GENEVA, 24 August 2021 – Announced today, ITRenew, a circular data center pioneer and global leader in circular cloud and sustainable data center infrastructure, has joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
“The global sustainable development challenge and opportunity demand systems-level thinking, change, and collaboration. In joining WBCSD, we see tremendous opportunity to convene with like-minded global leaders to drive action and progress toward an economic engine that maximizes both productivity and sustainability,” said ITRenew President Ali Fenn. “Building from our core business of orchestrating a global circular economic model in the data center IT hardware industry, we see an opportunity to team up with the 200 WBCSD member companies to further catalyze cross-industry progress, standards and behavioral change globally.”
As a WBCSD member, ITRenew brings more than a decade of experience in circular economy and sustainable tech practices to the Organization. ITRenew is on a mission to make sustainably sourced, zero-carbon infrastructure the worldwide standard and maximize the lifetime value of data center technology, in order to put an end to the staggering amount of e-waste and CO2 the IT industry creates.
They started with a radical new model for decarbonizing IT infrastructure by creating second lives for some of the most advanced technology on the planet. Today, ITRenew transforms the hardware they decommission for the world’s leading global cloud service providers into everything from critical components to fully integrated edge and data center systems that power exciting advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and more on a global scale.
“We welcome ITRenew to WBCSD and look forward to collaborating with the company and other WBCSD members to make zero carbon and zero waste tangible for the IT industry and beyond” said WBCSD President and CEO Peter Bakker. “As the global leader in circular cloud and data center transformation, ITRenew’s engagement will help shape business response to key future challenges – not just for the tech industry but across industries. As a WBCSD member, ITRenew will play a key role in scaling up adoption of the systemic solutions, metrics and methodologies that are needed at the core of decarbonization policies and business operations worldwide.”
Within WBCSD, ITRenew will be participating in the Circular Electronic Partnership (CEP), working with other experts, business leaders and global organizations to co-design circular economic solutions and streamline processes that fundamentally advance global sustainability standards and guidelines. In addition, as a contributor to the SOS 1.5 Pathfinder project in WBCSD’s Climate and Energy program, ITRenew’s expertise and passion for decarbonizing the value chain via metrics and goal setting will help companies across the world match their ambition with robust, actionable strategies that accelerate much-needed systems transformation.
“The ability to collectively arrive at an equitable and aligned accounting methodology that incentivizes circularity and reuse is necessary in this pivotal decade of climate action,” noted Fahmida Bangert, VP of Sustainability at ITRenew.
“We are looking forward to ITRenew’s contributions along with our other members to drive major advances in decarbonization and sustainability in the IT industry and beyond,” added Bill Sisson, executive director of WBCSD North America. “There is not one single industry that can embrace systemic change without an efficient and sustainable IT infrastructure. It’s essential that business gets it right from the start. ITRenew’s aim to eliminate waste and pollution throughout a company’s entire value chain demonstrates the role technology will provide to achieve the type of systems transformation needed to create the economy and society we need to achieve a world in which 9 billion people live well, within planetary boundaries.”
