Lily Loves: Tier 1

The fourth instalment of our ‘Lily Loves’ blog features an incredible business which is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year.  

With an increasing number of companies moving to a more permanent agile working environment as a result of the global pandemic, it’s inevitable that businesses will be looking to slim down the vast quantities of IT equipment that have furnished their busy offices, in favour of laptops and cloud-based solutions that facilitate the “work anywhere” culture. Researching suppliers to take equipment off business’s hands often falls to PAs and Office Managers, so we thought we’d take the headache away by introducing Tier 1.  

Established in 1995, Tier 1 specialise in the secure and ethical disposal of IT equipment, whilst offering a high level, totally managed solution that ranges from collection, guaranteed data security, re-marketing and environmental disposal. 

What most people may not be aware that you can’t simply just get rid of an old computer, hard drive or laptop; you have a responsibility to dispose of them properly, in line with specific guidelines. You need to be confident that your old equipment is dealt with correctly and be aware of its final destination.  

GDPR regulations require data bearing assets to be sanitised to specific levels at the end of their working lives and for evidence that it has been done to be available. Furthermore, if your old IT kit and data falls into the wrong hands, it can have serious consequences such as identity theft, computers being mis-sold on websites like eBay, whilst still containing corporate or personal data, and could even result in your company incurring huge fines and legal issues due to data security breaches. The maximum fines under GDPR are a massive 4% of global turnover, or €20 million (approximately £18 million), so businesses will definitely want to be avoiding this! This is where Tier 1 can help, as they ensure that your data is disposed of safely, securely and thoroughly. With the implementation of GDPR legislation, this is a key factor for all organisations, regardless of size.  

So how does it work? All you need to do is contact Tier 1 who will collect and remove your equipment, sometimes even for free, depending on the re-use value of the item(s). As a company, they handle some of the largest and most sensitive computer equipment disposal projects in the UK, for organisations of all sizes. Tier 1 works with various organisations over a number of different industries, such as financial and professional services, technology, healthcare, education and energy/utilities, with one of their main clients being one of the biggest central government ministries. They have the expertise, experience and accredited processes in place to give you peace of mind that your equipment and data is safe and in the right hands.  

What’s more, Tier 1’s sustainability commitment is really impressive – they guarantee that nothing handled by them finds its way to landfill, so not only do have peace of mind when it comes to your data, but when it comes to the planet too.  

As an environmentally friendly business, Tier 1 also focus on re-using equipment where possible, rather than the traditional IT recycling approach. For over fifteen years they have created a brilliant product and service offering for refurbished IT, whilst generating in excess of £60 million to their corporate clients. All of their refurbished products are available with up to three years warranty and can come with pre-installed Microsoft OS and upgraded SSD drives and RAM, allowing companies of all sizes to have the experience of a new product at a much lower price. Furthermore, with budget cuts and increased costs involved in IT equipment as a result of Brexit and the exchange rate, customers are looking to find better value for money from their IT budget, and refurbished products are a great way to do this.  

Whilst Tier 1’s main focus is to re-use IT equipment; they also appreciate that sometimes equipment is too old or too damaged to be refurbished for use again. As a result, they thought of a solution which not only aligns with their company values of being able to give back to the community, but also offers corporate social responsibility benefits and the opportunity to help to change people’s lives!  

Many of us are aware that most prisoners have limited prospects, with statistics suggesting that 47% of inmates have no qualifications and 13% have never had a job. Furthermore, rehabilitation is extremely costly and isn’t guaranteed to work for every individual. Research suggests that, upon release, 97% of prisoners want to change and create a better life for themselves, however, due limited job opportunities, half of offenders re-offend and end up back in the prison system. Alongside that, the personal, social and economic costs to society increase and it becomes a vicious circle.  

This is where Tier 1 step in and do their best to help, by joining forces with Forest Bank Prison to try and stop the cycle of crime. All equipment that is not able to be re-used doesn’t just go onto the scrap heap, instead they send all remaining data wiped equipment to prison workshops. The project offers offenders the opportunity to be actively engaged in IT recycling and gain valuable training which helps to provide those inmates with a work ethic, a purpose and a qualification which, in turn, reduces the risks of reoffending. Within these workshops, inmates are trained to reclaim precious metals found within IT equipment, which can then help to further fund rehabilitation.  

But there’s more! Tier 1 have partnered with the charity ANTZ Junction in order to recruit inmates who are due to be released to participate in their six week ‘Through the Gate’ programme. This programme is funded by Tier 1 through the sales of components found in the recycled IT, which in turn is re-purposed to help in the production of new ICT – a perfect working example of the circular economy in action! ANTZ Junction’s aim is to support, empower and develop individuals and help them to open doors of opportunity through a network of businesses and business leaders who are committed to help their community by providing work experience, employment and apprenticeships to ex-offenders.  

Upon release, those offenders who go on to the programme are given two weeks of personal and professional development, followed by four weeks of industry placement, where they are given a laptop and a bike to enable them to get to work. This initiative enables 75% of inmates to find work or an apprenticeship, allowing them to change their lives and start a career.  

Businesses can get involved in this initiative too. They can choose to reinvest the revenue from refurbishing their old IT equipment into the programme, to help roll it out even further. The more businesses that invest, the more lives Tier 1 can help to change. As a result of this programme, Tier 1 were awarded with the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in promoting opportunity for social enterprise.  

Tier 1 are an amazing company in so many ways, not only are they an environmentally friendly business who help to provide low cost refurbished IT equipment for the companies and sectors that need it most, but they also help to reduce crime and reoffending by providing opportunities to those ex-offenders who really want to change. It was a pleasure to learn more about their business and we at Lily Shippen are currently in the process of sending our old equipment over to them.  

If you are a one-man band, an SME or a large-scale business who is looking to safely and ethically dispose of your IT equipment, whilst wanting to make difference, then get in touch with Tier 1 now to learn more about what they can do for you and how you can help turn individuals lives around.  

Photo by Agencia INNN on Unsplash