Amanda Buros (00:00)

Hi and welcome back to The Vertical Advantage, our podcast series from Dynamic where we break down what really happens with your old tech and what this means for you.

I’m your host Amanda Tischer Buros, VP of OEM Solutions. At Dynamic, we help businesses recover value from their equipment, keep data secure, and give electronics their next best life. If you’re tired of juggling this and you’re managing IT assets, handling compliance, or running a data center, this is for you.

Today, we’re diving into a topic that’s top of mind for nearly every organization, turning ESG goals into real measurable results. I’m joined by Mary Hemmersbach, our VP of Technology and Corporate Responsibility, to talk about how Dynamic helps partners back up their sustainability commitments with real data from scope 3 reductions to audit ready reporting and verified carbon insets. It’s all about moving ESG from promise to proof.

Let’s get started.

Amanda Buros (00:54)

So Mary, one partner recently told us, we can’t just say that we’re sustainable anymore. We have to prove it. Why is measurement such a critical part of what ESG has become today?

Mary (01:04)

Thanks, Amanda. I’m really looking forward to having this conversation. The quote that you shared sums it up perfectly. For years, sustainability was something companies talked about. Now, it’s something they have to demonstrate. Investors, regulators, and even customers expect data, not just intent. At Dynamic, that’s where technology becomes a differentiator. We’re giving our partners, from hyperscale data centers to Fortune 500 organizations to OEMs, the systems and data sets that they need to quantify their environmental performance.

So it’s not just we recycle responsibly. It’s here’s the carbon avoided, here’s the recovery rate, and here’s the traceable proof behind every asset. That’s how ESG becomes measurable and defensible.

Amanda Buros (01:48)

Thank you, Mary. As we start to dive in this morning, can you break down what ESG really means for our customers and where electronics, recycling, and ITAD fit into that picture?

Mary (01:58)

Sure, absolutely. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. It’s the framework companies use to evaluate and report on their impact beyond financial metrics. Dynamic contributes mostly directly to the environmental side, helping our partners reduce waste, extend asset life cycles, and minimize carbon emissions through responsible reuse and recycling. Whether it’s enterprise end user hardware, like laptops and tablets, or data center infrastructure, like servers and racks, every asset carries embodied carbon. By managing those assets transparently, we help customers then turn responsible disposition into measurable environmental progress.

Amanda Buros (02:36)

Great. That background is really helpful. So, from your perspective, what’s changed in the past few years that’s been driving this shift from ESG as messaging to ESG as measurable data?

Mary (02:48)

The shift really comes down to accountability and access to better data. Requirements and pressures have tightened and the digital transformation means companies finally can measure things that they couldn’t before, things like energy, emissions, and circularity. We’ve also seen ESG evolve from a sustainability teams initiative to a cross-functional priority that now includes teams like IT, operations, and finance. That’s where Dynamics Vertical Integration really helps because we connect all those dots in one data set.

Amanda Buros (03:16)

Excellent. A lot of companies are focused on scope 3 emissions, which can be the hardest to track. What does Dynamic or how does Dynamic help partners demonstrate meaningful reductions in this area?

Mary (03:28)

Yeah, you’re absolutely right. Scope 3 is where most emissions live and it’s where we make the biggest impact. For data centers, that means tracking the embodied carbon and hardware from manufacturing through end of life. When equipment is redeployed or reused instead of scrapped, we can quantify those avoided emissions. For OEMs and our enterprise IT programs, it’s about asset recovery and refurbishment. Every device that’s resold or reused avoids the need for a new one to be manufactured. That’s a measurable scope 3 reduction.

Amanda Buros (03:56)

Can you walk us through what that looks like in practice? How our data systems capture avoided emissions from logistics, refurbishment, and recycling activities?

Mary (04:03)

Absolutely. Our internal systems capture asset level data from collection logistics to processing and resale outcomes. That data flows into our carbon modeling, which applies ISO 140064 methodology. It’s then independently reviewed by a third party and verified, giving our customers investor grade confidence in their own results.

Amanda Buros (04:24)

Awesome. And carbon insets are kind of a newer concept. So turning avoided emissions into a forward-looking sustainability asset. How does Dynamics support our customers with this?

Mary (04:35)

Carbon insets are about helping companies recognize the real sustainability impact of actions they’re already taking, like refreshing, consolidating, or upgrading technology assets. For the data centers or corporate partners, this doesn’t mean that they’re holding onto hardware assets longer. It’s actually the opposite.

