Sustainability claims about IT disposal are easy to make and surprisingly easy to get wrong. A line in an annual report, a tender response or a website can promise more than the evidence supports — and the consequences of that have grown considerably.
The Competition and Markets Authority's Green Claims Code sets out how environmental claims should be made. Since April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has allowed the CMA to fine businesses directly — up to 10% of global turnover — for breaching consumer protection law, including misleading environmental claims. Business-to-business marketing is covered separately, by the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.
Regulators are not the only audience. Procurement teams and auditors read sustainability claims far more critically than they used to, and a claim you cannot evidence in a tender is worse than no claim at all.
The claim reflects what actually happens, not what you intend.
The meaning a reader takes away is the true one.
No omitting information that would change the picture.
Like for like, on a stated basis.
The whole impact considered, not one flattering stage of it.
Backed by robust, current evidence you can produce on request.
| "Zero to landfill" | Defensible — if your supplier can show where every stream goes and its downstream processors are held to the same standard. Ask for the chain, not the slogan. |
|---|---|
| "100% recycled" | Usually inaccurate. Reuse is not recycling, and some fractions of electronic waste go to other forms of recovery. "Zero to landfill" and "100% recycled" are different claims. |
| "Carbon neutral disposal" | Risky. It almost always relies on offsets. If you use it, say so and name the scheme. |
| "X tonnes of CO₂ saved" | Only with a method. These are avoided emissions: report them separately from your footprint and state the assumptions. Our ESG reporting guide explains why. |
| "Certified data destruction" | Name the standard. "NIST 800-88 Purge, with a Blancco certificate per device" means something; "certified" on its own does not. |
If a supplier cannot provide these, you cannot safely repeat their claims as your own.
We try to practise what this guide preaches. We say we are working toward ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 rather than claiming certification we have not yet been awarded. Our zero-to-landfill commitment comes with the condition that makes it meaningful: every downstream partner must hold licences and certifications equivalent to or better than ours. And we are clear about what costs money — serialised asset logging and ESG data are part of our Premium service at £5 per device, not quietly implied to be included.
Our licence numbers are in the footer of every page. Check them.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. If you are making environmental claims in consumer-facing marketing or a regulated context, take professional advice.
Call us and ask. We would rather give you a straight answer than a brochure — even if the answer is that you do not need us.
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