If you are concerned about the environment and leaving carbon footprint behind, here’s a small way to kick-start your green campaign. Simply donate your old computer to an NGO and reduce e-waste. How? Sign up for NASSCOM’s BigBridge initiative.
“An average computer has a life of three-five years and 80 per cent of its carbon footprint is created during production. By donating it, you ensure that it has a longer life and reduce carbon footprint and e-waste. Also, someone who may actually need it, benefits from the donation,” says Rita Soni, CEO, NASSCOM.
The programme was initiated post the 2009 tsunami, that impacted India, in a bid to bridge the information gap in the areas affected. It has since been expanded to reach out to people across the country.To be a part of this initiative, you need to be employed with any registered company and get in touch with BigBridge through your company. Soni says, “There are 2.5 million people working in the IT sector alone and their average age is 25. Most of these individuals are concerned about e-waste and want to know how to reduce it. And we help them do just that.” The programme has till date benefited 4,000 NGOs including SHED and Lokmangal Education Foundation in Mumbai.
At BigBridge, they collect working and non-working PCs that are then sent to distributors and recyclers to get them working again. Then, licensed Microsoft software is installed and it is sent to an NGO that needs it. You also have the option of choosing the NGO or cause you want to support and donate your PC to. “We keep checking the status of the computers at NGOs regularly and once their life is over, we take them back and dispose of them responsibly using modern systems,” says Soni, adding that e-waste management is a growing trend in India and many people from companies who contact them also end up donating their personal computers.
To sign up, email bigbridge@nasscomfoundation.org
At BigBridge, they collect working and non-working PCs that are then sent to distributors and recyclers to get them working again. Then, licensed Microsoft software is installed and it is sent to an NGO that needs it. You also have the option of choosing the NGO or cause you want to support and donate your PC to. “We keep checking the status of the computers at NGOs regularly and once their life is over, we take them back and dispose of them responsibly using modern systems,” says Soni, adding that e-waste management is a growing trend in India and many people from companies who contact them also end up donating their personal computers.
To sign up, email bigbridge@nasscomfoundation.org