Episode 24 – Steve Haskew of Circular Computing

About Steve Haskew

Steve specialises in a Circular Economy business model, specifically within the IT industry – a “Super Looper”. 

He has a deep understanding of the UN SDG’s, of resource preservation challenges, ethics in the supply chain, a wide knowledge of positive change required in eWaste, and reverse logistics – and the interdependent relationships these have, with an acceleration to a Carbon Net Zero future.

He is a regular keynote at Governmental level, the UN and EU helping to build the bridges to the Circular Economy and sustainability in the IT industry as the transition to a Circular Economy takes hold. 

What Steve says about Circular Computing^TM

“Creating positive net sustainability impacts within the Circular Economy and ICT Re-Use – delivering on the three pillars. Ultimately, providing carbon zero products, contributing to a carbon zero future. Committed to and delivering on the United Nations SDG’s, particularly SDG 12 – Sustainable Production and Procurement – and SDG 13 Climate Change. Part of our profits are invested into reforestation, renewable energy and social programmes – providing an end to end solution to the client.

It sounds easy but is not easily achieved, and has taken a generation of innovation, of learning/unlearning/relearning and we are now able to deliver a remanufactured laptop solution in the quantities required to feed the public sector (who represent 35 per cent of all IT spend).

There are 160 million laptops made annually – and this is in a steady state. There are more than 300,000 being disposed of daily in the North American and European markets.

The challenge then is to have a reverse logistics and remanufacturing process that provides an end to end service to the client and provides a solution that the client can easily understand and trust. Our business has achieved this. At scale, for huge environmental impacts. The challenge is the promotion to the client and creating the brand – so three years in Circular Computing is seeing lift off, and 2020 has begun with vigour as these important matters are now centre-stage.

Significant movements in the cost of minerals (take palladium this year, up 80 per cent) demonstrates clearly that the supply and demand imbalances based on a linear economy model, are not sustainable. Prices are increasing, and product is running short – today there is a global 4x of Internet of Things (IoT) per head with a prospective Earth Over Run of 2x by 2030, yet the tech/EV and IoT boom means that the forecast is 15x devices per head and a 4x Earth supply.

There is only 100 per cent of anything. So only when you adopt a Circular approach will you be able to defend against this. And sadly if there is not a shift then the wealthy who can afford will get, leaving a widening digital and global inequality divide for those that cannot.”