Published by olivia.wright@dontpanicprojects.com
Published Date 04.08.2023 
No business operates in a vacuum, especially during the e-waste and climate emergencies. That’s why the entire Stone organisation is committed to sustainable growth in every sense.
Indeed, for more than thirty years we’ve delivered circular IT solutions to every kind of organisation, from local NHS trusts and schools to global enterprises and government departments while doing the right thing for our environment.
We look after our staff just as carefully as we do the environment, and we’re proud of our role as a supporter of local and national charities.
We’ve been a Valpak-certified zero landfill business for ten years and our HQ is powered by renewable electricity. Our turnover and staff numbers are growing, and our operations, CSR efforts and innovations have all won awards.
We’re delighted that our sustainable business has been nominated in three categories at the UK Business Tech Awards – Tech Company of the Year – Large, Tech for Good and Best Application of Tech – Public Sector.
X-HEAD: Stone Group: Connecting Classrooms Nationwide
Our Public Sector nomination is important to the Schools Team at Stone because it recognises our vital work with the Department of Education’s Connect the Classroom campaign.
This initiative helps schools upgrade their wireless networking to better support pupils. We’ve successfully delivered Connect the Classroom upgrades in dozens of schools across the UK. Indeed, at LearnAT we delivered “fully-funded, true broadband connectivity” in fourteen schools, and provided “faster access for staff and pupils” at Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust with upgrades that “could not have happened” without Stone and Connect the Classroom.
John Haslam, Head of Business Development – Schools, said, “The Schools, Business Development and Solutions Teams are incredibly proud to be recognised for the hard work that’s gone into making Connect the Classroom a success for Stone and our customers.”
Haslam explained that our success “not only highlights the strong relationships Stone has in the education space – but also with networking partners like Aruba and Cisco Meraki” and that it shows off “how different teams within Stone work together through the Connect the Classroom process”.
It’s a real team effort, he says – “from the Sales Team being quick off the market to our Solutions Team walking customers through the technicalities, the Purchasing Team securing the equipment and the Project Management Team delivering solutions on time and while meeting budgets.”
“Whether we worked with a small village primary school, or a large multi-academy trust (MAT), every customer receives the same top-level service, guidance, and support that schools expect from Stone.”
X-HEAD: Delivering Sustainable Solutions for Every Customer
Our Tech for Good nomination is particularly gratifying for Sheryl Moore, Stone’s Director of Sustainability. Our entry into this category revolved around our partnership with Thrive, which was initiated by Moore, and enables us to deliver market-leading social value reporting to our customers.
Our social value reporting system captures and measures environmental and social value so organisations can see their environmental and social impact – and prove their sustainability progress to staff, colleagues and stakeholders. We use this data to measure our own impact, too, and customers who buy or recycle with us can obtain reports. Our partnership launched in October 2022.
Thrive uses 113 different metrics across five different impact areas. Some data points are converted into indicative financial values and others become equivalent environmental data points.
That can encourage further efforts in sustainability initiatives, help organisations create policies and frameworks, improve stakeholder morale and help generate funding.
Customers love the reports because they allow them to show the positive impact that their IT operations can have. We have thousands of active projects on Thrive, with many showing that universities, NHS trusts and councils have generated six-figure social value sums.
Statistics from our community show Thrive’s impact. With Staffordshire County Council we’ve helped create local, full-time employment opportunities worth an equivalent of £29,744. We’ve helped Staffordshire University save 19.7 metric tonnes of unwanted IT from landfills.
We’ve helped Staffordshire University save 526 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere and Staffordshire Police save the equivalent of 288 people’s annual water usage.
Moore explained that “being recognised as an organisation that promotes Tech for Good is a fantastic achievement. Trying to achieve tangible benefits for customers and the environment is not always easy – but it’s incredibly rewarding when you get it right! To get recognition for doing it makes it even more worthwhile.”
Everyone at Stone is similarly delighted with our nomination in the Tech Company of the Year – Large category, which recognises our efforts across the business and motivates our staff to work even harder to deliver sustainable, innovative tech transformations for the public sector, educational and private sector organisations.
If you’d like to learn more about what we’re up to, follow us on our social channels – you’ll find us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For a deeper dive into our sustainable IT solutions, head to our website – and get in touch if you’d like to explore sustainable, affordable and innovative circular IT for your organisation.
