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Anthony
Levy
Levy
The Sustainable IT Guy
Sustainable IT advocate. Advisor. Speaker. Entrepreneur.
I help organisations adopt a more sustainable approach to IT
Anthony Levy Wins TechUK's Planet Award
17 years ago, I left a fast-track career in telecoms to start a business with purpose. I wanted to prove that tech industry could be both more profitable and more sustainable.
Two nights’ ago, I sat at the techUK annual dinner, in a wonderfully decorated room full of the best and brightest in the tech industry and government. You could feel the energy and excitement in the room as hundreds of people talked animatedly over the lovely food.
When the President’s Awards got underway, I was more than a little nervous. Being nominated for the Planet Award was a big honour. And when Sheila Flavell CBE and Nicola Hodson stood on stage in their dazzling attire, speaking with passion about why these awards matter, it felt like organisations were looking at how they too could do more for society than make money.
When they announced I had won the Planet Award, I was overjoyed. It felt like we had been both heard and seen. I know the work we do is important, but that validation matters. It helps refuel and recharge, because this work isn’t easy, and the journey to get here hasn’t always been straightforward.
As a sustainable IT company, we often find ourselves drowned out in a sea of marketing on the latest and greatest products being pushed out of the industry. We often win business being best value and best service (not just because clients want to become more sustainable), but that part I don’t mind. I truly believe we cannot expect business leaders to make the necessary changes for purely moral reasons. We must show that sustainability drives real long term shareholder value.
A huge thank you to the entire team at Circularity First for your willingness to go on this journey, to be part of something a little different and to prove that this industry can grow and be the force of good we all want it to be.
And thank you techUK for our award and running such a special event.
CONTACT ANTHONYTwo nights’ ago, I sat at the techUK annual dinner, in a wonderfully decorated room full of the best and brightest in the tech industry and government. You could feel the energy and excitement in the room as hundreds of people talked animatedly over the lovely food.
When the President’s Awards got underway, I was more than a little nervous. Being nominated for the Planet Award was a big honour. And when Sheila Flavell CBE and Nicola Hodson stood on stage in their dazzling attire, speaking with passion about why these awards matter, it felt like organisations were looking at how they too could do more for society than make money.
When they announced I had won the Planet Award, I was overjoyed. It felt like we had been both heard and seen. I know the work we do is important, but that validation matters. It helps refuel and recharge, because this work isn’t easy, and the journey to get here hasn’t always been straightforward.
As a sustainable IT company, we often find ourselves drowned out in a sea of marketing on the latest and greatest products being pushed out of the industry. We often win business being best value and best service (not just because clients want to become more sustainable), but that part I don’t mind. I truly believe we cannot expect business leaders to make the necessary changes for purely moral reasons. We must show that sustainability drives real long term shareholder value.
A huge thank you to the entire team at Circularity First for your willingness to go on this journey, to be part of something a little different and to prove that this industry can grow and be the force of good we all want it to be.
And thank you techUK for our award and running such a special event.
Planet Award Winner: Anthony Levy, Founder and Chairman of Circularity First. Pictures credits go to Hannah MacGregor.
Watch Anthony Win His Award
ANTHONY LEVY
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Anthony Levy is the founder of Circularity First: a group of sustainable IT companies that operate globally with business hubs in California (USA), Aalborg (Denmark) and Poynton (UK). To date, the Group has prevented nearly one million kilograms of IT hardware from ending up as eWaste (electronic waste) by offering Circular Economy solutions that keeps IT in use for longer.
Anthony started his business with a simple aim: to break the traditional 3-year IT replacement cycle and thereby end the practice of throwing away technology when it still has many years of life left in it. He now has over 14 years' experience of deploying sustainable technology using circular economy principles.
He and his team have delivered sustainable solutions to service providers, government bodies, and commercial customers across Europe, US and Asia. This has helped hundreds of organisations to take a more sustainable approach to how they design, source, procure, use and dispose of their IT infrastructure.
A big part of Circularity First's success has come from pushing back against negative perceptions of remanufactured technology. Anthony has consistently provided the evidence to reassure people that they can have the same performance, with better return on investment, while being more sustainable.
Anthony actively promotes the importance of the circular economy and its role in the IT industry. In fact, he’s never been more passionate about it, because it’s never been more important.
Why the Sustainable IT Guy ?
