What if companies were able to take the “farm to table” approach from the food sector to the tech bubble to fight against digital exclusion and e-waste?
Econocom – an international provider of subscription models for servicing the technology needs of companies, as well as providing the financing and an e-waste plan for them and TechInclusionUK - a new social enterprise enabling digital inclusion – have joined forces to securely wipe and refurbish tech donated by Econocom. Notebooks and tablets have been refurbished to be distributed out to young people in education across Tower Hamlets, through a collaboration with the Tower Hamlets Education Partnership.
Why now?
Shiny and new is great but it is time companies, corporations and their C-suite start taking accountability for their e-waste and energy efficiency. At Econocom, we believe there is secondary value in everything. As the world has gone through a massive change with the pandemic, what becomes clear is that the COVID-19 crisis has shown the effects of the digital divide in the education sector.
Thousands of young people lost a significant amount of contact with school, with those digitally excluded being impacted most unfavourably with little or no access to computer equipment. Students, but also teachers, felt out of the loop due to the lack of sufficient technological resources and digital skills. The most adversely impacted families were those who suffered from a loss of income and in turn struggled to support their children with the new normal of home online learning. At Econocom, we think it’s possible to bridge the global digital divide if we promote innovative ways of doing business and this great partnership is one way of achieving this.