SK Tes Awarded for Sustainable Technology Lifecycle Services

LONDON June 9, 2021 – Technology lifecycle leader SK Tes continues to build its presence as an innovative technology lifecycle partner with two new distinctions – winner of the Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher (MAR) Partner Innovation Award and finalist in two categories of the Reuters Events’ Responsible Business Awards for 2020.

"SK Tes is beyond delighted to receive the 2020 MAR Innovation Award from Microsoft,” said Jim Meadowcroft, SK Tes Group Director of Value Recovery/Remarketing. “This achievement reflects our continued push to get useable refurbished technology in the hands of those that need it most. SK Tes is committed to sustaining tomorrow as we believe that our future is linked with the success of people and the planet.”

In recognizing SK Tes, Microsoft cited these standout achievements:

• FY20 – Year-on-year growth of 80%+

• Building a refurbished device channel and offering devices through an SK Tes online marketplace

• Developing a refurbished device brand in Europe sold directly online and through partner networks

• Recruiting Third Party Refurbishers in Asia across six countries in FY20

• Collaborating with a PC OEM on a donation program in APJ and EMEA regions, including shipping retired laptops post-data sanitisation, refurbishment, and MAR—while providing warranty support

• Creating a trade-in portal and Employee Purchase Program at SK Tes with key clients leveraging the MAR program

• Implementing the COVID PC Donation project with local NGOs and SK Tes to support underprivileged kids with remote learning in EMEA and APJ

In Reuters Events’ 2020 Responsible Business Awards, SK Tes was named a finalist in two categories: Sustainability Innovation and Circular Innovation.

Reuters recognized SK Tes’s innovative Closed Loop Battery Recycling and IT Reuse Initiative. The company has made strategic investments in circular solutions that deliver economic, social, and environmental outcomes over traditional take-make-dispose models for end-of-life technologies.

SK Tes employs advanced recycling processes—auto-punching machines, shredders, separators, and chemical treatments—to recover cobalt, lithium, and other elements with no harmful emissions. These capabilities are vertically integrated with reuse and repurposing strategies to create second-life battery energy storage systems with strong sustainability outcomes.

“Investing in technology that keeps SK Tes at the forefront of the sustainability movement is in our DNA,” said Gary Steele, ex SK Tes Chief Executive Officer. “By 2030, over six million battery packs will retire from electric vehicles annually. With exponential growth in mobility, IoT, and energy storage, today’s global infrastructure is not equipped to provide closed-loop solutions at scale. At SK Tes, we are committed to helping close that gap.”