Business West is participating in a new initiative called Community Calling to rehome working mobile phones to people in Bristol who may not have access to a mobile or internet. We will be donating Business West mobiles that still work but are no longer in use by our staff.
This builds on the work that we have been doing with the Bristol One City Office and Digilocal to pass on donated corporate laptops to enable young people within the most in-need communities to access online learning throughout the pandemic and also with the White Horse Federation in Swindon.
Community Calling is a project where old smartphones are data-wiped, cleaned and gifted with free credit to owners who otherwise wouldn't have internet access. It has already been launched with great success in London and Manchester and it is now taking off in Bristol. At the start of lockdown, Hubbub, together with O2, trialled a campaign that re-homed 538 smartphones with vulnerable and otherwise digitally excluded owners. With 28 to 125 million smartphones lying unused in people’s homes in the UK, this brilliant initiative is coming to Bristol with a focus on mid-aged/elderly, low-income households.
For some beneficiaries of Community Calling, it was the first phone they’ve ever had. For others, it was the first time with a phone that connects to the internet so they can access education sites, health advice, employment services, as well as connect with loved ones. Each recipient receives 12-months' free data, calls and texts provided by O2 and access to free digital skills training. At the end of the 12 months, recipients can keep the phone, which is unlocked, so not tied into any particular network or contract. It also comes with access to Clean Slate financial wellbeing support. All Community Calling smartphones are digitally and physically cleaned to be safely donated to someone who has been identified as over 50 and digitally excluded by the community groups and councils supporting this campaign.
Not only does the scheme address the issue of digital poverty it also contributes to our efforts to limit Climate Change. This scheme offers a way for all businesses to become part of the circulation economy which eliminates waste and pollution form being created at all stages of a products life cycle. It is also a simple but meaningful way for an organisation to reduce its Scope 3 carbon emissions. Scope 3 emisions arise from products and services in a company’s supply chain. Not easily tackled by a single organisation and requires collaboration across supply chains.
Reusing a phone can be said to save 53.55 kg of CO2e emissions (78.46% of its total carbon footprint). This is calculated based on these assumptions:
- By reusing a device we are able to prevent the emissions related to the manufacturing, and transportation (all of the supply chain movements leading up to the newly made device arriving to the store shelf).
- Recycling carbon footprint is just postponed to the last lifecycle of the device.
- By reusing a device, the manufacturing of a new device is virtually avoided.
Marie Badlam, Corporate Services Executive at Business West says: “Tackling Climate Change can happen at all levels of the business. It is not just about energy use, it is also about the items that your organisation buys, uses and discards, and having a sustainable procurement and being open to collaboration with your supply chain. Often these schemes like Community Calling have wider benefits than just the climate".
How can your business help?
- As a business, rehome unused company smartphones currently lingering in a dusty drawer; 80% of existing phones in the UK are lying unused.
- Spread the word to employees or customers, asking them to donate old smartphones to transform the lives of members of your community.
- Gift a community donation.You can still support the digitally excluded local to your business if you don’t have any old smartphones. Financial donations will be invested in the bulk-purchasing of second-hand smartphones.
- Host a drop off point. Help make it easier for employees/ customers to drop off their old smartphones.
For further support on how to engage as a business, please visit here.
Business West is a BCorp and a Carbon Neutral organisation, and has declared a Climate Crisis and has set a target to be Net Zero by 2030. Learn more about how we work towards decarbonising our business operation and work with our members, the wider business community and our stakeholders to accelerate progress to Net Zero at our Trading to Net Zero Hub.
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