Your retired tech has the power to feed Australians and drive ESG wins
Most businesses don't think twice about their old laptops. They pile up, get wiped, and quietly disappear. But for Nando's, retired tech became something unexpected. A way to put food on tables for Australians doing it tough.
The e-waste pile nobody wants to talk about
Walk through the back office of most Australian businesses and you'll find it — a graveyard of old laptops, phones and servers that nobody quite knows what to do with. Disposing of them properly is complicated, so they sit. Or worse, they end up in landfill.
It's an easy problem to deprioritise. But it sits awkwardly alongside something most businesses are now being asked to prove: that they're genuinely delivering social and environmental value, not just talking about it.
That gap — between good intentions and measurable outcomes — is exactly where PonyUp for Good stepped in.
84% of ASX100 companies mention social impact in their ESG reporting. Only 1% actually measure it.
KPMG
What if your e-waste could feed someone tonight?
PonyUp for Good started with a pretty simple idea: what if your old business tech could do some good on its way out the door?
As a certified social enterprise and Social Traders member, they collect decommissioned IT equipment from businesses, wipe it, refurbish what they can, and responsibly recycle the rest. Half of their profits go straight to SecondBite, Australia's leading food rescue charity. So every device handed over becomes meals for people who need them.
Then they went a step further. Teaming up with Rejoose — a global leader in emissions tracking for IT assets — PonyUp became the first Australian company to integrate auditable carbon reporting into the process. Now businesses don't just do something good with their old tech; they can prove exactly what that good looks like in carbon terms, too.
How it works
- Drop off or arrange collection of your decommissioned IT equipment
- PonyUp data-wipes everything — securely and completely
- Reusable devices get refurbished; the rest is responsibly recycled
- 50% of profits go to SecondBite to fund food rescue
- You receive auditable carbon and ESG reporting to use in your reporting
SecondBite
"Clients aren't just asking for carbon reporting — they're demanding it. With Net Zero no longer optional, this solution gives businesses the data they need to prove real impact."
Cat Harding, Co-founder, PonyUp for Good
The numbers behind the good
600,000+ kg
e-waste kept out of landfill
1 million+
meals funded for Australians in need
32%
of collected tech given a second life
What it looks like in practice
Nando's has been working with PonyUp for Good since 2018. It started with a box of old laptops from head office. It grew into e-waste bins at restaurants across the country, and a partnership that keeps delivering — for the planet and for people.
- 4,763 kg of tech collected from Nando's locations across Australia
- 6,634 fresh meals put on tables through SecondBite
Nando's
"Ensuring the most environmental outcome for our technology disposal is something our team can really get behind — and the fact that it also feeds people in need is a positive contribution to our ESG objectives."
Kriss Alexander, Changing Lives Manager, Nando's
The businesses that move first will lead
For a long time, doing good was optional. A nice-to-have that sat comfortably in the CSR report and got a mention at the AGM. That's changing — faster than most businesses realise.
Australia's mandatory sustainability reporting is already here for large companies. By 2026, it extends further. Modern slavery rules are tightening. Ethical supply chain requirements are being written into Commonwealth procurement. And on the global stage, human capital reporting is coming next.
But here's the thing — the businesses already in this space aren't doing it just because they have to. They're doing it because it's working.
- 60%+ of consumers consider ethics and sustainability when they buy — and that number grows 10% every year. (PwC)
- 70% of investors link strong ESG performance to higher returns — and more than half plan to increase sustainable investments. (Morgan Stanley)
- 94% of CFOs believe social factors will be a top business priority by 2030. (Benevity)
Want to unlock the good in your business?
Whether you're just getting started or looking to go deeper, we can help you find social enterprises to partner with, measure what you're achieving, and tell the story in a way that means something — to your customers, your investors, and your team.
What we offer:
- Access to Australia's largest directory of certified social enterprises
- Guidance on procurement, supplier diversity and inclusive employment
- Impact reporting that meets ESG and regulatory expectations
- A community of businesses already doing this well — including ANZ, Mirvac, Westpac, Deloitte, Nando's and John Holland