Image
AfB social & green IT - IT hardware refurbishment and certified data erasure
Published on 14 February 2019
Germany
Stuttgart
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
The founder of AfB, Paul Cvilak had been working in IT Life Cycle Assessment for some time, when he was approached by a customer with the request to also provide a service that re-sells IT Hardware which had come to the end at the life cycle in the company. Paul Cvilak had the idea to employ disabled people to prepare the Hardware for re-sale. He therefore also aimed to create employment for disabled people.
To achieve this, he founded AfB as a non-profit company in 2004 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. 50% of the company’s employees have a disability. The company focusses on refurbishing IT Hardware in large quantities, and has their own fleet of trucks and drivers to collect this hardware directly from customers. AfB has a certified process for erasing data, which is an important security aspect for customers. The re-sale of the IT hardware is done through physical stores as well as an online shop. The concept of the AfB therefore brings advantages in the form of the jobs that have been created for the employees, both disabled and not disabled. The created jobs are also of benefit to the government. The companies which have their IT hardware resold can get money for this resale, if the hardware is in good enough condition. And finally, individual customers can buy the re-furbished laptops, smartphones etc. in good quality for good prices while saving resources.
To achieve this, he founded AfB as a non-profit company in 2004 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. 50% of the company’s employees have a disability. The company focusses on refurbishing IT Hardware in large quantities, and has their own fleet of trucks and drivers to collect this hardware directly from customers. AfB has a certified process for erasing data, which is an important security aspect for customers. The re-sale of the IT hardware is done through physical stores as well as an online shop. The concept of the AfB therefore brings advantages in the form of the jobs that have been created for the employees, both disabled and not disabled. The created jobs are also of benefit to the government. The companies which have their IT hardware resold can get money for this resale, if the hardware is in good enough condition. And finally, individual customers can buy the re-furbished laptops, smartphones etc. in good quality for good prices while saving resources.
Resources needed
Setting up AfB was financed by the founder with his private money. AfB receives subsidies for salaries of the employees who have disabilities from the German state. This is funded by the fees companies have to pay who do not meet their quota of employees with disabilities.
Evidence of success
AfB is considered to be an example of a good practice, as the founder has proven that his business model is sustainable. This is evident in the growth of the company: it now employs 320 people, and has 11 branches in Germany, 3 branches in France, 3 branches in Austria and 1 branch in Switzerland. The achievements of the founder have been recognized by the German government, as he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his work in setting up and running AfB.
Potential for learning or transfer
An important aspect of this good practice is AfB’s combination of a social mission with a solid business model, without this the company could not have grown as it did. It has already been shown that the principle of AfB is well transferable to other countries, as the company has offices in France, Austria and Switzerland. What is also an important aspect is the approach to focus on employees’ strengths rather than limitations, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
Organisation
AfB
Germany
Stuttgart
Contact