By refreshing equipment earlier, while it still has market value and can be then reused or resold, we’re able to capture that residual value and measure the avoided carbon from preventing new manufacturing, giving electronics their next best life. So instead of aging hardware, consuming more power and losing resale potential, Dynamic helps partners decommission proactively and turn that process into measurable scope 3 reductions. For OEMs, insets then come from circular programs, so recovering materials, extending product life, or reintroducing components into production.

Amanda Buros (05:25)

That’s excellent. So I think as both you and I know, ESG reporting isn’t just about numbers that show up on the slide. How does Dynamic provide the audit ready documentation and traceability because customers are really looking forward to back up their claims?

Mary (05:40)

Yeah, every asset we handle is serialized, tracked, and then tied to a digital record in our ERP systems. From pickup to processing to resale, those data points are integrated, they’re connected, and they feed into detailed ESG reports that quantify the reuse, recovery, and carbon impact. So it’s about the technology that we have and the integrations that we have to help ensure that we can provide the most information back to our customers.

Amanda Buros (06:05)

Thanks, Mary.

Can you share a bit about systems, about the systems or tools behind that, like how asset data, logistics tracking and material recovery feed into a verified ESG data set?

Mary (06:17)

Sure, yeah, to expand on a little bit of what I was just talking about, our ERP platform integrates the processing and resale data. We track chain of custody, we track logistics, data destruction, and material recovery automatically. Then our verified carbon modeling means partners can trust the accuracy of every emission figure. It’s not just a static report, it’s really a living validated data set that’s always changing and evolving, with new information and data.

Amanda Buros (06:44)

Wonderful. And could you share how a partner has used our reporting or audit trails to strengthen their sustainability story, either with regulators, investors or customers?

Mary (06:53)

Yeah, we actually just recently worked with a global enterprise that needed to validate their ITAD program for ESG auditing. Using Dynamics reporting, they were able to verify carbon savings and recovery across multiple regions. Then they integrated that data directly into their annual submission. Initial feedback from them was that their auditor actually cited Dynamics verified emissions data as a model for scope 3 reporting best practices, which was a nice testament to validate how our reporting or how our information can help our customers with their annual reporting as well.

Amanda Buros (07:25)

That’s a great example. From your perspective, what made that one stand out? Was it the depth of the data, the ease of the reporting, or how it connected to a broader compliance or ESG audit process?

Mary (07:36)

Honestly, Amanda, it was all three.

The depth of the data gave their Sustainability and Compliance teams the complete confidence. We weren’t just providing tools. We were delivering the asset level traceability, recovery documentation, and then the verified carbon calculations. The ease of the reporting came from how seamlessly our data integrates into their existing ESG frameworks or their ESG platforms that they’re using. And finally, the connection to their audit process was really what set everything apart.

Amanda Buros (08:05)

So every company has its own sustainability framework from GRI to internal scorecards. How does Dynamic align its data and reporting to fit into these different models?

Mary (08:15)

We’ve been really intentional about building flexibility right into our reporting structure. So whether it’s aligning to GRI for emissions or for waste, our metrics can map directly into those templates already supported by our customers. We also support custom exports or reports for internal ESG dashboards, customized to our solutions that our customers are asking for.

Amanda Buros (08:37)

Great, thank you. So what role does technology play in making that reporting seamless and actionable for our partners?

Mary (08:44)

Technology is really the foundation that makes ESG reporting even possible and reliable. At Dynamic our systems automatically capture and connect data from every stage of the process, logistics, processing, resale, and material recovery. Because those systems talk to each other, partners aren’t spending hours reconciling spreadsheets or chasing down reports. They are getting clean, auditable data that’s ready to plug directly into their ESG frameworks. Our ERP platform and then our carbon calculation translate complex operational data into real-time insights, things like emissions avoided.

It makes ESG performance something that you can measure, visualize, and most importantly, act on, not just report at the end of the year.

Amanda Buros (09:27)

Thanks, Mary. That does sound like a real differentiator.

Would you be able to go a little bit deeper into an example of a dashboard or reporting tool that we’ve developed that helps customers visualize their environmental performance over time?

Mary (09:38)

Yes, one of my favorites is our carbon and circularity dashboard. It shows our customers exactly how their recycling, or their ITAD programs, contribute to emissions reduction and material recovery over time. Also highlights landfill avoidance. It makes sustainability measurable and actionable, and also puts together graphs and visuals to help our customers then act on the data that we’re providing back to them.

