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Are consumers ready to say “no thank you” to Black Friday and Cyber Monday? With companies and consumers boycotting this years’ frenzy, where is the best place to spend your hard-earned cash?
2023 has seen a huge shift to more sustainable practices in the tech industry. A few examples include Apple’s new climate initiatives (featuring Mother Nature, a.k.a. Octavia Spencer), Microsoft announced a commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030, and Global Industry Research predicting that the Green Technology and Sustainability market will have doubled by 2028 (approximately $37,355 million).
Use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to reduce your own personal impact on the planet, or recommend small changes to your business with these great solutions…
1. Burning through notebooks?
Look no further than the Kobo Elipsa Pack; on sale this weekend. Not only will you save on paper, but their 2E model is made with more eco-conscious materials such as recycled plastic bottles, CDs, DVDs and other waste from our oceans and landfills. Rakuten kobo also offsets 100% of the carbon emissions associated with direct shipments and have partnered with the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative on the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project.
Price: £349.99 £299.99
Read more about their sustainable commitments
2. Peddle like your battery life depends on it.
One for those working from home. The Acer eKineket BD 3 Bike Desk is great for the environment, and your cardiovascular health. The bike desk converts energy from the rider’s pedalling power to charge laptops or other devices, allowing for exercise and work productivity at the same time. It’s built using PCR Plastic and can charge multiple mobile devices along with your desktop. You can also adjust the desk into Sports Modes for workouts or high-concentration work tasks. Just one hour of constant cycling at 60 RPM on the bike desk can generate 75 watts of self-generated power.
Price: $999USD (GDP coming soon)
Read the Acer Bike Desk press release
Find out more about their Corporate Social Responsibility Commitments
3. A phone that’s fair on the environment.
Is your contract coming to an end or are you looking to invest in work phones for your employees? The Fairphone 5 is a strong competitor for the leading juggernauts, while remaining the most eco-conscious choice. The phone is made from 70% recycled materials (including gold, cobalt, lithium, plastics and many more) and designed with longevity in mind, with modular elements that can be easily mended or replaced by the user. You don’t miss out on camera quality either, with 3 premium 50 megapixel cameras.
Price: £649.00 (not available as a contract but it is about £500 cheaper than a new iPhone and allows you to get a cheaper SIM-only contract with your chosen provider)
Check out the finer details and 4.9 star reviews
4. Speaking of Apple…
We’ve already mentioned their internet-breaking Mother Nature short film (and watched the subsequent parodies), but the biggest reveal in the video, was the launch of their new Carbon Neutral Apple Watch. Their intentions may have divided opinions, but for those all-aboard the Apple train, with their whole tech stack featuring that famous fruit, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a great upgrade. Voting with your money to encourage more multinational tech companies to upgrade their production practices and reduce emissions.
Price: £399.00 £379
Take a look at their Product Environmental Report
5. It’s the little things that count.
Whether at home or in the office, we all waste a huge amount of electricity every day by leaving things plugged in when switched-off, fully-charged or not in use. Introducing Smart Plugs, the eco-friendly (and money-saving) barrier between your electricals and your electricity bill. Simply plug into the outlet and sync with the app. The plugs will automatically cut off supply when it’s not needed, and you can control and monitor usage through the app. There are so many options but this Black Friday, the Amazon Smart Plugs, TP Link Tapo Smart Plugs and SURFOU Smart Plugs are all on offer.
Price: £7.99 – £21.99
10 genuinely useful things you can do with a smart plug – Which? The U.K.’s consumer champion
6. We’re not Larq-ing around with this water bottle.
If you are religious about filtering your tap water and cling to your emotional support filtered water bottle like your life depends on it, LARQ offers a way to significantly reduce plastic usage. More than 100 million disposable water filter cartridges are going to landfill every year and few companies offer a completely waste-free alternative. The LARQ PureVis™ water bottle uses patented UV-C LED technology to eliminate up to 99%* of bio-contaminants such as E. coli and metals from your water and bottle. They’re also 15% off this Black Friday.
Price: £89.00 £75.65
Deep dive into the PureVis technology
7. Make green choices.
No matter what you buy this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there are ways you can make green choices with every purchase. By choosing Shop Pay at the checkout when buying online, you offset the carbon emissions of the delivery. How? Through funding carbon capture and removal projects, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and storing it in materials for infrastructure such as roads and buildings. How cool is that?
Download the app and find out more about Shopify’s Sustainability Fund
Last, but not least, if you’re looking to improve your companies’ impact on the environment, reduce carbon emissions and invest in ESG/CSR, get in touch with Formula Recruitment. Our consultants take an inch-wide, mile-deep approach to their specialist verticals to help you source the best tech talent and build a data-driven team to ensure you meet your climate targets.
Looking for a role in a sustainable tech company? Get in touch or check out our Jobs page and submit your CV.
0203 940 7464 | hello@formularecruitment.co.uk
Happy shopping!
Written by Hope Smyth, Marketing Manager
