In celebration of Earth Day, we’re reflecting on the initiatives we’re taking at Electric to make our processes more environmentally friendly. Device shipments have been a particular area of focus for our team over the past year as we work to minimize the impacts of packaging and delivery. 

If you’d like to reduce the carbon footprint associated with your business device shipments, the simple changes shared below can have a significant impact. 

The environmental impact of device shipping

Given the shift toward remote work environments, it’s unsurprising that business device shipments have grown considerably in recent years. In addition to managing the delivery of laptops to new hires, companies also have to contend with device retrievals from departing team members. 

For example, when a remote employee leaves a company, an empty box is often sent to their home so they can pack and ship their device back to their employer. This creates two shipping journeys and often involves excessive padding and packaging to ensure the employee wraps the device safely.

At scale, this contributes to a wider environmental strain as we become increasingly reliant on fast, door-to-door shipping for a variety of goods: 

• 3 billion trees are pulped yearly to produce 241 million tons of shipping cartons
• Packaging accounts for 28% of solid waste generated in the U.S.
• In 2020, the shipping and return of products accounted for 37% of total greenhouse gas emissions

Electric’s QR code shipment program

At Electric, we process device shipments via QR codes to minimize waste – without sacrificing speed or convenience. Here’s how it works:

1. The employee receives a QR code via email, eliminating the need to print a physical label.
2. The employee takes their device to a UPS location – no box required. 
3. UPS inspects the device and safely prepares it for delivery in laptop-specific packaging, without the use of extraneous materials.

Through this QR code program in partnership with UPS, Electric shipped approximately 6,000 devices last year.

Electric also supports the re-use of devices through simplified de-provisioning and re-provisioning when an employee leaves a company. Through this process, existing devices can quickly be transitioned into use for a new employee – reducing your business costs as well as environmental impact.

Want to learn more about environmentally-friendly device shipments with Electric? Get in touch!