Alvin Piadasa of SK tes On Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change Or Become More Sustainable
Sustainability isn’t a cost — it’s an investment in resilience and efficiency.
As a part of our series about how companies are addressing climate change and becoming more sustainable, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alvin Piadasa, SK tes.
Alvin Piadasa is a global sustainability leader with two decades of experience in the IT lifecycle, circular economy, and environmental compliance space. He currently leads sustainability strategy at SK tes, a global IT asset disposal and lifecycle services company, and also pioneers sustainable leisure through Blue Sea Charters in Singapore. Alvin is recognized for making the connection between circular IT and climate action, responsible e-waste management, and triple bottom line approaches that balance environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and business value.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I began my career in the IT lifecycle industry somewhat by chance, at the invitation of one of the founders of SK tes — a close friend who wanted someone he could trust to establish operations in Australia. At the time, industry conversations centered largely on responsible e-waste management — extended producer responsibility and preventing illegal shipments of hazardous materials — rather than on circularity or sustainability. Over the years, I saw firsthand how much valuable material, economic and social opportunity, and carbon potential were being lost through linear business models. That realization gave me a deeper sense of purpose: to build solutions that not only safeguard businesses from risk but also enrich lives and protect the planet. What drives me still is the conviction that technology holds value far beyond its first life and my role is to minimise its negative impacts while maximising its positive ones. I want to shift mindsets away from linear business and consumption models, championing resource optimisation, and serve as an advocate for climate action through responsible IT asset management.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?
At SK tes, our mission is simple yet ambitious: to sustain tomorrow by advancing circularity in IT and reducing the climate footprint of technology. We enable companies to responsibly manage their IT assets at end-of-life by ensuring uncompromising data security, rigorous compliance, and the optimisation of material and value recovery. The problem we are addressing is two-fold: tackling e-waste — one of the fastest-growing and most hazardous waste streams in the world — and helping businesses significantly reduce their Scope 3 emissions through reuse, refurbishment, and closed loop recycling. Beyond environmental impact, our work also supports social responsibility by bridging the digital divide with affordable refurbished devices and fostering a more resilient circular economy that creates jobs, preserves resources, and drives innovation for better practices in the lifecycle of IT.
Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?
Yes, absolutely. Carbon Roadmap: We have committed to aligning our climate targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and developed a carbon roadmap that outlines how we will reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions across our global operations. Carbon Insetting Programs: Instead of offsets, we are looking into carbon insets — where reuse of IT assets directly reduces emissions in our clients’ value chains. For example, when a server is refurbished and redeployed instead of manufactured new, it avoids the significant carbon tied to raw materials and production. Zero Waste to Landfill: Across our facilities, we looking to set targets to eliminate landfill dependency by repair, refurbishment and maximizing recovery of plastics, metals, and batteries. Social Impact: Through refurbished technology donations, we help bridge the digital divide in disadvantaged communities — demonstrating that sustainability can create environmental benefits whilst driving positive social impact.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Sustainability isn’t a cost — it’s an investment in resilience and efficiency. For instance, one of our clients, a large financial institution, realized significant savings by redeploying refurbished laptops internally to lower computing applications instead of purchasing new ones. Not only did this cut procurement costs, but it also reduced their Scope 3 emissions. By reframing sustainability as a business enabler, we help clients see that profitability and environmental responsibility are not opposing forces — they are mutually reinforcing. We’ve also seen this within our own operations at SK tes. By investing in renewable energy and energy efficient upgrades in some of our operating locations, we reduced electricity costs, lowering scope 2 emissions These improvements not only deliver savings but also protect us against future cost increases from carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes. In other words, sustainability strengthens our bottom line today while safeguarding our competitiveness for tomorrow.
The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are a few things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please give a story or an example for each.
- Lead by example: Children learn most from what we do, not what we say. I’ve seen parents reduce single-use plastics at home and explain the impact, which inspired their kids to start recycling clubs at school.
- Connect with nature: Take kids outdoors. When young people experience the beauty of coral reefs or forests firsthand, they become natural advocates for protecting them.
- Show them solutions, not just problems: When I took my own children to visit our recycling facility, they were struck not just by the sheer volume and diverse technology that had ended up as waste — they also saw the innovations required to transform this complex stream into something valuable — giving devices a second life or reintroducing critical materials in a closed loop manufacturing.
- Encourage creativity: Circularity action isn’t just about science — it’s also about art, entrepreneurship, and storytelling. Young people can and have developed apps that track carbon footprints or built platforms for sharing refurbished tech and parents can encourage kids to use technology as a tool for problem solving, not just consumption.
- Normalize sustainability in everyday tech habits: Just as families might compost food scraps or choose cycling over driving, we can make sustainability second nature in the way we use technology. Simple actions — like being mindful of how much data is being used and stored, like repairing a cracked screen instead of replacing a phone, passing on unused laptops to someone who needs them, or responsibly recycling old devices — show children that technology needs to be responsibly managed. When these habits are practiced at home, they instill the understanding that sustainability is not a one-off action but a way of living that naturally carries into the next generation.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint. Meaningful impact takes time, and the temptation for quick wins or making a quick profit can distract from long-term progress. At SK tes, developing our carbon roadmap required years of groundwork — mapping global emissions, aligning with SBTi, and developing behaviours to focus on embedding circular and climate action throughout our operations. The lesson is that perseverance and consistency builds enduring value and lasting change.