Amanda Buros (10:03)

That’s great. It feels like a lot of other companies are still kind of treating ESG like a marketing narrative. So how does Dynamics shift that conversation to more measurable verified outcomes?

Mary (10:12)

By grounding it in data that matters, recovery rates, emissions avoided, pounds diverted, and circularity gain, when you connect these metrics to the ESG targets, sustainability becomes then more performance-driven versus a marketing tactic.

Amanda Buros (10:29)

Great, thank you.

I think you touched on this a little bit, but what are some of the main metrics that really matter, such as recovery rates, emissions avoided, pounds diverted? How did those connect back to ESG targets?

Mary (10:42)

That’s a really great question because the metrics that I mentioned are what turn ESG into something more actionable. The ones that matter most for us are the recovery rates, emissions avoided and total pounds diverted from landfill, directly tied to the core pillars of environmental reporting. Recovery rates connect to circular economy goals by showing how much material reenters the value chain. Emissions avoided align more so with the scope 3 reduction targets and can be verified under frameworks and the other science-based targets initiatives. And then pounds diverted demonstrate waste minimization and resource conservation, key indicators under GRI.

Amanda Buros (11:18)

Yeah, great information.

So what makes ESG success with Dynamic different than just working with a standard recycler or ITAD vendor?

Mary (11:27)

We have the ability to combine integration, transparency, and verification, which sets us apart. Our carbon calculator is backed by Sustainlytics, meaning our partners can report with confidence knowing their data is credible, traceable, and audit-ready.

Amanda Buros (11:42)

Awesome. Can you talk a little bit about the trust factor? How partners know that the data they’re reporting is accurate, defensible, and aligned with their sustainability goals?

Mary (11:53)

In today’s time, trust is everything when it comes to ESG reporting, because once you publish data, it becomes part of your brand, your relationships, and your compliance story. What gives our partners confidence is the integrity of the system behind the numbers. Our reporting is built on verifiable operational data, not estimates or averages. Then we layer on the third-party assurance. Our partners can connect the dots between operational outcomes and ESG performance with total confidence. It’s not just we recycled responsibly.

Amanda Buros (12:23)

So if I’m a sustainability leader listening right now, what’s the first step I should take to make ESG progress real, not just aspirational?

Mary (12:32)

First and foremost, starting out by identifying where your ESG data lives and where it doesn’t. If your IT and sustainability systems aren’t connected, that’s the biggest opportunity. Dynamic can bridge that gap through technology, verified reporting, and traceable performance data.

Amanda Buros (12:48)

And Mary, what’s the one thing you want partners to remember about how Dynamic can help them turn ESG goals into real world results?

Mary (12:54)

With ESG, it isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress that you can prove. So our data is verified, credibly backed, and third party audited. It makes it credible from boardroom to audit, and it’s really about showing that progress again.

Amanda Buros (13:10)

That’s great. If you had to sum it up in one sentence, what’s the value of proof over promise when it comes to ESG?

Mary (13:17)

The proof builds the trust and trust is what drives partnerships, relationships, investment, and ultimately real change.

Amanda Buros (13:25)

Excellent. Thank you so much.

This wraps up our episode of the Vertical Advantage today. A big thank you to Mary for showing us how Dynamic turns sustainability into something tangible, measurable reductions, transparent reporting, and real accountability. When ESG becomes data-driven, progress isn’t just possible, it’s proven. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us next time as we continue exploring how Dynamic’s Vertical Integration drives smarter, more sustainable results.

We’ll see you next time.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (00:13)

Welcome back to The Vertical Advantage, our podcast series from Dynamics where we break down what really happens with your old tech and what this means for you. I’m your host Amanda Tischer Burros, VP of OEM Solutions. At Dynamics, we help businesses recover value from their equipment, keep data secure, and give electronics their next best life. If you’re tired of juggling this, you’re managing IT assets, handling compliance, or running a data center, this is for you.

Today we’re talking about selecting a partner in high stakes environments like IT management, electronics recycling, or data center decommissioning. The question isn’t just, do they meet the baseline certification requirements? It’s, will they still hold up when expectations rise or conditions change?

Today I’m joined by Mary Hemmersbach, our VP of Technology. Mary and I have both spent a lot of time thinking and talking about how expectations are changing and how meeting the minimum just isn’t enough anymore in the environments our customers operate in. Let’s get started. Mary, why is it important to talk about certifications and their value to our partners?

