CALGARY, AB, Nov. 18, 2025 /CNW/ – The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is issuing a nationwide call to Canada’s corporate leaders: mobilize dormant technology assets to reinforce the digital backbone of more than 500 Canadian charities and community institutions. As organizations serving women, seniors, newcomers, youth, and vulnerable populations face escalating technological shortfalls, a surplus laptop is no longer just excess inventory; it is social infrastructure waiting to be activated.
The Strategic Imperative
In an economy where access to technology increasingly dictates access to opportunity, the digital divide has become one of the most significant barriers to economic mobility and community resilience. While the private sector continues to cycle through devices at accelerated refresh rates, many frontline charities operate with outdated or non-functional equipment, constraining their ability to scale programs and respond to rising demand. ERA’s National Holiday Tech Drive provides a simple, streamlined pathway for corporations to convert idle technology into measurable social return on investment.
A Message from ERA’s Founder
“A refurbished device is not a charitable gesture ; it is a force multiplier,” says Bojan Paduh, Founder of the Electronic Recycling Association. “In the hands of a frontline organization, a single laptop can accelerate job placement, stabilize families, enable remote learning, or unlock administrative capacity that transforms an entire program. We are inviting corporate leaders to recognize the latent power of their unused technology and deploy it where it reshapes lives.”
A Model of Circular-Economy Leadership: ERA x Canopy
ERA’s recent partnership with Canopy demonstrates the compounded impact of lifecycle extension at scale. By providing refurbished MacBooks to support Canopy’s global mission – protecting ancient and endangered forests – ERA enabled high-performing conservation work while displacing the environmental cost of new device manufacturing. The initiative simultaneously reduced e-waste, strengthened biodiversity protection, and advanced circular-economy leadership: a blueprint for what corporate–nonprofit collaboration can achieve.
How Corporate Leaders Can Activate Impact
ERA accepts laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, monitors, and IT equipment. All data is erased using ISO-certified destruction standards. Devices are refurbished and strategically deployed to high-priority charities; non-usable items are responsibly recycled. ERA offers nationwide logistics for corporate donors, enabling frictionless participation across multiple locations, business units, or regional offices.
About the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA)
Founded in 2004, the Electronic Recycling Association is a national nonprofit organization advancing digital inclusion and environmental stewardship through technology reuse. By extending the lifecycle of corporate IT assets, ERA equips charities, schools, and community organizations with the tools they need to expand impact, strengthen social capacity, and transform lives across Canada.
SOURCE Electronic Recycling Association