Anthony’s belief in using technology to its full utility runs deep to his core. After building a computer with second hand parts when he was 13 years old, Anthony realised the value of using unwanted technology and that set him on his career path. He is known by colleagues in the industry as The Sustainable IT Guy and the name has stuck!
Anthony started his business with a simple aim: to break the traditional 3-year IT replacement cycle and thereby end the practice of throwing away technology when it still has many years of life left in it. He now has over 14 years' experience of deploying sustainable technology using circular economy principles.
He and his team have delivered sustainable solutions to service providers, government bodies, and commercial customers across Europe, US and Asia. This has helped hundreds of organisations to take a more sustainable approach to how they design, source, procure, use and dispose of their IT infrastructure.
A big part of Circularity First's success has come from pushing back against negative perceptions of remanufactured technology. Anthony has consistently provided the evidence to reassure people that they can have the same performance, with better return on investment, while being more sustainable.
Anthony actively promotes the importance of the circular economy and its role in the IT industry. In fact, he’s never been more passionate about it, because it’s never been more important.
Why the Sustainable IT Guy ?
Anthony’s belief in using technology to its full utility runs deep to his core. After building a computer with second hand parts when he was 13 years old, Anthony realised the value of using unwanted technology and that set him on his career path. He is known by colleagues in the industry as The Sustainable IT Guy and the name has stuck!
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The good news is it’s easy to take a more sustainable approach to IT, the solutions and supply chains already exist
Why we need a more sustainable approach to IT
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Emissions for IT commonly contribute between 5-20% of an organisation's scope 3 carbon emissions. Reducing this will be vital for net zero pathways.
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IT hardware uses the same list of metals and minerals we need to make our global energy system renewable. If we don't do something we are on a collision course.
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Electronic Waste (eWaste) is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Currently 53.6m metric tonnes is generated annually – equivalent to 2,272 Titanic sized ocean liners.
EXPERTISE
Redefining IT consumption to ensure that future generations can thrive.
People are often unaware of the environmental and social impact of IT beyond energy consumption and eWaste. They are also unaware of the sustainable, resilient and cost-effective alternatives to the way they use IT today.
Anthony helps organisations use IT more sustainably and provides examples of how organisations are already doing it.
Anthony helps organisations use IT more sustainably and provides examples of how organisations are already doing it.
His approach is tailored for each audience and:
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Provides evidence for action using real-world examples and story telling.
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Encourages different thinking and behaviour change.
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Empowers business with expert advice, enabling IT teams to think-for-profit and act for the planet.
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Creates a compelling vision for what a more sustainable future for IT looks like.
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His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious and will inspire businesses to #ActOnIT
Anthony’s expertise spans all kinds of topics related to the Circular Economy, including:
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The environmental damage of manufacturing new technology products.
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Insights on the material use/ embodied carbon of new v’s remanufactured technology.
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Understanding the alternatives to old-school thinking and behaviour linked to IT hardware.
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Sustainability and purchasing decisions- myth busting non-new technology and explaining commonly used terms.
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Extending the life of technology platforms.
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Bridging the gap between commercial goals and sustainability targets.
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Linking a sustainable approach to IT with scope 3 carbon emissions, the circular economy and waste targets.
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The role of the Circular Economy in complex B2B buying chains.
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How leaders can ignite sustainable innovation and apply circular economy principles to IT.
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Sharing findings and research on sustainable IT from private and academic research partnerships.
His approach is enthusiastic and encouraging as he supports organisations to change the way they use IT for the benefit of people, the planet and for profit.
CONTACT ANTHONYAs a speaker
Anthony is energetic, engaging and visionary in his approach. He uses data and insights to back up his approach, and case studies that bring his approach to life. He tells stories of mission critical organisations who use non new technology, and shares the obstacles he has faced in trying to get businesses to take a more sustainable approach to IT.
Influencing an Industry
Anthony has been involved in the CEDaCi project since it launched (CEDaCI brings together stakeholders from the data centre industry to turn data centre waste into a useful resource by building a Circular Economy) and he is championing more responsible and sustainable use of Networking Equipment- his own organisation's specialism.
As a person
Married with two young daughters, his hatred of any kind of waste runs deep to his core. He’s a keen cyclist and see’s huge value in sport for mental health. He enjoys mentoring leaders at the start of their business journey and is currently mentoring three leaders from start-up to scale up.
Type of events
Always delighted to speak at events, Anthony can also run training sessions for teams, participate in panel discussions, facilitate a panel and deliver a guest lecture in person or online. He’s based in London.
