Melbourne's Southern Cross Computer Systems donates 150,000 meals, funded by recycled tech

Melbourne-based managed services provider Southern Cross Computer Systems has donated some 150,000 meals for charity through its partnership with technology recycling firm PonyUp for Good.

"The partnership, which started in 2016, uses profits from the sale of decommissioned and surplus technology from SCCS’s clients to help fund Australian food rescue company Secondbite."

When SCCS is tapped to upgrade a customer’s IT systems, the decommissioned tech is sent to PonyUp for data wiping and cleaning before being resold for reuse. Half of all profits from the resold technology is then donated to Secondbite.

“We are incredibly proud of the work we do with PonyUp for Good and of today’s announcement in generating 150,000 meals for vulnerable people across the country,” SCCS general manager David Erenboim said.

“At Southern Cross we are committed to making continuous environmental improvements to maximise our impact. While no single company sector can solve the challenges we have before us, we know we can create a better future by working together.

“These partnerships are so important to the growth of our business - simply put, when we innovate with purpose, we create the conditions for both business and society to thrive.”

Some of the SCCS customers that contributed to the 150,000 meal milestone included Fred IT Group, Red Energy, Service Stream, Lumo and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), through some 40,000 kilos of technology recycled through PonyUp.

SCCS said it also works with customers on social and sustainable procurement strategies, and the benefits of environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, team culture, reputation, commercials, community and planet.

SecondBite chief executive Steve Clifford said, “Droughts, bushfires, floods and COVID-19 restrictions have caused more Australians to experience food insecurity than ever before. Three out of four of our agencies have seen an increase in demand for food relief this year alone.”

“We have partnered with PonyUp since 2016 and the milestone achieved by PonyUp and Southern Cross of 150,000 meals, is an outstanding achievement.

“It’s a wonderfully innovative way to enable businesses to contribute to ending waste and ending hunger at a time when it is needed most.”

PonyUp said it has converted some 278,000 kilos of tech into over 500,000 fresh meals, which includes the 150,000 meals from SCCS’s decommissioned tech.

PonyUp for Good co-founder Mardi Brown said, “We established PonyUp in 2016 to help ensure businesses could not only do the right thing environmentally with their decommissioned IT equipment, but to also turn this action into a CSR program. What we’ve learnt since then, has been so much more.

“We know that the world now expects companies to be stewards for change and historically there has been a disconnect between what is communicated and actioned.

“If you truly value caring for the environment and want to create a meaningful community legacy, then this will shine through every level of your company - from the way you make your products, how you bring suppliers and employees into your business and how you compensate and engage them. We’ve learnt that our clients and partners will be loyal when we plan for and do the things they care about the most.”

Southern Cross Computer Systems specialises in end-user compute, data centre, cloud, cybersecurity and staffing services.

The company dates back 35 years as a larger business that later rebranded to SXiQ in 2017 as part of a restructure. The computer service arm was spun out of SXiQ in 2020, reverting back to the Southern Cross Computer Systems name. SXiQ was acquired by global tech giant IBM in December 2021.