Go Green With BYOD

Two hot trends in the business technology industry are companies going Green (adopting environmentally savvy work environments), and implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) system for your office. In reality, these two trends go hand in hand, as they seek to use technology to increase efficiency in the everyday operation of businesses worldwide. Here's how to implement your company's Green campaign with BYOD.

In case you aren't familiar with the trend yet, BYOD work environments are being encouraged by companies worldwide. There are many benefits to implementing BYOD into company culture, including a reduction in technology expenses and increased employee productivity. Check out our previous blog posts about BYOD to learn more. Now, let's look at how BYOD can aid your company's Green campaign.

Reduce
The whole point behind BYOD work environments is having your employees bring their mobile devices to work, and use them as productivity tools throughout their workday. This practice can certainly aid your Green campaigns by helping you reduce the amount of technology that you are using each day.

Consider the possibility of an office without workstations. Currently, PCs serve as the most practical computing options in office culture. However, there is reason to speculate that mobile devices could soon thwart that position. As time goes by, we see more new technology (especially tablets) that compete with and surpass the productivity qualities that the average office workstation. As more options are available in the future, and more people purchase them for personal use (many people are replacing their at-home PCs with tablets), your office could take advantage of the opportunity to help reduce your technology use in a few different ways.

• By having your employees bring their own devices to work, you reduce the amount of technology that you have to operate on a daily basis. Employees will no longer need a work phone and a personal phone, or a work computer and a home computer.
• BYOD reduces power usage, as mobile devices only require power to recharge their batteries.
• BYOD reduces the overall amount of resources used to produce new technology. The average PC requires 1.8 tons of raw material (about the same amount needed to produce a mid-size vehicle), and around 240 kg of fossil fuels (about 80% of the energy it will use in its life).

Reuse
Integrating a BYOD work environment for your office will also help you reuse your technology. All mobile devices come with periodic software upgrades that allow them to function at maximum potential at all times. If these devices are maintained, they will be able to last for at least the amount of time that the average workstation lasts. Many times, when new devices are introduced, somebody in your office will jump at the opportunity to buy the latest technology, and offer up their previous device to a coworker for a severely hashed price. By implementing a BYOD policy, you may see your employees cycle through mobile devices as they are reused to maximize their lifespan.

Recycle
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, for every million cell phones recycled, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. As a business leader, you have obvious influence over your employees and their choices at work. Implementing a BYOD work environment is a good way to influence your company's recycling initiatives. Since employees will be using their own personal devices, you can't make them recycle them when they upgrade to new devices. However, you can strongly encourage them to recycle their old devices, and even give them incentive to do so. Your company could even designate a collection for old cell phones and tablets, and ship them out for them. This initiative will be worth your effort.

Implementing a BYOD work environment would be a great way to boost your company's Green initiative. However, before you jump in, you'll want to put a BYOD guideline policy in place. k_Street Consulting, LLC can help with that. We'll talk with you to determine your business goals and needs and help come up with the best BYOD policy possible for your company. Call us today at (202) 640-2737 to learn more!