Why Carbon Neutral IT Procurement Matters
ICT has become one of the most challenging categories for organisations seeking to manage their climate footprint. Globally, the sector accounts for 2–4% of total greenhouse gas emissions, already comparable to aviation. Yet unlike energy or transport, most ICT emissions are invisible to day-to-day users.
The problem lies in the shape of ICT’s footprint. Lifecycle analyses consistently show that 70–80% of a laptop’s emissions are embodied in manufacture. By the time equipment arrives in your office, most of its carbon cost has already been incurred. This makes ICT procurement one of the hardest Scope 3 categories to address, since traditional reduction levers like efficiency or behaviour change have minimal impact.
The scale of emissions is material. Replacing 1,000 laptops produces around 316 tonnes of CO₂e — equivalent to the annual footprint of 70 Australian households. For large organisations with regular fleet refresh cycles, this quickly adds up to thousands of tonnes of Scope 3 emissions.
At the same time, compliance obligations are tightening:
- ASRS (from FY25): Large Australian entities must disclose Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. ICT procurement will be one of the first categories auditors look at.
- NGERS: Provides the statutory reporting baselines and emissions data that underpin ASRS assurance processes.
- ASIC: Has warned that generic or vague claims of being “carbon neutral” without verifiable evidence may constitute greenwashing.
This combination of material impact and regulatory scrutiny is why ICT procurement has moved from a background issue to a frontline compliance and ESG challenge
The Compliance Challenge for ICT & ESG Leaders
For procurement and ESG leaders, the risks are twofold: material emissions exposure, and weak supplier practices.
Most ICT suppliers:
- Provide no lifecycle or emissions data, leaving procurement teams without Scope 3 inputs.
- Purchase bulk offsets retrospectively, disconnected from actual procurement events.
- Offer no transaction-linked certificates, making neutrality claims unverifiable.
- Fail to manage end-of-life securely, with devices often recycled without ISO assurance.
These gaps create audit risks and reputational exposure. Procurement officers cannot show defensible evidence of neutrality, and ESG teams are left unable to back up ASRS or NGERS disclosures.
This is why ASIC has highlighted ICT as a sector where greenwashing risks are acute: claims are often made, but the evidentiary basis is weak.
How TechForGood Delivers Carbon Neutral IT
TechForGood integrates carbon neutrality and social impact into procurement itself. Our approach ensures that every IT transaction is not only compliant but creates measurable value.
The result is procurement built on an audit-first compliance model — defensible at audit, aligned with VAGO and ASRS reporting, and proudly delivering impact back to the community.
Proof Through Impact
TechForGood’s model delivers measurable outcomes at every tier:
-
Environmental Outcomes
- Reduction of landfill through certified recycling.
- Neutralisation of embodied emissions with named certificates.
- Reporting on CO₂, water, and resource savings.
-
Social Outcomes
- Every recovered device contributes to Catalysing Connections.
- Jobs created for priority jobseekers + funding five partner charities.
-
Governance Outcomes
- Audit-ready evidence aligned with ASRS, supported by NGERS baselines and ASIC guidance.
Our 997 t CO₂e offsets to date
Equivalent to any ONE of the following examples (not additive):
-
3012Laptops -
6646AI business users
(1 year) -
830Cloud compute servers
(1 year) -
12100-person offices
(1 year)
How we calculate these equivalences
TechForGood has offset 997 t CO₂e. To make this tangible, we show four non-additive examples. Each example expresses the same impact in ICT and workplace terms.
Simple formula
We convert tonnes into kilograms, divide by a benchmark factor, then round to whole numbers:
equivalent_count = round( ( total_tonnes × 1000 ) ÷ factor_kg_per_unit )
Benchmarks used
-
Laptop — 331 kg CO₂e per device
Includes embodied manufacturing plus typical operation, annualised.997 t CO₂e ≈ 3012 laptops.
-
AI business user (1 year) — 150 kg CO₂e per user-year
Typical office user AI activity over one year.997 t CO₂e ≈ 6646 user-years.
-
Cloud compute server (1 year) — 1200 kg CO₂e per server-year
Assumes average utilization and grid-average electricity.997 t CO₂e ≈ 830 server-years.
-
100-person office (1 year) — 80000 kg CO₂e per office-year
Electricity and shared services only. Excludes commuting and embodied fit-out.997 t CO₂e ≈ 12 office-years.
Scope, assumptions and caveats
- Not additive: examples describe the same offset, not additional impacts.
- Annualised proxies: factors are per year to aid comprehension.
- Rounded values: whole numbers to avoid false precision.
- Regional variation: results vary by geography, energy mix, and workload.
- Embodied vs use-phase: laptops include embodied emissions; servers and offices are mainly operational energy.
- No financials: this block does not refer to costs or savings.
See factor notes and sources
- Laptop: embodied + typical operation, industry synthesis.
- AI user: typical office usage proxy.
- Server: annualised cloud compute proxy.
- Office: 100-person office energy proxy.
Region: AU (grid-average) · Last reviewed: 09/2025
Transaction-Linked Carbon Offset Certificates
Public, read-only statement. Benchmarks are indicative and for equivalence only.
Example of a transaction-linked, named certificate issued every six months at Enhance/Embed.
ICT Carbon Footprint Calculator
Estimate your footprint in seconds and see the cost you no longer pay with TechForGood.
Your ICT Carbon Footprint Results
Your footprint, your costs — already covered by us
How we calculate (show details)
- Laptop: 331 kg CO₂e
- Mobile phone: 50 kg CO₂e
- Monitor/peripherals: 150 kg CO₂e
- Cloud server/storage: 1,200 kg CO₂e
- On-site data centre (about 400 servers): 400,000 kg CO₂e
- Office (100 people): 80,000 kg CO₂e
- AI business user: 150 kg CO₂e
- Zoom or Teams user: 100 kg CO₂e
- Offset price assumption: $10 per tCO₂e
