Rigby Capital working with Lombard to prevent tech heading for landfill

Rigby Capital has formed a relationship with Lombard to help the finance specialist recycle its customers’ tech hardware.

The deal will see Rigby and its channel arm SCC help recycle laptops, mobile phones with the aim of preventing a million items from ending up in landfill in the next five years.

The channel player will be providing an as-a-service option for Lombard to present to customers that want to dispose of their old tech.

The service will allow users to track how their technology has been disposed of, both in terms of recycling or being refurbished onto secondary markets, as well as providing options for upgrading equipment.

Ian Isaac, managing director of Lombard, said businesses across the board were dealing with sustainability goals, and being able to put old tech into the circular economy would be a wide benefit.

“Today’s businesses need to invest in up-to-date tech to achieve sustainable growth, but they are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint,” he said.

“Through this unique collaboration with Rigby Capital and the broader Rigby Group, we can not only help businesses access the technology they need, but also help them to achieve their sustainability goals. Over the next five years, we believe that this solution will help to stop at least a million electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops from becoming landfill,” he added.

From a Rigby group perspective, the tie-up was seen as an opportunity to highlight the connection between finance and sustainability.

“IT asset finance is no longer just about funding, it’s about full-life cycle management of assets and particularly the management of end-of-life assets,” said Simon Everidge, managing director of Rigby Capital.

“Rigby Capital and the operational capabilities in SCC, with its market-leading IT recycling facilities, can provide complete end-to-end management of IT assets for Lombard and its customers. The circular economy and ESG demands on everyone in the supply chain, including customers, suppliers, funders, asset managers and manufacturers, is only going to intensify in the next five years,” he added.

Last month gave the industry a chance to highlight its recycling efforts with E-Waste Day, with a warning that far too many devices are continuing to end up in landfill.

A recent report from the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) and the UN E-Waste Coalition stated that approximately 50 million tonnes of e-waste are produced and only 20% is formally recycled.

SCC has been vocal about its ESG efforts and has been busy planting tress and placing solar panels on the roof of its Birmingham datacentre to reduce energy consumption.

SCC’s parent, the Rigby Group, has already publicly stated that it is aiming to meet a target of being net-zero by 2040.