Career History
Formation of Circularity First Group – a parent company for the Group of Sustainable IT businesses.
Businesses within the group include Cistor, Tomax, GreenCircleIT, ITsuperstore365 and Networksupermarket.
These companies each address different user groups of technology including end user clients, businesses, wholesalers, and e-commerce- providing customers with more sustainable IT hardware by utilising technology that already exists.
Anthony partners with some of the largest technology companies in the world and Cistor is one of the top 3 Circular Economy Partners to Cisco.
Businesses within the group include Cistor, Tomax, GreenCircleIT, ITsuperstore365 and Networksupermarket.
These companies each address different user groups of technology including end user clients, businesses, wholesalers, and e-commerce- providing customers with more sustainable IT hardware by utilising technology that already exists.
Anthony partners with some of the largest technology companies in the world and Cistor is one of the top 3 Circular Economy Partners to Cisco.
2021
Ecommerce channels developed: ITsuperstore.com, Cistor Product Store and Cistor Licence Store
2021
Acquires Network Supermarket
2021
Green Circle IT developed to refurbish technology and strip down technology at the end of life to utilise component parts
2019
Tomax launched
2013
Cistor founded by Anthony and his then business partner.
2008
Education
MBA in Entrepreneurship
University of California, Los Angeles
MBA in General Management
Instituto de Empresa, Madrid
BSc in Computer Science
University of Exeter
University of California, Los Angeles
MBA in General Management
Instituto de Empresa, Madrid
BSc in Computer Science
University of Exeter
Languages
English and Spanish
BLOG/SOCIAL
Articles
Insights from Anthony Levy
August 24, 2022
Linear Economy Model Falls Short as Supply Stress Grows
What happens when supply shrinks rapidly? Prices go up and we must wait longer for what we think we need. But at the extreme end we see conflicts emerging....
Read More
June 20, 2022
Reflections on the International eWaste Forum and the opportunity for sustainable IT in 2022
It makes him more determined than ever to support businesses to take a more sustainable approach to ICT in 2022....
Read More
Clients
ANTHONY
In action
November 2024
Discover how organizations can accelerate their sustainability journey with insights from Anthony Levy, founder and chairman of Circularity First. In this webinar, Anthony shares practical strategies around commitment, permission, and consistency, drawing from his company’s 15-year evolution and real-world examples. Learn how to align sustainability with business growth, empower teams to take action, and create long-term impact across your organization. Perfect for leaders, managers, and teams aiming to make sustainability a core part of their mission.
October 2024
This webinar on Increasing enterprise value through sustainability is geared towards C-level leaders considering their sustainability strategy from tackling regulatory compliance, to increasing profitability and competitive differentiation.
Logicalis’ Chief Executive Officer Robert Bailkoski and Circularity First, Founder and Chairman, Anthony Levy, will discuss their learnings on building successful organisational and shareholder value through a focus on sustainability.
Their discussion will focus on:
Bold sustainability leadership and how it drives organisational value.
Regulatory compliance and how leaders can move beyond compliance to optimising their business model and supply chain.
Increasing profitability and how leading with sustainability and a focus on carbon and energy reduction will also reduce bottom line costs by simple policy and procurement changes.
Competitive differentiation and how to avoid being left behind in the transition to a low carbon economy and build a brand that attracts the best talent and wins a new generation of customers.
Live Q&A – Audience can ask any questions for our panellists.
Logicalis’ Chief Executive Officer Robert Bailkoski and Circularity First, Founder and Chairman, Anthony Levy, will discuss their learnings on building successful organisational and shareholder value through a focus on sustainability.
Their discussion will focus on:
Bold sustainability leadership and how it drives organisational value.
Regulatory compliance and how leaders can move beyond compliance to optimising their business model and supply chain.
Increasing profitability and how leading with sustainability and a focus on carbon and energy reduction will also reduce bottom line costs by simple policy and procurement changes.
Competitive differentiation and how to avoid being left behind in the transition to a low carbon economy and build a brand that attracts the best talent and wins a new generation of customers.
Live Q&A – Audience can ask any questions for our panellists.
February 2024
All mid and large organisations in the European Union must now disclose all their carbon emissions across scope 1-2, and 3. Several states in US have begun to follow suit and the UK is already planning similar legislation.
Smaller organisations who serve those impacted will also be in the spotlight too, needing to disclosing emissions so their customers can be compliant. This legislation will impact everyone.
Being able to produce reporting efficiently will become a necessity for all businesses. But getting your hands on the data quickly isn’t always possible.
