SocialBox.Biz is a Community Interest Company (CIC) improving the local community by providing innovative technology solutions & solving impact problems for clients
The Inspiring Story Behind SocialBox.Biz
SocialBox.Biz wasn’t born out of a strategic business plan, but from a profound personal experience and transformative power of a simple tool: a computer. Peter Paduh, the founder, arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied child refugee from Bosnia. Initially staying in a children’s home and then navigating a new British foster family and culture, he was given an old laptop – a gesture of kindness that would reshape his future.
In fact Peter explains that he was given some pocket money when leaving the children’s home, that was matched by the foster family and then he purchased a second hand laptop from a gentlemen in who worked in the city of London via classified advert in the papers. The laptop did not have a battery and it had a monochrome screen. Is looked like something in the picture below:
He tells us that that was one of the happiest days of his life that opened a lot of opportunities and that this wasn’t just a device; it was a lifeline. Peter used that computer to support his education, learn English, and integrate into British society, ultimately building a successful career in IT.
This experience instilled in Peter a powerful desire to replicate that transformative opportunity for others facing similar challenges. He saw the vast potential in perfectly usable technology in rubbish skips and also recognised the urgent need for among disadvantaged individuals – the homeless, refugees, and older people living on small incomes.
Peter Paduh on the right at the Passage charity
His inspiration became the foundation for SocialBox.Biz, a social enterprise dedicated to making an impact. The story of SocialBox.Biz, then, is not just about collecting laptops; it’s about harnessing the power of technology to give back to society, to provide hope, an to to create pathways to education, employment, and communication for those striving to rebuild their lives.
These initiatives include
- Social, Ethical and IT innovation: Solving social impact problems for our business clients.
- Promoting tech innovation to improve society.
- Tech labs innovation for practical training & learning.
- Collecting Usable IT: SocialBox.Biz collects used but still working laptops, computers, and other tech from businesses, universities, and other organisations. We securely wipe sensitive data and load the devices with open-source software.
- Training and Education: SocialBox.Biz also offers training programs and tech labs to help individuals develop essential IT skills. We even run a CompTIA+ certification program for formerly homeless technicians, something that companies can sponsor as a part of our impact plans offer.
- Partnering with Businesses and Charities: SocialBox.Biz collaborates with businesses to implement sustainable IT reuse as part of their CSR and ESG strategies. They also partner with various charities and organisations to reach those who need support with computer access inclusion with reused tech.
- Environmental Sustainability: Encouraging businesses to reuse their old but functional IT equipment instead of immediately recycling it, thereby reducing Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions from an organization’s value chain).
- Open source innovation: This means that a wider range of items can be reused including those items that cannot take the latest commercial OS software further reducing scope 3 problems for companies, universities and other participating organisations.
- Awareness Impact: We are actively promoting computer access inclusion and the benefits of reusing technology, including a “Call Before You Scrap It” campaign encouraging businesses to consider donating before corporate IT recycling.
Tech-Lab pictures with an old macbook being upgraded with open source software
- SocialBox.Biz has reused and rehomed thousands of tech items since its launch in 2014.
- Their work helps individuals gain essential skills, find employment, connect with family and friends, and improve their overall well-being.
- We contribute to reducing the growing e-rubbish problems and Scope 3 emissions, promoting a more sustainable approach to IT equipment before it needs disposal.
- We provide businesses with a way to show their commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
SocialBox.Biz Trading Enterprises CIC laptop initiative is turning the business problems of old corporate tech into opportunities for increased sustainability and social impact with our reuse before corporate computer recycling initiative. What many companies are doing is making our community interest company a part of their sustainability strategy. Companies are increasing their impact by supporting our community interest company.
Call SocialBox.Biz before recycling old corporate IT so we can check what can still be reused. Call SocialBox.Biz before you scrap is the name of the of our most recent campaigns.
Need a tech collection from your office outside of the UK ? Please contact us for our tailor-made packages:
Impact Plans
If you currently do not have access to a minimum number of qualifying items to contribute on an ongoing basis and participate in one of our impact initiatives as a part of your sustainability strategy, please consider supporting our community interest company to solve your social impact problems with one the plans below:
SOCIALBOX.BIZ | MEDIA PACK | HELPING CLIENTS SOLVE THEIR IMPACT PROBLEMS
SocialBox.Biz sets new Laptop Reuse Handover goal for 2030
What does this mean for our clients?