- Data is your best ally. Without data, sustainability risks easily be seen as marketing rhetoric. At SK tes, we invested in systems and practices to measure our emissions which in turn enabled us to develop tools like our Carbon Loop Calculator which helped clients quantify the emissions avoided through IT circularity programs. Data transforms good intentions into measurable results turning waste reduction and climate impact into clear opportunities that support both our client’s strategic objectives and our shared responsibility to the planet.
- Collaboration beats competition. The scale of the climate crisis and the reality of resource scarcity demand that companies acknowledge their role in the problem — and act collectively to solve it. These challenges are bigger than any single organization and, if left unchecked, threaten our shared future. Competing in isolation undermines the greater good we can achieve together. I believe the market is expansive enough for all of us to grow sustainably and responsibly if we collaborate. Addressing systemic issues such as e-waste plastics, strengthening Basel Convention compliance, setting common best-practice standards, or even creating shared marketplaces for second-life products are powerful opportunities to advance the circular economy. Collaboration secures a sustainable future for everyone, while insular, self-absorbed approaches only hold us back.
- Cultural change is the real engine of progress. Technology and systems can only take us so far without people embracing them. I’ve encountered roadblocks where sustainability was dismissed as little more than marketing, with little belief in or understanding of the effort required to make it meaningful. Overcoming this requires advocacy, champions within the organization, and ongoing education and training — especially the ability to clearly answer the “what’s in it for me?” question for every stakeholder. Since 2018, we have been publicly disclosing our sustainability performance, and today, it has become one of the main reasons why clients reach out to us. They know we don’t just talk about sustainability — we demonstrate it. And when employees, from warehouses to boardrooms, see how their daily actions create real value for the business, society and the planet, momentum starts to build and progress becomes unstoppable.
- Transparency and accountability are key to trustworthiness with stakeholders. Clients, regulators, and communities all expect clear evidence of impact — not just promises. Publishing credible sustainability reports, setting measurable KPIs, and opening ourselves up to scrutiny are what build confidence, strengthen client loyalty, and create better experiences. Unfortunately, it is still common in our industry to be opaque about where devices and materials end up. This lack of transparency erodes trust, fuels perceptions of “smoke and mirrors,” and prevents us from contributing meaningfully to the UN Sustainable Development Goals or addressing the digital divide for communities with limited access to technology. By contrast, transparency forces us to stay accountable — and accountability pushes us to continuously improve, creating more positive impact for both people and the planet.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way, and for me, that person is Terence Ng, the founder of SK tes. Terence gave me the opportunity to enter this industry and the trust to establish operations in Australia when I had no experience in the industry. What I value most is that he gave me the freedom to try, to experiment, and even to fail. Instead of seeing failure as a setback, he let me continue to keep trying to pursue what I really believed in and ultimately had success in. That level of trust and support has shaped the way I lead today — I try to create the same space for my teams to take ownership, innovate, and push boundaries without fear of making mistakes. Looking back, I don’t think I would have been able to grow into this role or drive sustainability in the way I do now without that foundation of trust and mentorship from Terence.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement, it would be one that makes technology a force for good — a solution for people and the planet, rather than an imposition on them. Every year, millions of corporate devices are retired without full regard for their untapped economic, social, and environmental value. Too often, end-of-life technology is seen only through a financial lens, as a way to offset the cost of purchasing new equipment. In doing so, we miss the chance to create jobs, enrich the lives of people in need, reduce emissions across corporate value chains, and recover scarce resources. By refurbishing and redeploying devices into underprivileged communities, we can address multiple crises at once — climate change, inequality, human rights, and the widening digital divide. The circular economy is just two words, but they carry enormous weight. When we take care of the economic perspective, we also help solve the resource problem. When we find higher-value uses for plastics and metals in e-waste, we generate the revenue that funds better collection and recycling systems. And when we refurbish a laptop that might otherwise be written off as “beyond economic repair,” it can still become a lifeline — giving a student access to education, or enabling a family to connect to healthcare, digital banking, and employment opportunities. By mobilizing corporations — the largest procurers of IT equipment — to see end-of-life technology not as waste but as an asset for corporate good, we can transform IT into a driver of inclusion, climate action, and sustainable progress.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
The best way to follow my work is on LinkedIn, where I share insights on the circular economy, climate action, and sustainable business practices. You can also explore my articles and webinars through SK tes’ sustainability channels, which showcase our initiatives in IT lifecycle management and responsible e-waste solutions. And for a different lens on sustainability, I share social media updates from Blue Sea Charters, Singapore’s first electric yacht experience — where leisure is reimagined through sustainability.
Thank you for your time, Alvin! It was a pleasure to learn from your insights on driving sustainability.
Alvin Piadasa of SK tes On Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change Or Become… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.