Spectacularly Bad News
There is that adage about the frog in the water. I’ve always thought it was a big of a gross example; the thought of a frog boiling in water freaks me out. Although there may be some merit in this graphic illustration when pondering the sustainability of our environment.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has just produced its most recent report. And, spoiler alert, the news is spectacularly bad. There is a lot of complexity to climate change stuff. That’s because all aspects of our World are so interlinked. I’m just going to touch super briefly on two very big, obvious, and likely impacts for us here in Africa through a series of statements.
Where will we live?
Certain parts of Africa (and South Africa) will become uninhabitable because it will be too hot and too dry.
People from rural areas will be forced to migrate to cities.
Cities will probably not have the infrastructure to cope with these additional people.
Informal settlements will expand.
Poor infrastructure and sanitation in these settlements will make people less healthy, and reduce life expectancy.
What will we eat?
30% of maize growing areas and 50% of bean growing areas will go out of production because it will be too hot and too dry.
On top of this, crop yields will decline because of the changes in weather.
Food will become more scarce.
Food prices will increase.
Populations will become hungry.
In both these likely scenarios, life expectancy will drop. This is a real travesty given the huge strides we have made over the past 50 years in extending life expectancy across the continent. The wealth and wellbeing of Africans has never been higher. It would be devastating to see a reversal of such great progress!
So what can we do about it?
Well, there are a ton of things. Governments need to put in place wide ranging policy to combat climate change, we need to invest in innovations that will reduce carbon emissions – particularly in key polluting industries, and we need to have extensive education on environmental sustainability. But there is a lot you and I can do too. Here are 3 simple things (amongst many more) that we believe are a good start!
Buy less: before you buy, ask yourself “do I need this?” The more we buy, the more stuff has to get made. When stuff is made, a lot of CO2 is put into the atmosphere, which makes it hotter and hotter. Buying less saves you BIG BUCKS too! Winner winner chicken dinner!
Go preowned: when you need to buy, go preowned as much as you can. It means new stuff doesn’t need to be made, and it prevents stuff from going into landfills. Think: if we can increase the average life in a phone from the 2 years which it currently is to 4 years, that will mean we’ll only need half the number of new devices to be produced. Wow!
Recycle responsibly: Across the World, we product 56 million tons of electronic waste (eWaste) each year. This goes into landfills, pollutes the ocean, kills sea life, and produces dangerous chemicals that pollute the soil and underground water. So much of old electronic devices can be recovered and reused!
Make a difference and keep those iPhones, Samsung Galaxy’s, laptops and tablets in circulation for longer. Preowned really does save money and the Planet.
If you’ve got some time on your hands and are keen to learn more, check out the full IPCC report at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
A South African Hero, International Recognition
Roegshanda Pasco is a South African hero.
In my observation, championing a cause in South Africa engenders a high risk of being shot at. When your cause is gang violence in the Cape Flats, I would suggest that it is inevitable.
Roegshanda has been sticking up for those who need a voice from the age of 14 when she was an active member of the anti-apartheid resistance movement. She was raised on the Cape Flats by her grandparents, in a tough environment where mental and physical abuse was prevalent. With violence rife on the Cape Flats, she has spent years engaging the local community in efforts to build saver communities, particularly for women and children who have been traumatised by violence. She has met with gang members, facilitated discussions between gang members and community representatives, and spent significant time training the next generation of community advocates.
In July 2016, Roegshanda was part of a group that witnessed a gang assaulting a man near her home in Manenberg on the Cape Flats. Of the group of witnesses, Roegshanda was the only one to testify in court. Before and following her testimony, she received multiple death threats. And in 2019, unknown gunmen opened fire on her home. Her children and grandchildren were home at the time. Thankfully, only her son was injured superficially.
Since then, the family has been unable to return to their home. The disruption has caused her children to miss a year’s worth of school, and the family relies on the generosity of the communities Roegshanda has championed to support them.
Given such an extraordinary contribution, it is fitting that – during International Women’s month – Roegshanda has received the International Women of Courage award. The award was established in 2007 by then U.S Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and is presented annually to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and willingness to sacrifice for others. Each U.S embassy across the world can recommend one woman candidate. It is wonderful to have a spotlight on the immense contribution of one of our own women to changing the future for the better.
Good for the Environment but Also a Wise Business Choice
The environmental motivation for refurbished devices is a no-brainer. What is equally compelling, though, is that there is a strong business benefit. Gone are the days when buying refurbished meant sacrificing reliability. Certified refurbished devices are typically 20% – 50% cheaper than new devices with the same specifications and the same standards of reliability.
