Chichester High School has announced that its new ‘green’ IT initiative has prevented 43 tonnes of greenhouse gases and has led to hundreds of trees being planted for projects in Africa and India.

Hampshire-based IT company, Medhurst, has provided the school with more than 100 laptops from Portsmouth’s Circular Computing, the world’s first remanufacturer of laptops.

“We needed to replace the school’s old laptops with high-performance devices but to a budget,” explains Jim Turner, the school’s Network Manager. “The problem with refurbished second-hand laptops is they don’t perform like new devices and don’t look like new. However, new less expensive models are known for unreliability. So it was exciting to find out that the world’s first top-brand remanufacturer was based so near us!”

Circular Computing produces like-new top-brand laptops for many businesses, as well as hundreds of schools, colleges and universities across the UK, US and the rest of Europe, helping them tomake a difference and save millions of pounds.

The laptops are also the first in the world to be carbon neutral, with five trees planted for every device sold alongside investment in other carbon reduction projects. The company takes the latest models from major brands and completely re-builds them inside and out to perform and look like new – or even better than new because all known failure modes for the product or part are addressed in the remanufacturing process, yet they cost up to 40% less to buy.

Jim Turner adds, “We are now hugely reducing our CO2 emissions and are responsible for planting hundreds of trees, so the benefits are massive for the future of our children and the planet.

“The school’s old laptops are being sold and gifted to charities with any funds received invested into new extracurricular activities for the pupils.”