ESG Made Easy: Qrent Introduces Impact Certificates for Every Refurbished Device

Johannesburg – As companies work towards their 2030 sustainability objectives, delaying device refreshes only exacerbates energy consumption, carbon emissions, and electronic waste.

Qrent offers a timely answer: high-quality refurbished laptops and desktops that not only help reduce an organization’s environmental footprint but also foster a true circular economy.

Kwirirai Rukowo, Managing Executive at Qrent, emphasizes that with InnoVent’s expert rebuild-and-reuse program, every leased device is guaranteed a second life. Return it after just three to four years for complete remanufacturing, allowing you to meet UN SDG 12 targets now, rather than waiting for 2030.

“By leasing and redeploying refurbished IT hardware, our clients can quickly report reductions in emissions and resource conservation – instead of delaying this impact until the equipment reaches end-of-life in five years or more,” he states.

“Through our partnership with Circular Computing, we provide clients with certified environmental impact certificates that detail four key benefits (e.g., carbon avoided, water saved, landfill waste prevented, and critical minerals conserved) for every refurbished laptop deployed,” he adds.

While extending device lifespans to seven or nine years might seem to align with sustainability goals, it risks compromising the effective longevity of these devices through refurbishment.

Delaying refresh cycles hinders participation in the circular economy, resulting in stockpiles of unused equipment and a greater likelihood of improper disposal and e-waste.

In contrast, Qrent’s model ensures continuous reuse: after three to four years of service, devices are returned to InnoVent, where they are professionally refurbished to ‘like-new’ condition, ready for redeployment.

This accelerates the circular process, reducing material extraction, manufacturing emissions, and final-stage disposal.

According to Gartner, organizations that incorporate refurbished devices into managed mobility and IT asset strategies reap both sustainability and financial benefits.

Gartner’s 2025 Managed Mobility Services Market Guide indicates that providing refurbished devices can lower procurement costs by up to 40 percent while reducing scope-3 emissions tied to the production of new hardware.

Moreover, Gartner’s “What CIOs Need to Know About Digital Sustainability” report highlights that digital sustainability initiatives, including device refurbishment, rank among the top three most effective measures for decreasing IT’s carbon footprint, potentially lowering overall corporate emissions by 2 to 5 percent in the first year of implementation.

Long before the UN established the SDGs in 2015, Qrent’s founders recognized the environmental impact of discarded IT hardware.

Since its founding in 2003, the company has championed sustainable consumption, rescuing fully operational equipment from landfills and reintroducing it to the market at significantly lower costs.

This philosophy directly supports SDG 12’s goal to “substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse” by 2030.

“Refurbishment extends beyond cost savings. It addresses immediate ESG impact, transparent reporting, and creating a genuine circular economy cycle today, rather than five years from now,” he concludes.