IDC Seminar Will Explore Best Practices in IT Hardware Recycling

With nearly 2.4 billion pounds of computer equipment* and mobile phones recycled in the United States alone in 2010, recycling remains a major source of concern due to its impact on the environment. As major contributors to the recycling stream, enterprise users have struggled with a myriad of challenges posed by responsible IT hardware equipment disposal. To help companies better meet these challenges, International Data Corporation (IDC) has announced a one-day executive seminar focusing on best practices in IT asset disposal (ITAD). The seminar will be held June 23 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Building a corporate ITAD strategy should not be a complicated process, but it often is due to the number of stakeholders involved, including corporate finance, legal, and IT staff as well as contractors and others. Additional complexity arises from the regulatory requirements associated with ITAD, including federal regulations on data security as well as environmental degradation.

"There are so many interconnected issues associated with IT asset disposal that it is often hard for IT managers to anticipate all the challenges they will face when it's time to retire their equipment," said David Daoud, research director, Personal Computing and Green IT at IDC. "The goal of IDC's ITAD seminar will be to provide a roadmap to the issues that are likely to arise and an understanding of how best to meet these challenges head on."

The one-day ITAD executive seminar will address the following key topics of interest to IT managers, procurement officers, CSR and environmental officers, compliance officers, and recycling industry executives:

• Assessing the enterprise electronic equipment recycling sector in the U.S. - sizing, practices, ecosystem supplier analysis, and outlook
• Sharing best practices of corporate recycling programs using IDC's G.R.A.D.E checklist
• Inside the Emerging Electronic Recycling certification: R2 and eStewards standards, implementation, implications on enterprise IT hardware from procurement to decommissioning.
• Hardware recycling and data security: Best practice to insure data security compliance

For more information or to register for the seminar, which will be held June 23, 2011 in Framingham, Mass., please go to http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=IDC_P23051.

The seminar is part of IDC's electronics recycling and Green IT research programs, which are designed to help decision makers understand the role of technology in addressing the challenges and opportunities amidst today's energy, environment, and sustainability requirements. Since being launched in 2008, the initiative has produced important research on data center power management and automation, the promotion of green procurement in Asia/Pacific, and document management policies in the enterprise. IDC's Green Recycling and Asset Disposal for the Enterprise (G.R.A.D.E.) program, designed to assist enterprises in identifying the best available options for the retirement of their IT assets, in an important part IDC's overall initiative toward environmental responsibility and sustainability.

For more information about IDC's electronics recycling program or Green IT initiative, please contact Patrick Gorman at pgorman@idc.com.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 47 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

* Computer equipment includes PCs, x86 servers, PC monitors, and multifunction printers (MFPs)