Mary (01:14)

Hi, Amanda. Thank you so much for inviting me into this conversation. I’m really excited to dive into this topic because this is where our culture, our operations, and our customer first mindset really come together. You know, one way I like to think about certifications in our industry is kind of like a funnel. ⁓ At the top, there’s a wide group of providers that meet our baseline requirements, what most people would consider table stakes. ⁓ Those certifications are important, but they’re also becoming more and more common.

As you move down that funnel, the number of providers narrows and expectations rise. The investment required into the systems, the people, processes, and overall discipline goes up significantly. At the bottom of the funnel, certifications really stop being about marketing or checking a box. They are increasingly about proof. Proof that your operations can hold up under real scrutiny, under pressure, and when something doesn’t go as planned.

That’s where we choose to operate. We started our certification journey back in 2009, and that longevity matters. These aren’t bolt-on efforts for us. Certifications are embedded into how we design our processes, how we train our teams, how and where we’re investing in technology and making decisions, always with our customers at the forefront of our minds. For our partners, that translates into confidence and peace of mind.

When they trust us with their assets, their data, and ultimately their brand and reputation, certifications really do help demonstrate that trust is well-placed.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (02:46)

Yeah, thanks, Mary. I love the idea of that funnel visual. I think understanding that expertise and confidence continues to grow with those vendors as you go further down the funnel is a great way to provide sort of an image in your mind for how we’re trying to describe that. So with all of that in mind and the work that you’ve done in this area, where do you see the industry heading right now?

Mary (03:09)

Yeah, the risk is very real and that’s what’s driving this shift. We’re seeing more and more data breaches across multiple industries, multiple segments, ⁓ not fewer, unfortunately. According to recent industry reporting, the average cost of a data breach is now over $4.5 million. And that number continues to climb even higher in regulated industries or when there are third parties involved.

What’s especially important here is that a significant percentage of breaches now trace back to vendors or partners, not internal systems. In environments like IT asset disposition, electronics recycling, or data center decommissioning, the risk goes far beyond logistics. These assets still contain data, they still touch systems, and they still represent brand risk even if something goes wrong. At the same time, there is much stronger connection between technology and compliance than there used to be.

Customers aren’t just auditing how their physical assets are handled anymore. They’re auditing how their partners are managing their own internal systems, access controls, monitoring, and incident response. That shift is raising expectations across the board. It’s no longer enough to say, we’ve never had an issue. Customers want to see structured, repeatable proof that risk is actively being managed and proactively being addressed.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (04:32)

Great points and I think some of those stats are staggering right when we look at what the potential risk to customers their brand could be So it’s really helpful to understand what that looks like Do you have examples of steps we’ve taken ahead of maybe formal requirements and how that’s ended up benefiting? Customers or set a higher bar for the industry

Mary (04:52)

Yeah, absolutely. We have several examples where Dynamic chose to invest ahead of formal requirements because it was the right thing to do for our customers and our partners. One strong example is our investment in internal shredding. By bringing shredding in-house, we reduce third-party risk and strengthen our vertical integration. For customers, that means one vendor, one process, and one clear chain of custody, which directly supports confidence and audit simplicity.

We’ve taken a similar approach in other areas. Specifically, we’ve implemented GPS tracking well before it became an industry expectation. And that decision gave customers greater visibility, improved chain of custody documentation, and a reduced risk during transportation, long before it was ever formally required. And lastly, another example is our Carbon calculator. We didn’t build that because we were forced to. We built it because customers that were asking for better data, better reporting, and better insight into the environmental impact of their programs.

That tool allows us to provide customers the quantification of their outcomes in a way that supports internal reporting, ESG goals, and executive conversations. In all of these cases, the investment was about anticipating customer needs and removing friction before it ever became a problem.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (06:09)

Yeah, that’s great. Those are really good examples that show the array of things that dynamic has looked at over the years and focused on solving problems for our customers or creating formal processes before the industry suggests that these processes exist. And I love the idea of looking at shredding, at carbon calculation, and then GPS tracking, downstream management and risk, because those all solve very different problems for our customers.

It’s a good example to show how Dynamic looks at that risk across varying areas of our business and look to solve areas that are impactful, maybe not just in one lane, but are impacting our customers across the level of businesses that we do. So that’s awesome. Great example. Thank you. ⁓ Kind of maybe switching gears a little bit or kind of getting deeper into the risk that we’ve talked about when it comes to data. So Dynamic holds industry-leading certifications, nine in total.

Spanning environmental data and security standards with SOC 2 and ISO 27001 clearly sit in a different category. Can you talk about how customer risk, not just internal ambition, drove the decision to pursue these newer certifications?

