Responsible by design, not by press release
Environmental, Social and Governance responsibility shapes how we run Alternative and how we supply our clients. Here is where we stand, in practical terms we can evidence.
What is our approach to ESG?
Alternative Managed Services reduces its environmental footprint with electric vehicles, remote-first support and responsible recycling, invests in a 100% UK-based team, and governs the business against independently certified standards including ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and Cyber Essentials.
We are an independent London business, so our ESG commitments are practical and verifiable: things we actually do, that our clients can see and that we can evidence, rather than distant pledges.
- Second lifeRecycled, refurbished second-user print devices
- TonerBottle recycling process for our clients
- WEEECertified recycling of retired equipment
Environmental. Social. Governance.
What each one means at Alternative, in practice.
Environmental
Lower-carbon operations, recycled and refurbished second-user devices, toner bottle recycling for clients, and responsible recycling at end of life.
Social
Long tenures, real careers rather than churn, and three decades of relationships with clients, suppliers and the communities we work in.
Governance
Independently certified management standards, GDPR-compliant data handling and documented policies that govern how we run the business day to day.
Lower-carbon operations, on the road and in your office
Electric vehicles
Our engineers attend client sites in electric vehicles, cutting the emissions of every visit. Combined with remote-first resolution, we only put a vehicle on the road when a job genuinely needs hands on hardware.
Remote-first support
Most issues are resolved remotely by our UK helpdesk, which means faster fixes for you and fewer journeys for us. Site visits are scheduled and routed efficiently rather than dispatched ad hoc.
Efficient hardware, smaller fleets
We consolidate sprawling print estates onto fewer, more energy-efficient Canon devices, with duplex and mono defaults and secure release printing that stops uncollected pages going straight in the bin.
Responsible recycling
End-of-life devices are recycled through WEEE-certified partners, and data-bearing equipment is securely wiped or destroyed first.
Second-user devices
Where a refurbished device will do the job, we say so. We supply recycled, refurbished second-user print devices as part of our range, extending the working life of good hardware instead of sending it to recycling early.
Toner bottle recycling
We run a toner bottle recycling process for our clients, so used consumables from the fleets we manage are collected and recycled rather than binned.
We help clients cut their footprint too
The biggest environmental impact an MSP has is through its clients. The same changes that make your technology run better, fewer devices, less waste, right-sized cloud, also cut your carbon.
- Print fleet consolidation: less waste, fewer devices, deliberate printing
- Refurbished second-user devices and toner bottle recycling as part of the service
- Cloud migration that retires energy-hungry on-premise servers
- Secure disposal and recycling of your retired equipment
A responsible supply chain
We choose technology partners with strong, published environmental commitments:
- Canon, our principal hardware partner, publishes a detailed annual Sustainability Report, targets net zero emissions by 2050 with product CO2 halved by 2030 against 2008, holds an EcoVadis Platinum rating, and was named a Leader in the 2025 IDC MarketScape for hardcopy remanufacturing for its remanufactured imageRUNNER ADVANCE range, the programme behind the second-user devices we supply
- Microsoft publishes annual sustainability reporting and carbon reduction targets across the cloud services we deploy
- Lenovo publishes ESG reporting covering packaging, recycled materials and product energy efficiency
Run properly, staffed properly
People, not churn
Our team is 100% UK-based, many with decades at the company. Clients deal with named people who know their environment, and our engineers and helpdesk are all our own staff.
Certified governance
ISO 27001 governs how we secure information, ISO 9001 governs service quality, and we hold Cyber Essentials. All are independently assessed rather than self-declared.
Data protection
We handle client data under GDPR with documented policies covering information security, acceptable use, retention and incident response, and we help clients meet the same obligations.
Honest reporting
We would rather make a modest claim we can evidence than a grand one we cannot. Where we quote figures or supplier commitments, they are real, dated and checkable.
ESG, your questions answered
What is ESG and why does it matter when choosing an IT or print provider?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. It describes how responsibly a company operates: its environmental footprint, how it treats people, and how well the business is run. It matters in supplier selection because your provider’s footprint and practices form part of your own supply chain, and larger clients and public-sector buyers increasingly ask for this evidence in tenders and due diligence.
How does Alternative reduce its environmental impact?
We run electric vehicles for site visits and resolve issues remotely first so engineers only travel when needed. We supply recycled, refurbished second-user print devices where they fit, consolidate print fleets so clients run fewer machines, operate a toner bottle recycling process for clients, and recycle retired equipment through WEEE-certified partners.
Do you recycle old IT equipment and printers?
Yes. End-of-life devices and consumables are recycled through WEEE-certified recycling partners, and data-bearing equipment is securely wiped or destroyed before disposal, with certification available on request.
Can Alternative help our business with its own ESG or sustainability reporting?
We do not produce carbon footprint reports for clients, but the changes we make are measurable: a managed print service reports print volumes and duplex rates, fleet consolidation reduces the number of devices drawing power, and cloud migration retires on-premise servers. Those are concrete inputs for your own ESG returns and tender responses.
Are your suppliers environmentally responsible?
We choose partners with strong, published commitments. Canon, our principal hardware partner, publishes a detailed annual Sustainability Report, targets net zero emissions by 2050 with product CO2 halved by 2030 against 2008 levels, holds an EcoVadis Platinum rating and was named a Leader in the 2025 IDC MarketScape for hardcopy remanufacturing, the programme behind the refurbished devices we supply. Microsoft and Lenovo publish their own environmental targets and reporting.
Is Alternative ISO certified?
Yes. We are certified to ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 9001 for quality management, and we hold Cyber Essentials. These certifications are independently assessed and cover how we govern data, security and service quality.
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