Yorkshire Day | Our Mission to Help Promote Sustainability in Yorkshire

It’s Yorkshire Day!  

As a proud Yorkshire business filled with proud Yorkshire men and women, we are committed to making our beloved county the very best it can be.  

Yorkshire leads the way in many things. For example, the world's first football team (Sheffield United) is from Yorkshire, global retail giant M&S was founded from a market stall in Leeds, the Yorkshire pudding was of course invented in ‘Gods Own Country’ and we make the very best tea (Yorkshire Tea - no room for debate!).  

However, there are areas where Yorkshire can do better. A recent article published by Circular, delved into a recent study about awareness of the term circular economy.  

When the findings were broken down by region, only 9% of respondents in Yorkshire and the Humber knew what the circular economy was, compared to 16% of respondents in London and 23% in Scotland. This is worrying because it shows a lack of understanding around a key method that can play a huge role in reducing carbon emissions. 

Promoting Sustainability in Yorkshire  

Despite operating around the globe, we still have our feet firmly rooted in our local community. We aim to stimulate a global change in consumer behaviour and the IT industry as a whole. However, in order to do this, we must start on our doorstep and invest our time and resources into local initiatives. As a sustainable IT solutions provider flying the flag for the circular economy, we have a duty to raise awareness. Here are some of the things we are doing to help promote sustainability in Yorkshire.  

Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition 

Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition is an independent collaborative group of businesses, public sector organisations and voluntary groups that promotes and supports greenhouse gas reduction activities throughout the Harrogate District. Techbuyer works in partnership with the HDCCC and supports with initiatives and events. The first ever Harrogate Climate Action Festival was launched in October 2021. Organisations from all over the region travelled to Harrogate College to showcase how their businesses are combatting climate change. The event drew a lot of attention from locals in the area as well as sustainability academics and industry professionals. Throughout the day, there were thought-provoking talks focussing on a wide variety of sustainability topics.  Techbuyer sponsored the festival and helped spread awareness in terms of sustainability around technology. 

Take a look at our stand below and learn more about our contribution to the event here.

University of Leeds and Harrogate College 

We give real-life working experiences to students from the University of Leeds. We have hosted a number of students over the past few years and have helped to give them an example of how a sustainable business functions. We have also partnered with Harrogate College (located 2 minutes from our HQ) to host three of their students for a week-long immersive work experience placement. Learn more about our work experience provision here.  It is our aim to help educate the workforce of tomorrow to ensure that the organisations of tomorrow embody sustainability and sustainable practises. 

York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership 

The York and North Yorkshire LEP is a fantastic project that brings together local councils, community organisations and businesses from a wide range of sectors across the region. Primarily, the purpose of the partnership is to share information about the circular economy and make it happen! We are proud to help support local entities operate in a more circular fashion.  

IEMA Training (Coming Soon!) 

IEMA (the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment) is the professional body for everyone working, studying or interested in environment and sustainability. They provide resources, tools, knowledge and research sharing to meet the real world needs of their members. Techbuyer’s Sustainability Lead, Astrid Wynne, recently undertook a rigorous assessment process to become a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv). This enabled us to educate businesses, schools and organisations on improving the sustainability of technology and how to be more eco-friendly with IT equipment. We have begun IEMA sustainability training sessions internally, and we are excited to announce that these sessions will soon be made available to local and national organisations.  

Sustainable IT Solutions  

Here at Techbuyer, we are proud to supply sustainable IT solutions to organisations. We aim to dispel the myth that businesses have to choose between high performance and sustainability; we provide IT solutions that make the most sense on both fronts. We are proud winners of ‘Circular Economy Business of the Year’ at the 2020 IEMA awards, reflecting our commitment to furthering circular practices and maximising IT budgets. View our full range of Sustainable IT Solutions here.  

Our Resources 

As well as getting involved with local initiatives, we are also committed to building a library of educational resources that will inform organisations and consumers about all things relating to technology and sustainability. You might be interested in:  

Futureproof Your Business | Part One: Technology and People 

Futureproof Your Business| Part Two: Technology and Planet 

Futureproof Your Business | Part Three: Technology and Profit