Compugen Finance Inc. (CFI) has been named Most Innovative Leader at the ClimateWise Awards, an event aimed at recognizing the network’s members and their efforts towards achieving sustainability goals. The award honours CFI for the success of their FutureValue program which helps organizations across North America responsibly recycle their outgoing IT hardware assets and give them a new lease on life.
FutureValue is an initiative that provides customers with the ability to reduce the upfront costs of their new hardware purchases by pledging to return those devices to Compugen at the end of their lifecycle. Upon collecting these assets through CFI’s Green4Good program, Compugen guarantees a second life for the devices as they get repurposed and redeployed to charitable organizations. Green4Good has allowed organizations to divert almost 2 million IT assets from landfills since its inception in 2010 and signifies Compugen’s commitment to continually reduce its impact (and that of its customers) on the environment and promote sustainability in its business practices.
Harry French, Manager of the ClimateWise Business Network, says the Awards program is primarily driven by quantitative metrics around energy performance and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions reduction. "Actions to drive it are initiated by climate leaders willing to stretch the boundaries of innovation. Without this leadership, society will not achieve the reductions required to fight climate change.
“We felt that, in York Region, the FutureValue program offered by Compugen Finance provides businesses with an actionable opportunity to start their sustainability journey. FutureValue not only addresses the question of emissions, which can at times be challenging for businesses, but also enables them to tackle waste reduction through the concept of circularity. On top of that are the very practical financial advantages of the FutureValue program.
“Compugen embeds a focus on the environment throughout their business through active efforts to minimize packaging and shipping, donating excess or unused materials such as printer toner to local schools and institutions, energy-saving measures to mitigate hydro, water and gas consumption at all of their offices, and ongoing remote and hybrid work programs.
Brent Smiley, CFI Vice President of IT Asset Disposition Programs, was presented with the award at last week’s virtual event. “We are delighted to be honoured for our continuing efforts in helping organizations achieve their sustainability goals. Over 75% of a product’s carbon emissions are generated in the manufacturing stage. By repurposing end-of-first-life products and extending their lifecycle, we can prevent more IT products from being made, and thus prevent additional carbon footprint from being generated. We look forward to working with more businesses as they strive to implement more eco-friendly IT practices while being able to help charitable institutions with their outgoing technology,” he commented.
ClimateWise Business Network is a program of Windfall Ecology Centre and comprised of leading businesses and organizations in Ontario’s York Region. It supports network members with training, a cloud-based carbon accounting platform, expert plan review, and ongoing annual events focused on connecting members and collaborative learning opportunities to move their organizations toward more sustainable operations.
