Save Money
Like buying a new car, as soon as you drive it off the lot, the value decreases significantly - and yet it is still in excellent condition.
It is the same for other assets. Companies can save a lot of money by purchasing pre-owned assets, some of which are even brand new or refurbished. The cost savings can even amount to 90% off the original retail price.
As companies are under increasing pressure to cut and manage costs, why pay more?
Save Time
REfficient offers a wide range of products from a variety of manufacturers, giving you one place to source all your needs. We also offer our REsource service which you can use to source quotes for your needs from our global network of companies and suppliers.
REsource brings the sellers to you on your schedule, allowing you to choose the best price and have the product shipped to you in the most environmentally friendly way.
Save the Environment
Buying REproducts has several important environmental benefits.
- Doing it in order. In the hierarchy of the 3R's (Reduce - Reuse - Recycle), reuse comes before recycling.
- Newer isn't always better. The creation of new products and materials has a huge environmental footprint. Reuse of products and materials cuts down on this environmental burden.
- If lead and zinc are produced as secondary materials from waste, the energy savings (in terms of global warming potential and summer smog potential) is 75-80% than if mined. i
- A computer's environmental footprint exceeds its own size by more than 1000. Much of this footprint comes from the manufacturing stage.ii
- Obsolete? Not to everyone. Turnover and obsolescence rates have continued to increase, meaning there is progressively more that is deemed unneeded and "obsolete".
- In our experience, 25-60% of equipment deemed old or obsolete by one organization is found to be needed and wanted by another.
- Technology is not garbage! Landfills are filling up and moreover, too many electronics are still ending up in the garbage.
- From an electronics point of view, Greenpeace estimates that 20-50 million tonnes of e-waste is generated every year around the world. iii
- One study demonstrated that electronics make up only 1% of content in an average landfill, but contribute to 70% of the toxins. iv
REfficient provides organizations with a solution to effectively make a sustainable choice and then do something about it.
Given that moving product around for reuse has an environmental impact of its own, REfficient also calculates the estimated carbon footprint of shipments and purchases carbon offsets for the emissions. This allows our clients to understand the environmental implications of their choices in order to make informed decisions.
Case Study — How long should you keep a mobile phone? v
While there is no clear answer — it's hard to predict energy efficiency improvements and other variables — it is important to look at the estimated ecological footprint (EF):
- For the first year of purchase, the EF of a mobile phone is 72-82gm2
- For every other year of use, the EF is 17gm2
If there was a 10% annual efficiency improvement, you would have to keep the phone for 10-12 years to reach a breakeven point.
If there was a 20% improvement in efficiency each year, you would have to keep the phone for 7 years to break even.
However, increasing turnover rates can outweigh efficiency gains making the above numbers a best case scenario.
REfficient REproduct Designation
All REproducts which are bought, sold, donated, or redeployed via REfficient qualify for REproduct designation.
Customers may use this designation to demonstrate Sustainable Procurement (or Green Procurement or Sourcing). Invoices show the designation. To get a full report showing REproduct spending and sustainablity stats, please contact us for options.
- Hermann, C., Eyerer, P., & Gediga, J. "Economic and Ecological Material Index for End-of-Life and Design of Electronic Products," IEEE Transactions on Electronics Packaging Manufacturing. Vol 27, No 1, 2004.
- Frey, S., Harriosn, D., & Billett, E. "Integrated Product Policy and Ecological Footprint of Electronic Products," IEEE. 2000.
- Greenpeace. The E-waste Problem. N.d.
- McDonnell, E. "Turning Wastestream Materials into Economic Opportunities," Demanufacturing Partnership Program Newsletter. New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 1997.
- Frey, S., Harrison, D., & Billett, E. "Ecological Footprint Analysis Applied to Mobile Phones", Journal of Industrial Ecology. Vol. 10, No 1-2: 2006.
