A top 10 global pharmaceutical manufacturer wanted a clearer way to quantify the sustainability impact of its surplus asset management program, which had been in place for more than 20 years. With a large global footprint and complex equipment needs across laboratory, manufacturing, and distribution environments, the client sought a more comprehensive way to measure the environmental value created through surplus asset disposition.

EquipNet partnered with Ramboll, a global leader in sustainability engineering, to develop custom CO2e avoidance calculations using asset-level data captured through the program. The result was a more credible and actionable way to measure the carbon impact of redeployment, resale, recycling, and donation.

Since the program’s inception, the client has realized over $75M in financial value from managing their surplus lab and manufacturing assets across their global enterprise.  In addition, the program has tracked over 7,800 tons of weight that has not been sent to landfills.  However, the client wanted to move beyond financial impact and landfill avoidance metrics and better understand the environmental impact of their asset disposition efforts.  They wanted to understand if there was a way to measure CO2e avoidance. As surplus assets vary by category, weight, materials, and end use, the reporting methodology needed to be practical, transparent, and credible enough to support internal ESG reporting.

EquipNet captures key data for every surplus asset entering the program, including OEM, equipment category, dimensions, weight, and final disposition activity. This data formed the foundation for a custom sustainability reporting capability.

In partnership with Ramboll, a leader in sustainable solution consultancy, EquipNet developed a proprietary method for calculating the avoided CO2e. 

This work produced two CO2e avoidance factors: one for equipment redeployed within the client’s enterprise and another for equipment sold through the secondary market.

Ramboll’s carbon accounting expertise added credibility, transparency, and methodological rigor to the reporting. Their life cycle assessment work helped ensure the calculations reflected equipment materials and disposition pathways rather than relying on generic assumptions alone.

Redeployment carries a higher CO2e avoidance value because it reflects emissions avoided by preventing the manufacture of new equipment. Resale carries a different value, based on emissions avoided when equipment is diverted from landfill through secondary market sale.

The client can now measure both the historical CO2e avoided through its surplus asset management program and the potential future impact of active listings on its ARMS site.

This gives the client actionable sustainability data to support future disposition decisions, expand the Surplus Asset Management Program across additional enterprise facilities, and strengthen internal ESG reporting.

Through this custom reporting capability, the client can:

Quantify CO2e avoidance across surplus asset disposition activities.

Compare the environmental impact of redeployment and resale.

Measure both historical program impact and potential future impact.

Use credible, expert-supported data in internal ESG reporting.

Support expansion of the program across additional facilities.

By partnering with Ramboll, EquipNet helped the client turn surplus asset data into credible sustainability reporting. The solution connects operational asset decisions with measurable environmental outcomes and demonstrates how surplus asset management can evolve beyond landfill avoidance into a meaningful contributor to enterprise sustainability goals.