Social Entrepreneurship in China | Clotilde Pallier | TEDxShanghaiAmericanSchool
The Green IT Classroom is a sustainable social enterprise founded to address e-waste and educational inequality by refurbishing discarded computers into educational tools for underprivileged children. The process involves collecting old electronics, refurbishing them for a three-year deployment cycle in need schools, and then ensuring proper dismantling through an accredited facility. This model creates environmental, social, and educational value while establishing a long-term, commercially viable enterprise.
## Theses & Positions
- The current practice of disposing of obsolete electronics is environmentally catastrophic, polluting land and water with heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and PCBs.
- The Green IT Classroom addresses a significant gap: matching the supply of reusable technology with the demand for education tools in underprivileged areas.
- The model must be a sustainable *Social Enterprise* (operating on a business plan, not donations) to achieve long-term impact.
- Long-term educational access to technology is vital to mitigate future global labor shortages.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Social Enterprise:** A business structure whose primary goal is achieving a social or environmental mission, running on a sustainable business plan rather than reliance on donations.
- **E-waste:** Discarded electronic waste, containing hazardous toxic substances.
- **Refurbishment:** Process of restoring old electronic computers so they can be used again.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **E-waste Collection/Disposal (Current Method):**
- Collected by illegal vendors.
- Sent to workshops in South China staffed by unskilled villagers.
- Dangerous practices include burning electronics in the open air or dumping them in rivers.
- Pollution vectors include water and land contamination (e.g., cadmium contamination in rice).
- **Green IT Classroom Process:**
1. Old computers are collected.
2. Computers are refurbished and donated to schools in need.
3. Refurbishment lasts for an average of **three years**.
4. After three years, computers are collected and dismantled at a government-accredited factory.
- **Value Creation for Companies:**
- **Environmental Value:** Using computers longer and ensuring proper dismantling.
- **Social Value:** Doing good for the local community.
- **Internal Social Value:** Increasing volunteer pride and loyalty within the company.
## Named Entities
- **China** — Location of e-waste workshops and much of the e-waste problem discussed.
- **Nigeria** — Example of a poorer country receiving e-waste for dismantling.
- **India** — Example of a poorer country receiving e-waste for dismantling.
- **United Nation University** — Source of the data citing **6 million tons** of US produced waste in **2014**.
## Numbers & Data
- **2012:** Year an "ID" (implied product/service) was born.
- **6 million tons:** Estimated US produced waste in China in **2014**.
- **5 million computers:** Estimated number of usable computers within the **6 million ton** waste.
- **50 million students:** Number of students lacking computers in schools.
- **3 years:** Average projected lifetime for refurbished computers.
- **72%:** Percentage of the US where e-waste is handled improperly in China (according to the speaker's cited data).
- **95%:** Percentage of the US where e-waste is *not* handled properly in the US (by example).
- **99%:** Percentage of the US where e-waste is *not* handled properly in Australia.
- **40 million:** Estimated shortage of highly qualified workers in the world by **2020**.
- **14 million:** Number of missing workers the program hopes to fill.
## Examples & Cases
- **Contaminated Food:** Rice contamination with cadmium previously noted.
- **E-waste Flow:** Electronics are collected in developed nations and shipped to poorer countries like Nigeria, India, or China for dismantling without tracking.
- **Education Gap:** Rural or migrant schools are not adequately supported by the government, creating a need for technology access.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Obsolete Computer/TV:** The primary waste item fueling the problem.
- **Refurbished Computer:** The direct product used as an educational tool.
- **Green IT Classroom:** The overarching service model/enterprise.
## References Cited
- **United Nation University:** Source citing the **2014** data on e-waste volume in China.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Current Disposal:** Burning/dumping e-waste leads to high environmental pollution (water, land).
- **Alternative (Green IT):** Refurbish $\rightarrow$ Donate for 3 years $\rightarrow$ Accredited dismantling.
- **Sustainability Model Trade-off:** Choosing a *Social Enterprise* model over reliance on donations/volunteers to ensure long-term operation.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The speaker recommends establishing the Green IT Classroom model to create a self-sustaining cycle that simultaneously addresses pollution and educational deficiency.
- The ultimate goal is closing the technology access gap to prevent a future labor shortage of **40 million** highly qualified workers by **2020**.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"there is a high risk that uh this is collected by illegal vendors"*
- *"Lead Plum cadmium pcbs Etc"*
- *"It's estimated that around 72% of the US are handled in that way in China today"*
- *"the Green it classroom"*
- *"For three years why three years because it's the average lifetime of uh refurbished computers"*
- *"it's actually a social Enterprise"*
- *"we wanted this program to run on the long term they wanted it to be sustainable"*
- *"we be more loyal to the company"*
- *"it's estimated that by 2020 there will be a shortage of about 40 million highly qualified workers in the world"*