We are pleased to announce that all Mainstream Global locations in the United States and Latin America are now R2 certified.
The R2 Standard is the premier global environmental, worker health and safety standard for the electronics refurbishing and recycling industry.
We recently addressed why working with an R2-certified company is crucial when looking for a remarketing partner. In an industry where data wipe and destruction services must be of certified quality to protect your brand, the R2 safety and security standards play a critical role.
The guiding principles of the R2 also put heavy emphasis on environmental responsibility. By adhering to the R2 requirements, an organization demonstrates a complete commitment to the international environmental standard for the safe recycling and management of electronics.
Becoming R2 certified
The process to become R2 certified is rigorous and requires multiple steps in accordance with SERI, the housing body and ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization for the R2 Standard: an initial application process, preparation and training, internal audits, external audits by third parties, corrective procedures (if necessary), a secondary audit, and additional corrective procedures as needed.
If the Certification is awarded, it also must be annually maintained as well as re-certified every three years. Maintaining your certification status is also a large undertaking that requires organizational commitment from the top down.
When an organization decides to undertake a certification process, it’s about more than the certificate. At Mainstream, the R2 Standard is our way of saying we are committed to taking care of the environment, and we are willing to implement whatever is necessary to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of our industry.
Company commitment to environmental responsibility
The R2 Certification of all of our worldwide facilities shows our commitment to environmental responsibility and process control.
We weave the expectations of the R2 Standard (or any of our current certifications) into daily operations of the business. We analyze current processes, which may require adaptation to meet the requirements of the standards and begin to establish alternatives. We fully train our employees, communicating the purpose of each change and its compliance with the requirements of the standards.
Once the changes are fully implemented, we initiate continuous monitoring to confirm the standards continue to be met. In these ways, the certification standards and our standardized procedures become one.
International standards such as SERI R2:2013 are so much more than certificates; they represent commitments by our company to undertake the steps necessary to create a business that adheres to best practices on a daily basis.
Partnering with an R2-certified company
R2-certified facilities like ours in North and Latin America go through rigorous independent audits on an annual basis to ensure, for example, that:
- materials are clear of all confidential and personal residual data
- electronics for reuse are tracked throughout the supply chain
- downstream vendors are vetted in accordance with our certifications and best industry practices
- unusable products are responsibly recycled with the least environmental impact
The R2 Certification is an assurance that our company speaks the same language as yours: one of environmental responsibility and certified data security while staying true to our main goal: to recapture as much value as possible from your retired IT assets.
Mainstream Global, Inc., headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, owns and operates processing centers in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. With over 18 years of directly servicing and re-selling assets from top tier manufacturers, Mainstream Global is the recognized expert in the region. Our partners rely on us for compliance, security, professionalism and brand protection all while providing the best returns and prioritizing global environmental standards.
