Companies missing out on recycling savings

Toronto: Doing business in the green economy presents both risks and opportunities.

The recent Carbon Economy Summit in Toronto, which drew 200 chief financial officers, manufacturers and sustainability stakeholders, looked at some of the biggest challenges and rewards in play for industry right now.

Companies are missing out on cost savings available through recycling programs for end-of-life products, said Ron Hulse, vice-president and chief convergence officer with Samsung Electronics, during a keynote address. Hulse said it’s critical that businesses incorporate lifecycle management into their requests for proposals.

Listen to an interview with Ron Hulse, conducted by Richard Southern of 680 News at the Carbon Economy Summit.

“The total cost of owning and disposing can actually be lower if they consider the last trend of recycling as the whole process,” Hulse said.

He commented on findings from a recent Rogers Publishing survey of procurement and financial executives, sponsored by Samsung. The survey showed many businesses aren’t aware of IT recycling programs. Others don’t’t have the time or resources to spend on a program.

Hulse is hoping to educate companies that end-of-life recycling programs are “available, accessible, and utilizable, and they save you
money.”

Read what other industry players, such as UPS and Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Ltd., had to say about incorporating sustainability into their business practices.

Photos: Steve Uhraney