With global demand for data storage almost insatiable, the Circular Drive Initiative (CDI) is encouraging IT managers and corporate leaders to envision long-term strategies that enable sustainable storage by reducing e-waste and promoting secure reuse.

The CDI’s core mission centers on fostering sustainability in the lifecycle management of storage hardware, not least the secure reuse of hard drives. It draws its inspiration from systems-based approaches that aim to minimize waste by maximizing the lifespan of a product and its materials.

CDI’s strategy for establishing best practices in circularity involves several factors:

• Developing standards
• Implementing circular business models
• Promoting industry education
• Discouraging first-use destruction
• Fostering impact and accountability

The Circular Drive Initiative operates as a consortium uniting global leaders in digital storage, data centers, sustainability, and blockchain. It is in the interplay among key stakeholders that the CDI believes sustainable, effective measures for promoting the long-term adoption of secure reuse will take hold.

Convened under the leadership of William McDonough, an architect renowned for his work on circular design and the development of the cradle-to-cradle principle, the CDI boasts founding members from prominent drive manufacturers like Western Digital and Seagate to semiconductor companies such as Micron. Blockchain firms like Chia, a network of ITADs, and a range of other industry players contribute to a diverse ecosystem of industry players.