Extending the lifespan of mobile devices
A supplier of packaging, gluing and wrapping machines for industry professionals, Getra enjoys a longstanding partnership with Orange Business for the management of its fleet of 35 mobile devices. Up until now this fleet was upgraded every two years, in order to guarantee a sufficient overall level of functionality.
During recent upgrades, the vast majority of the devices returned by staff have been in good condition – an observation that was underlined in 2022: “The economic slowdown in 2021 and 2022 meant that our mobile devices were getting much less use,” explains Christophe Monsieur, Getra’s Director of Operations and IT Systems. As a result, the company began to question the need to replace this equipment: “Instead, we needed to find a solution to extend the lifespan of existing cellphones, while still moving ahead with their modernization.”
We needed to find a solution to extend the lifespan of existing cellphones, while still moving ahead with their modernization. With Orange Business, we had the guarantee that our mobiles would be recycled in accordance with industry standards.
Christophe Monsieur, Director of Operations and IT Systems, Getra
End-to-end recovery and recycling of devices
Following this observation, in late 2022 Getra launched a new type of operation to upgrade its smartphone fleet. The first steps involved Orange Business buying back any functioning devices, with the financial compensation reducing the cost of acquiring new devices. Once collected, 90% of the cellphones were refurbished by a specialist organization, the Ateliers du Bocage (a member of the Emmaüs International thrift store network), using a circular-economy approach. Orange also donated €2 per refurbished phone to Emmaüs International. The devices that were unusable (10%) were collected using a drop bin installed in the Getra offices in Éloyes, France to be recycled.
From launching the online return platform, to estimating the buy-back value, to collecting the smartphones themselves, Orange Business provided Getra with end-to-end support in order to make the renewal operation as smooth as possible. “Our contacts at Orange were highly professional and attentive to our needs. Working with Orange also gave us the guarantee that the cellphones would be recycled in accordance with industry standards,” explained Christophe Monsieur.
A positive move for the environment (and Getra’s budget)
With this new process, Getra has been able to modernize its cellphone fleet responsibly and at a lower cost. “It’s a virtuous circle; the old devices get a second lease on life, while the financial compensation enables us to invest in high-performance devices whose value will be higher during the next collection phase,” confirmed Christophe Monsieur.
In addition to smartphone buy backs, Getra is now also undertaking other positive environmental initiatives, such as going hybrid for a portion of its company car fleet and marketing a compostable organic wrapping film – the only one of its kind in Europe.
Orange Business, meanwhile, is pursuing its program of used cellphone buy backs in partnership with its customers, with the goal of recovering 30% of mobile devices sold across the entire Orange Group by 2025, said Sandy Giustiniani, Head of Financial Services and Circular Economy at Orange Business.
90%
of cellphones refurbished and given a second life