James Lancaster: Giving Life to Old IT Hardware through Sustainable Recycling

Renew IT is an ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposition) company that provides lifecycle asset services for IT hardware. The firm offers asset lifecycle fleet management for smartphone devices, laptops, desktop PCs, and DataCentre deinstallation work along with the provision of sustainability reports to go towards the company's carbon zero goals. The main focus of Renew IT is laid on zero-landfill e-waste and creating innovation around sustainability.

The company buys redundant IT hardware when companies replace their existing fleet and ensure that the data is sanitized by NIST 800-88 standards by making sure that the hardware finds a new home or in the other case, it is made sure to be is broken down with all the metals and plastics responsibly, which is later separated and fed back into the supply chain for remanufacturing.

Renew IT works with SMEs, large corporate clients, Schools, and Universities globally, ensuring they get a higher return on investment for their redundant IT hardware whilst not compromising the security of their data. The company is Australian owned and founded in 2008 where it has organically grown over the last 13 years. In 2021, Renew IT acquired one of its leading competitors, Verser Technology Lifecycles. This acquisition has expanded the firm's service offering and capability. With more feet on the street, the company provides more Renew IT staffed field services to all its customers nationally. With 7 processing facilities throughout Australia and New Zealand, a facility soon to open in Vietnam, and over 300 employees across the globe, Renew It is one of the largest ITAD companies in the Southern Hemisphere.

A Leader Re'NEW'ing and Recycling Since 1990's

James Lancaster is the CEO of Renew IT. He started his journey with Renew IT in 2007 from his kitchen table. The purpose was to promote the reuse of used equipment and avoid it finding its way into landfills. "A lot of the equipment which was disposed by the people has served its purpose for them, but still had another life to be had in the hands of another user," says James. He has been doing this since the 1990s when sustainability and responsible recycling wasn't even a thought. It was clear to him how many waste companies were contributing to the impact on the environment and the most obvious thing to him was "the best form of recycling is to reuse".So, he created a business model around it. Today James oversees the running of all the facilities, engaging with all his team members daily. James loves to play by his hands, not just in the senior management but also on the kit in the warehouse with the tech guys too.

Multi-Tasking to Support Every End of Business

When James started his journey in the industry, he was cleaning equipment in the warehouse by handling all the equipment as it rolled in through the doors that's fresh off someone's desk. When James began the business, it was just him, wearing all the hats for many years, he would go out to the customer sites and do the collections himself like doing the data destruction, cleaning, packing, and shipping it out. In fact, James says that he doesn't think there is a job within the organization that he hasn't done himself because he has always been very hands-on, he has a very granular understanding of what a customer wants, even sometimes when they don't. "Once you understand every facet of your business, you're in great shape to pick the right team around you and build out from there," claims James.

Being Personable: The Ideal Quality of a Leader

James believes that leaders have to be personable so that the employees can approach and communicate. If they are not approachable, James notes that one cannot find out about problems, often until it's too late. So, he asks emerging leaders to be positive and to inspire people, park their egos, and show humility.

Entwining Collaboration with Innovation to Create Great Products

James mentions that working very closely with the University of New South Wales has helped him start his journey in sustainable solutions in e-waste. From this, he states to have started SurfaceMine. The innovative work that comes out of this collaboration to magnify on a larger scale in the facilities, that way he says the customers can see first-hand how by working with Renew IT they are now part of the solution when it comes to solving the problem of e-waste.

Moving from Data Centers to Cloud: A Disruptive Initiative

In particular, for Renew IT, James has seen a large number of corporations that have been moving to the cloud by clearing out their data centers. He affirms that Renew IT has been able to assist in this process by deinstalling, securely destroying the data, and by breaking the unsaleable equipment down responsibly. "Of course, we still realize a lot of value in reselling most of the equipment, especially, if it's less than five years old, but for some of the older legacy equipment that's shipping costs outweigh the value, our work with SurfaceMine and the UNSW is invaluable," James adds.

Facing Primal Challenges with Tenacity and Perseverance

James believes that starting as a small player in the industry is both a blessing and a curse. He struggled at first to get a foot in the door as no one had heard of him but through sheer tenacity and perseverance, the opportunities slowly presented themselves, which allowed him to show his point of difference and provide a greater more flexible level of service.

The Road Ahead

For Renew IT, James mentions that the focus is on listening to their customers' needs and servicing accordingly. He notes that the customers are heading towards carbon zero objectives and Renew IT wants to help them in this process. "We have increased our service capabilities, including break-fix to assist in this process. As offices have moved to more hybrid environments we have adapted. Now providing 24/7 services so no matter what time of the day someone needs to speak to us, they can," James said.

A Piece of Advice for Emerging Leaders

James says that he improves his performance by asking, "How can I best be of service to my company and team?" He says the answer will involve, leading by example, not being afraid to get your hands dirty, and not letting your ego overshadow your humility. James adds if leaders can show people that, then people will want some of what they have.