Fife Council meets sustainability targets, protects data and generates five-figure cash rebates with IT recycling

Fife Council boosts sustainability, earns five-figure rebate sums, donates to charity and protects data by recycling nearly 6,000 devices with Converge

Fife Council is responsible for 22 electoral wards and around 375,000 residents – and as the third-largest local authority in Scotland, the Council employs 17,500 staff.

In 2019, recognising the vulnerability of the region to ecosystem change and increased flooding, Fife Council declared a Climate Emergency. 

Since then, the Council has committed to reducing its environmental impact across all operations, including how it manages and recycles IT equipment. 

The council’s Procurement Team plays a key role in buying and recycling, and have explained their work here. 

Their colleague Martin Dick works in the Democratic, Legal & BTS Support Team supporting asset management within BTS Solutions & Service Assurance in ensuring that the Council's CMDB is up to date. The Security & Compliance team, also within BTS Solutions & Service Assurance considers the security aspects of the Council’s procurement and IT recycling.

Why sustainable, secure IT recycling matters to Fife Council

As part of its focus on sustainability, Fife Council has committed to purchasing goods that minimise or reduce impact on the local and global environment, maximise environmental benefits and promote a sustainable supply chain.

It makes sense, then, that IT recycling formed a key part of Fife’s strategy. And for public sector organisations, data security is a non-negotiable part of the picture, too.

Dick explained that the Council had “significantly increased our security requirements for IT recycling over the past few years. We now look for certified device wiping ability, secure transportation, robust documentation and suppliers who are regularly audited by independent organisations.” 

Fife found that Converge fit the bill in this regard.

Converge’s Blancco Gold partnership and reliance on Blancco data erasure software ensures that data is wiped irretrievably from devices, and Converge use GPS-tracked, secure vans. The Council receives full data destruction and social value reports. 

Converge is a Cyber Essentials Plus business with ISO 27001 accreditation, so security is covered. And because Converge now operates a Scottish site in Bathgate, less than an hour from Fife Council’s HQ, it means fewer road miles – which means reduced environmental impact.

Security is covered, then. And because Converge now operates a Scottish site in Bathgate, less than an hour from Fife Council’s HQ, it means fewer road miles – which means reduced environmental impact.

Simple, scalable IT recycling for every department

The Procurement Team has been impressed by the benefits on offer with IT recycling from Converge – and the fact that “the whole process is easy to manage,” too.

When departments have equipment that needs recycling, they provide a list to the Procurement Team. Once approved, it becomes a tender document – and when Converge wins the bid for collection, the pick-up is arranged.

“We usually have at least eighty pieces of kit for Converge to collect,” explained the Procurement Team, “but we’re usually talking about hundreds of pieces in every collection. It’s never a problem for Converge, though – you liaise with the collection site to arrange a pickup at a convenient time, you always come back to our teams very quickly, and you’re happy to answer queries.”

Turning old IT into savings, sustainability and social impact

The Council enjoys significant sustainability and value gains by working with Converge. “It’s quite incredible to see how much we’ve been able to do with Converge,” enthused the Procurement Team.

Since 2022, Fife Council has worked with Converge to collect 5,948 devices and diverted nine tonnes of e-waste away from landfill.

Those collections have prevented 249 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and saved the equivalent of 65 people’s annual water use. Fife Council has also been able to plant 97 trees in locations around the world thanks to Converge’s partnership with Ecologi.

“Because we earn rebates from recycling, we’ve generated a five-figure sum since September 2022. Together with our environmental savings, they’re figures to be proud of.”

Those rebates don’t just benefit Fife Council’s budgets, because Fife builds Community Benefits Clauses (CBCs) into its procurement contracts.

This requires any bidding organisation to commit to social impact within the bid – which is a perfect tie-in with Converge, where sustainability is embedded throughout the organisation.

“The CBCs ask bidders to give a portion of the value of their bids to local charities or good causes in our community. Converge has been donating to a variety of community initiatives, including local foodbanks. It’s great to see them paying over £6,000 promptly to such worthwhile organisations.”  

It’s a perfect example of the successful relationship between Fife Council and Converge, with community donations, zero-landfill IT recycling, secure data erasure and rebates all combining to help Fife work towards a Net Zero future in every aspect of its operations.

“The Council wants Fife to be a place where we make the best use possible of our assets and facilities while sustaining them for future generations,” explained the Procurement Team. “We’re pleased to work with Converge – having partnerships with businesses like Converge helps us to fulfil our aims.”