Taha Charif Khalifi
Hiba Chemzari
Al Akhawayn University
Mary Grace Neville
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The innovation in question is the collection of old DELL computer units donated by both the everyday customers and corporations in order to re-use and recycle the components into new computers. This avoids having those components go to waste and lessens the need for DELL to make more parts for future computers thus saving both money and the earth's limited resources by reducing waste. This allows for consumers to recycle some of the existing waste present in their everyday homes and businesses.
This innovation not only achieves the responsible production goal, but also has a positive action on the climate by reducing the amount of toxic e-waste produced yearly. In 2020 alone, e-waste was estimated to be around 50 million units.
When compared to similar recycling programs in other technology companies, DELL has a broader reach as they offer its recycling program globally instead of limiting it to a few countries. DELL also offers more varied programs not only limited to old computers; for example, the company has a program responsible for the collection and recycling of old ink cartridge and another for old batteries. Overall, DELL's innovation has an expansive reach and is available to everyone with less caveats to participation.
This innovation occurs when everyday DELL customers donate their old computers back to the computer company. DELL takes the old units and sends them to the nearest processing factory where they are dismantled and their components are extracted for future use in new computers. These new computers are created with a percentage of recycled materials ranging from 5% (in the highest spec new computers) to 30% (in mid to low tier computers). This innovation allows for new computers to be both cheaper to produce and more environmentally friendly, since DELL did not have to produce more potential waste and even disposed of some of its old waste by reusing the old units.
The reuse of computer components is extremely difficult. Computer components are usually very fragile and hard to recycle for the following reasons:
- Computer components are usually soldered and glued in a permanent manner to each part, making the extraction of individual pieces rough if not impossible at times. The parts are fundamentally not meant to be recycled, particularly in the case of laptops.
- There is little incentive to retrieve old computer parts. It is often easier for companies to simply produce new components rather than recycle the existing ones. Not only can it be cheaper, but because of the constantly evolving field of technology the new components are often more powerful and faster.
The current leader of this innovation is Jeff Clarke (Executive chairman of FTD). This has been a team effort within DELL. It came about after a brainstorming session that included the whole company. The objective of the brainstorming was to reduce the environmental impact of DELL around the world, especially because DELL is a multinational corporation and it is aware of the effect it has on the environment. Wishing to increase customer satisfaction, DELL started brainstorming and came up with the innovation of collecting and recycling the used computer components.
Another reason behind this innovation is the limited supply of resources used in component fabrication, like the copper or gold used for wiring and circuitry. This innovation makes company operations more sustainable.
“It has been 9 years since the program has been running so far” said Kawtar Charif Khalifi, GBO at DELL, "and it already had huge impacts on different aspects. Less waste was produced, the production was cleaner and it had a huge impact on the environment by saving 9000 m² of waste. The company made huge savings (2 Million Dollars) in the production of laptops per year since 2012 from recycling."
One of the biggest and most direct impacts on the company was increased customer satisfaction and creating a better relationship with its customers. DELL’s main concept is based on the satisfaction of its customers' needs so it uses an annual survey (IMPS). This survey’s result are a grade out of 100 given by the customer. This grade actually increased after implementing the innovation program, showing the satisfaction of customers who gave in their old units.
DELL is “taking a huge load of the old units back into our factories, rather than going to waste facilities, or ending up in a wasteland”, according to Kawtar Charif Khalifi. Thus, more units are getting recycled instead of being thrown away, which would cause more pollution. According to our interviewee, the company is currently taking 20% of its old units, or “electronic waste”, and are planning to expand it to 50% in the future. These recycled products include laptops, desktops, servers, cables and batteries. This service is available worldwide, but currently there is no factory in Morocco to recycle these old units, so they are collected from customers and sent to Ireland or Poland to be recycled and treated. Customers in Morocco can also benefit from products that are created with up to 30% recycled materials. DELL offers to recycle your old computer at no cost even if it is from a different brand if you get a DELL product in return. This recycling philosophy also applies to their packaging.
Overall, this innovation has had a positive impact on society and the environment by producing less waste. There are many other programs made to make a difference since DELL cares about its social impact. When it comes to the environment, DELL is working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing water risks.Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
DELL is a multinational software and hardware company. It sells desktop and laptop computers to both everyday customers and large corporations and companies globally.
