Techbuyer Speaks At Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit

Techbuyer’s Sustainability Marketing Coordinator, James Buckley, was invited to speak at the Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit. Taking place on the 16th October, the event brings together regional leaders to confront the climate emergency. The summit featured a whole day of keynote speeches, panel discussions and networking opportunities.

James was among the speakers on the “SME Journeys” panel where he aimed to share why SMEs should consider climate issues in their strategies and decision making, using Techbuyer as an example. Other attendees included politicians, academics, business leaders and climate advocates, so it was an honour to have a member of our team chosen to speak during the event.

In the “SME Journeys” panel, James explored what motivates SMEs to act on climate change. He was joined by Aidan Lane, Director of the Landscaping Division at Eco Green Group, and Sarah Jones, Founder of Full Circle Funerals. Together, they reflected on the values and decisions that shape their organisations’ sustainability strategies.

Why Should SMEs Consider Climate Issues in their Strategy?

The discussion began with how each of the businesses first forged their interest in environmental sustainability. Techbuyer was formed in 2005 as a refurbished server seller, but the focus was almost entirely on the cost saving aspect of refurbished, rather than the sustainability side.

Techbuyer first formed a sustainability strategy in 2017 and haven’t looked back since. We have developed into experts in the field of sustainability in the technology sector, culminating in our contributions to CEDaCI (Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry) - a multi-million-pound project spanning across 7 countries, establishing best practice in circular IT.

At Techbuyer, the triple bottom line is extremely important in our decision making. When choosing whetherto develop projects, we always consider the three Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity. To us this means ensuring any intervention needs to be not just good for the planet, but also affordable and able to be used efficiently in operations. This was discussed in the next part of the panel – aligning business strategy with sustainability, and the importance of stakeholder engagement.

“…environmental sustainability and climate action doesn’t need to be a burden to be passed to someone else. When done correctly it leads to increased efficiency, cost savings and lower energy use, and I would like to think we are proof of that.”

As Yorkshire continues to build its climate resilience, events like this summit play a vital role in fostering dialogue, sharing best practices, and inspiring action across sectors. Techbuyer is helping show businesses that sustainability and business growth can go hand in hand. Our zero-to-landfill policy is not just some words on paper. It has developed into an important area of the business through our Resource Recovery team who look after e-waste recycling. Not only are we diverting precious metals and redundant hardware from landfill, but we are also able to provide value back to those who send the equipment depending on the hardware. Find out more about Resource Recovery and e-waste recycling with Techbuyer here.