Our clients include corporations who want to implement sustainable, long-term corporate impact strategies in their firms. More than just searching for a one-time public relations boost, our clients are committed to creating or contributing to lasting, measurable solutions to our community’s biggest social problems. We consult with our clients to help them include such strategies, carry out these plans in practical ways, and assist with communicating social impact over time on an ongoing basis.
Some of our services as a social impact initiative
At SocialBox.Biz, we help corporations create a measurable positive impact on their communities as we implement effective and lasting impact strategies. We can also assist your IT department on safe methods of removing sensitive data out of old hard drives and help so we can collect the usable items for our reuse and donating services. This helps us deliver our support services for disadvantaged people who cannot afford computer hardware and software with re-used upgraded technology via strategic charitable partnerships.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Check out our Services page for more details on the supportive corporate social impact and IT services we can offer your corporation.
Please also check out our Reuse before recycle for corporate IT and Computer Access Inclusion page for information on our current initiatives.
We have a regularly updated News & Posts section on our website where we share our social impact activities and reports.
If you have further questions or want to support our efforts, please Contact us !
Commitment to Positive Impact
We help our customers further build and maintain their social impact. Our local focus not only contributes to reducing scope 3 emissions and sustainability, but also supports people in need and social inclusion in the communities where we live and work. The sustainable impact of re-using computers locally before computer recycling and disposal abroad is clear, as it can actually help solve the problems of negative impact by reducing scope 3 emissions. As there are no smelter facilities in the UK recycling is done abroad. this is another reading to contact SocialBox.Biz before recycling all of the computers and other tech so that we can check what can still be reused.
You create social impact by re-using large quantities of your company’s old but still functional tech equipment on an ongoing basis with SociaBox.Biz and support our self-sustaining social enterprise by also paying for our commercial premium services and impact plans.
A bit more about our founder
Our founder Peter Paduh as a former unaccompanied child refugee himself wanted to give back the British society and help people using his IT skills that he learned as a child thanks to an old laptop computer that was given to him when he left a children’s home. SocialBox.Biz long standing initiative has been helping older people who can not afford a computer and homeless people get back on their feet as well as refugees integrate into the British society. Without regular access to personal computers, disadvantaged individuals have little ability to practice basic job skills, shop for their basic needs, and keep in touch with friends and family.
A word about our service partners
Some of our service partners include:
We have created partnerships with many local organisations who cater to the disadvantaged population to help make the most of our initiatives. For instance, these are some that we work or have worked with: Age UK London, Centrepoint, Migrant Help, The Passage, Street Storage, YMCA, New Horizon Youth Centre, The C4WS… and other organisations who are committed to helping disadvantaged people connect with careers, housing, and education. Unsuitable devices? Our WEEE-compliant partners handle recycling and also follow highest standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 27001.
If you want to get more information regarding our services, click here to get in touch with one of our professional representatives.
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- Long-Term Partnerships: Forging enduring relationships that deliver Sustained Impact.
- Secure IT Reuse: Ensuring a Certified Data Wiping process for maximum compliance and security.
- Measurable Impact: Providing robust ESG Reporting and Social Impact Metrics for our partners.
- Tackling E-Waste: Championing a circular economy that benefits communities and the planet.
- Join us in creating a lasting legacy of impact.
- Key Themes: Social Enterprise Mission, Long-Term Impact, History, Values, Trust, Reliability, ESG Leadership, Social Responsibility.
- Core Services: Secure IT Reuse, Reuse Before Disposal, Certified Data Wiping, IT Asset Disposal, Corporate Partnerships.
- Key Benefits: Reduce Scope 3 Emissions, E-Waste Reduction, Social Impact, Digital Inclusion, ESG Reporting, Social Value.
- Keywords: Social Enterprise Stability, Long-Term Partnerships, Sustained Impact, Proven Model, Reliable Secure Solution, Reuse Before Disposal, Secure IT Reuse, Certified Data Wiping, ESG Reporting, Social Impact Metrics, E-Waste Reduction, London, UK, Mission, History, Values.