Environmental sustainability is front of mind for many organisations. As our understanding of the threats and costs of Global Warming deepen, more and more corporates and non-profits are using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to guide their actions and priorities.
With rising global incomes and our increasing dependence on technology there is a proliferation of devices, which are often thrown out long before they need to be. In the technology sector, we see big brands like Microsoft, Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo taking a real stand. Microsoft has committed to become carbon neutral by 2030. Apple has made the same commitment and reduced its carbon footprint by 4.3 million metric tons in 2019 alone through design and recycled content innovations. Dell, HP, and Lenovo now all produce laptops that are manufactured, in part, from bioplastic tree waste, ocean bound plastics, and other recycled content.
But to make a real sustainable difference, more is required. We must tackle the problem from multiple angles. As Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft says, “It’s what we all do together that will make a difference.”
The Global eWaste Monitor reports that in 2019 we generated 53.6 metric Tons of eWaste globally. This is an amount equivalent to 22 of the Worlds biggest container ships full to capacity of eWaste. This is a vast amount considering that most of it goes into landfills or finds its way to the bottom of the oceans. Only 17.4% of this was reported to be formally collected and recycled. Here in Africa, only 0.4% of eWaste is formally collected and recycled. Although this number is likely to be higher given our informal recycling sector.
Regardless, what this means is that in addition to the innovative product design and manufacturing of large technology brands, it is critical that we extend the life of our devices in order that less goes into landfills and less needs to be manufactured. Most technologies that deliver environmental benefits come at a higher cost. Think solar panels and electric vehicles. Until such time as we can achieve meaningful volumes in the manufacture of these technologies, they will remain more costly than their heavily polluting alternatives.
The real beauty of certified refurbished hardware is that it is more cost effective than alternatives. Here, the barrier that exists is user trust, and reasonably so. In the past, refurbished hardware was likely not refurbished at all. It was a broken device that an inexperienced, and likely not entirely honest, techie had restored to flog as a “good deal”. Invariably “good deal” is not what it was.
Refurbished technology has come a long way. The best refurbishers only work with the top hardware brands that produce robust devices that are manufactured to last. They avoid sourcing damaged devices from insurers, and rather secure them from large corporates that depreciate their assets every 3 years or offer buy-back programmes to their customers. They fully refurbish each device, which involves dismantling the device, cleaning it thoroughly, checking all functionality, replacing worn components, wiping all data, restoring factory settings, and installing the latest versions of operating systems and updated software. They stand by their products by offering warranties that are equivalent to warranties on new devices. And they provide professional and responsive specialist advice and after sales support.
This represents a huge opportunity for businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions that want to make their money go further. Certified refurbished devices are typically between 20% and 50% (depending on age) cheaper than new devices with the same specifications and the same standards of reliability. In Europe and the United States, organisations are increasingly choosing certified refurbished devices. Microsoft, for example, supports the refurbishment of 2 million devices in North America each year.
For many compelling reasons, some of which we’ve discussed above, certified refurbished devices will continue to become increasingly mainstream as organisations try them out and are convinced of their benefits. If you’d like to open your organisation up to the possibility, please get in touch – we’d love to help you define what the opportunity might be for your business.
Julia Wedgwood, Director, Founder Unboxxed
julia@unboxxed.co.za and 072 387 5628
How Our Computers are Renewed
Planning Key for Cloud migration
More companies are moving data to the Cloud to empower a dynamic workforce, improve the reliability of their services, and to gain flexibility in their IT expenditure. Cloud-based systems are accessible from anywhere, are mostly unaffected by power outages, and are easy to scale. They are also the ideal solution if a large portion of your workforce is working remotely. The Cloud can offer an array of business benefits, but it also comes with risks, therefor careful implementation is needed.
Planning key for Cloud migration in the financial services industry
Bring your own School
Welcome to the new world of Education.
It’s true: our Youth is our future.
With the current state of disaster and COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa (extended until 30 April 2020), no school means no education for most kids. And that’s a problem.
#BringYourOwnSchool is an industry-leading solution that will allow your staff and your students to interact and communicate with each other in a safe and controlled environment, protecting them from security vulnerabilities and keep their personal data safe.
Microsoft, ESET and Kaspersky have always been dedicated to the enrichment of students and their education. As a result, In collaboration with the A-Team at AVeS Cyber Security, they are offering some of their key online cloud services for free to students and educators.
Next Generation SOC
The Next-Generation Security Operations Centre™ (SOC) brings bleeding-edge managed cyber security solutions within reach of companies of all sizes, including smaller businesses with limited resources. Introduced at a virtual roundtable, the Next-Generation SOC™ gives companies access to the highest calibre managed security services in a consumption-based structure.
