businessinfomag.uk magazine 30 SUSTAINABILITY IT asset disposal firm Vyta celebrates 2024 King’s Award for Enterprise objectives. In 2023 alone, Vyta collected, recycled and processed 450,000 devices for clients, including laptops, PCs, servers, USB sticks, hard drives, smartphones and tablets. By refurbishing these devices for reuse, Vyta prevented the release of nearly 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Philip McMichael, Vyta founder and CEO, said: “Sustainability has been in Vyta’s DNA since the company began operating, with our entire business model based on helping firms manage their IT responsibly to reduce their environmental impact. This accolade recognises both our commitment to minimising our own environmental footprint and that of our customers and partners, as well as our dedication to fostering initiatives within the wider communities in which we operate.” These include partnerships with Camara Education and The Turing tonnes of embedded carbon. Commenting on the anniversary, Hisashi Ota, Managing Director of Brother International Europe, said: “We are proud to have worked with Cool Earth for such a long time. Our ‘At your side’ vision is always to provide our customers with exceptional products and service, whilst doing what we can to limit our impact on the planet. Through Cool Earth, we are able to support vital work being conducted across the globe.” Examples include improving water and sanitation for 2,500 people in Papua New Guinea and setting up Cool Earth's Rainforest Lab in Peru, which gives access to Wi-Fi, technology and mapping tools to help communities protect their territories. Trust, which provides IT equipment for schools in Africa; AEL (Access Employment) in Larne, which helps people with disabilities, health conditions and social disadvantages into employment; and CoderDojo, which runs coding clubs for children in Northern Ireland. Vyta’s focus on sustainability attracted significant investment in 2021 and led to the expansion of Vyta’s operations in the UK, with the acquisition of Essexbased asset disposal firm FGD in 2022. The company currently has four sites across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Economic Development Team at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council supported Vyta throughout the awards application process, including holding a workshop with input from the King’s Award Office and previous recipients of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Matthew Owen, Director of Cool Earth, said: “We are immensely proud of our achievements working with Brother Europe, which not only support the conservation of the rainforest but also provide social and economic impacts, ranging from sustaining livelihoods to providing income and food security for indigenous communities.” Vyta, a leading IT asset disposal and lifecycle management (ITAD and ITALM) company, is one of four companies from Northern Ireland to win a 2024 King’s Award for Enterprise and one of only two Northern Ireland businesses to be honoured in the Sustainable Development category. Across the UK, 252 organisations received a King’s Award for Enterprise in 2024, including 29 for Sustainable Development. The Newtownabbeyheadquartered company has championed sustainable practices since it was formed in 2001, maximising the lifespan of IT equipment by collecting, refurbishing, recycling and reselling redundant IT for customers in more than 50 countries, while also providing carbon impact reporting to help customers make informed decisions and align their sustainability efforts with ESG On Earth Day, April 22, Brother International Europe celebrated the 15-year anniversary of its partnership with rainforest conservation charity Cool Earth. Since 2009, Brother has been supporting Cool Earth initiatives in seven communities across 78,000 hectares of the Amazon and New Guinea forest, helping to protect 32 million trees with over 50 million Recycling success Brother celebrates 15-year partnership with Cool Earth Photo: Cool Earth / Lewis Gillingham Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Mark Cooper BEM (left), with Vyta founder and CEO Philip McMichael. Rainforest Labs put land-use data into the hands of the Indigenous villages that need it most. Satellite data in Indigenous communities’ hands gives them control over their lives, their land, and the future of their rainforests.
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