon projects, green loans for households, and streamlining of planning system 19 Mar 2010
Joint statement from carbon exchange and Hungarian government aims to restore confidence in CER market 19 Mar 2010
More news
From climate change contrarians to the "KitKatastrophe" of Nestle's palm oil policy, we look at the best the green web has to offer this week 19 Mar 2010
"It needs the political enthusiasm that was behind the war on terror after 9/11" 19 Mar 2010
From the government's plans for a marine energy revolution to John Lewis' proposals for an off-grid supermarket 19 Mar 2010 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
