by Jbs063008 b — July 2, 2008—Lenovo has introduced Lenovo Asset Recovery Services (ARS), a new set of services to help business customers in the US and Canada manage their end-of-life technology equipment by providing computer take-back, data destruction, refurbishment, and recycling. The new service gives customers an end-to-end solution from Lenovo from the point of computer purchase to take-back and disposal.
Lenovo also offers additional services including inventory, value assessment, on-site deinstallation, and data encryption. Lenovo can facilitate donation of the old computers or can help customers receive cash back for them. After three years, typically, a customer can receive 10 to 15 percent of the value back of the original purchase price of the computer, says the company.
With this eco-solution, customers can fulfill green information technology commitments knowing their equipment is disposed of in a secure and environmentally responsible way, says Lenovo. The computers are discarded with data destruction reportedly performed according to the US Department of Defense standards.
Lenovo first prioritizes refurbishment and reuse and then focuses on recycling. In 2007, Lenovo managed or financed the proper disposal of more than 38 million pounds of Lenovo-owned or customer-returned computer equipment. More than 93 percent of that was reused as products or recycled as materials.
Many of the recovered computer materials are recycled into new products, such as automobiles, park benches, concrete filler and even into some Lenovo products. Lenovo expects adding the ARS to its existing take-back programs will help grow customer returns by more than 30 percent in 2008. Lenovo also offers recycling options to individual consumers in the US and other countries around the world.
Other Lenovo eco-friendly initiatives include: designing products close to 100 percent recyclable, using recycled materials where possible, making products more energy-efficient, increasing their lifespan, and designing for upgradeability. Lenovo has also introduced several products that meet the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool’s (EPEAT) Gold rating.
