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

Johannesburg – As companies work towards their sustainability targets for 2030, delaying device refresh cycles only exacerbates energy consumption, carbon emissions, and electronic waste.

Qrent offers a timely solution: premium refurbished laptops and desktops that not only reduce an organization’s environmental footprint but also foster a true circular economy.

Kwirirai Rukowo, Managing Executive at Qrent, mentions that with InnoVent’s expert rebuild-and-reuse program, every device you lease is guaranteed a second life. Return it after just three to four years for thorough remanufacture, allowing you to fulfill UN SDG 12 goals today, rather than deferring until 2030.

“By leasing and redeploying refurbished IT hardware, our clients can quickly report decreases in emissions and resource usage – rather than delaying this impact until the equipment reaches the end of its life in five or more years.”

“Through our partnership with Circular Computing, we equip clients with certified environmental impact certificates that quantify four significant benefits (e.g., carbon avoided, water conserved, landfill waste prevented, and critical minerals preserved) for each refurbished laptop deployed,” he explains.

While extending device lifespans to seven or nine years might seem to support sustainability objectives, it risks diminishing 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 higher likelihood of improper disposal and e-waste.

Conversely, Qrent’s model ensures continuous reuse: after three to four years of service, devices are returned to InnoVent, where they are expertly refurbished to ‘like-new’ condition and prepared for redeployment.

This speeds up the circular process, reducing material extraction, manufacturing emissions, and end-stage disposal.

According to Gartner, organizations that include refurbished devices in their managed mobility and IT asset strategies benefit from both sustainability and financial gains.

Gartner’s 2025 Managed Mobility Services Market Guide suggests that offering refurbished devices can lower procurement costs by up to 40 percent while decreasing scope-3 emissions associated with the production of new hardware.

Moreover, Gartner’s “What CIOs Need to Know About Digital Sustainability” report underscores that digital sustainability initiatives, including device refurbishing, are among the top three most effective strategies for reducing IT’s carbon footprint, with the potential to cut 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, salvaging fully operational equipment from landfills and reintroducing it to the market at significantly lower prices.

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

“Refurbishment is more than just cost savings. It’s about immediate ESG impact, transparent reporting, and creating a true circular economy cycle today, rather than five years from now,” he concludes.