For most organisations, IT will be in the top five emissions categories – in some cases making up 40% of the emissions footprint. Being able to access this data quickly frees up time in your organisation for reporting elsewhere.
In this webinar you will:
Explore the largest and most complex part of emissions tracking for IT – scope 3
I demonstrate tools you can use to measure these emissions and other sustainability factors like critical materials and eWaste
Additionally, I explore how to use them as a decision-making tools for improved design, lower cost procurement, and efficient disposal of technology.
Smaller organisations who serve those impacted will also be in the spotlight too, needing to disclosing emissions so their customers can be compliant. This legislation will impact everyone.
Being able to produce reporting efficiently will become a necessity for all businesses. But getting your hands on the data quickly isn’t always possible.
For most organisations, IT will be in the top five emissions categories – in some cases making up 40% of the emissions footprint. Being able to access this data quickly frees up time in your organisation for reporting elsewhere.
In this webinar you will:
Explore the largest and most complex part of emissions tracking for IT – scope 3
I demonstrate tools you can use to measure these emissions and other sustainability factors like critical materials and eWaste
Additionally, I explore how to use them as a decision-making tools for improved design, lower cost procurement, and efficient disposal of technology.
January 2024
Anthony joined First Mile | Certified B Corp to discuss the growing problem of E-waste.
Highlighting the hidden costs of our tech addiction, revealing how the entire lifecycle of IT products, from extraction to manufacturing, contributes to environmental degradation.
"As a society, we are quite focused on scope one and two. So the energy use in the life of technology and not so much about scope three, that whole supply chain, what it took to make it."
Highlighting the hidden costs of our tech addiction, revealing how the entire lifecycle of IT products, from extraction to manufacturing, contributes to environmental degradation.
"As a society, we are quite focused on scope one and two. So the energy use in the life of technology and not so much about scope three, that whole supply chain, what it took to make it."
December 2023
Sharing insight on the latest trends in Circular IT Economics. Going beyond Scope Two and Three carbon reporting, he took attendees through the science behind IT remanufacturing, deployment and recovery.
Anthony was joined by Cistor Chief Growth Officer, Alastair Borissow. Alastair formerly led Cisco’s Remanufactured Equipment Division, Cisco Refresh. He shared insight into how businesses are able to take a sustainable approach to IT procurement when they merge Sustainable IT and Managed Services together, such as through a Sustainable Hardware as a Service model.
Anthony was joined by Cistor Chief Growth Officer, Alastair Borissow. Alastair formerly led Cisco’s Remanufactured Equipment Division, Cisco Refresh. He shared insight into how businesses are able to take a sustainable approach to IT procurement when they merge Sustainable IT and Managed Services together, such as through a Sustainable Hardware as a Service model.
Sharing insight on the latest trends in Circular IT Economics. Going beyond Scope Two and Three carbon reporting, he took attendees through the science behind IT remanufacturing, deployment and recovery.
Anthony was joined by Cistor Chief Growth Officer, Alastair Borissow. Alastair formerly led Cisco’s Remanufactured Equipment Division, Cisco Refresh. He shared insight into how businesses are able to take a sustainable approach to IT procurement when they merge Sustainable IT and Managed Services together, such as through a Sustainable Hardware as a Service model.
Anthony was joined by Cistor Chief Growth Officer, Alastair Borissow. Alastair formerly led Cisco’s Remanufactured Equipment Division, Cisco Refresh. He shared insight into how businesses are able to take a sustainable approach to IT procurement when they merge Sustainable IT and Managed Services together, such as through a Sustainable Hardware as a Service model.
May 2023
In Digital Dialogues, the conversation moves from how to embrace meaningful change, the importance of differentiating between what we want, and what we need, and also, you can learn why Anthony gets out of bed at 4.30am on a Wednesday morning!
April 2023
Jez and Darren receive Anthony Levy, Founder & Chairman of Circularity First and discuss the real issues surrounding the progress of sustainability globally by unveiling how manufacturing products from an age old consumerist perspective in mind means pussyfooting around tackling the crucial issues required to reduce humanity's carbon footprint on the planet.
November 2022
Anthony sat down with host Scott Challinor to talk about how sustainable IT can form a practical solution to the climate crisis and how businesses can take simple, practical steps to make their IT more sustainable and move into the circular economy.
October 2022
Full Podcast • Series 1, episode 4 of the Sustainability Champions Podcast
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