Mary (07:22)

Yes, we have a lot of certification when it boils down to it, but really it isn’t about the number of certifications that we hold. I like to view it as more of the purpose behind them. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 sit in a different category because they directly address customer risk in a more comprehensive way. For many organizations, traditional certifications are sufficient. They demonstrate good practices and operational maturity. But as a

As customer environments have evolved, expectations have changed, which we’ve talked about a little bit earlier. But customers started asking different questions, not just, can you do the work, but can you prove you manage risk at the same level we’re held to internally? They needed assurance that their partners weren’t introducing gaps into their own compliance or security postures. SOC 2 and ISO 27.1 provide that assurance in a structured, recognized, and repeatable way.

They create a shared language around risk management, security controls, and governance, which makes conversations clearer and audits smoother for everyone involved across multiple different customer segments and industries.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (08:31)

So what changed in our customer environments that made these frameworks necessary or the next step for Dynamic

Mary (08:39)

Yeah, great question. ⁓ I think several things have changed at the same time. Technology turnover is happening faster than ever. Assets are moving more frequently, data lives in more places, and systems are increasingly interconnected. At the same time, organizations are under more regulatory pressure and greater public scrutiny than ever before. ⁓ Customers are now being held for the full life cycle of sensitive information.

Not just while assets are in their possession, but after those assets leave their facilities. That accountability extends directly to their partners. And as a result of that, informal or loosely defined controls aren’t enough anymore. Customers need partners who operate within strong, formalized security and governance frameworks. Frameworks that can also scale as programs grow and withstand deeper levels of scrutiny.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (09:29)

Great, thank you. That was very well stated and easy to understand. So for listeners who are out there thinking, this sounds familiar, what are some real world situations that could signal it might be time to take a closer look at your partner’s certifications?

Mary (09:44)

There are some very common signals we see and we hear about. Rapid growth or scope expansion is a big one, especially when programs move from pilot to enterprise wide. Increased data sensitivity, evolving regulations and new geographies can also raise the bar quickly. Another signal is visibility. When programs start getting executive or board level attention, risk tolerance tends to tighten. Leaders want fewer unknowns and fewer assumptions.

So multi-site or multi-year initiatives often expose gaps as well. Those are usually the moments where certifications move from being nice to have to truly essential because they provide consistency, structure, and defensibility over time. So as I think about our customers or our partners that we support, as they’re growing, they can extend some of this ⁓ obligation to a trusted and certified partner like Dynamic to help support them along their growth journeys as well.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (10:39)

That probably helps a lot with peace of mind. So as we think about that, and we think about being audit ready as a mindset, not a one-time event. For those listening, what does this actually remove from their day to day or provide peace of mind for them? What stress or uncertainty goes away when you work with a partner who is audit ready?

Mary (11:00)

Yeah, dynamic operates as if we could be audited at any time because the reality is we oftentimes are. Last year alone, we completed over 40 audits, which is nearly once a week when you think about it. Because of that, our processes don’t change when an audit is scheduled or when an auditor shows up at our front door. There’s no scramble. There’s no special preparation. There’s no temporary workarounds. Our partners can walk into our facilities any day of the year.

You see that same discipline in consistent operations. And we oftentimes do open up our doors at any time to our customers. It lets them focus on their own responsibilities instead of managing vendor risk. We will take that from them.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (11:40)

Great points, thank you. customer environments become more complex, regulated like you mentioned earlier and visible, how does dynamic evolve alongside?

Mary (11:50)

As an industry leader, we take that responsibility very seriously. We see it as our role to help shape what good looks like, always with our customers at the center. That means investing ahead of the requirements, supporting larger and more complex programs, and designing our operations that can withstand higher levels of scrutiny as the expectations rise. SoC2 and our ISO 27001 aren’t endpoints for us. They’re enablers that give us the structure and the discipline needed to support for what’s next.

Whether that’s more complex data center environments, tighter regulatory oversight, or deeper integration with our customer systems so that we ultimately can become easier for them to use. Ultimately, our goal is simple. To be a partner, customers can rely on when the stakes are high and uncertainty is not an option.

Amanda Tischer-Buros (12:38)

Great. Thank you very much, Mary, for your insights today. So as we wrap up this episode of the Vertical Advantage, one thing really does stand out. Raising the bar isn’t about collecting credentials. It’s about meeting evolving customer needs and building operations that hold up when expectations rise and stakes are high. Certifications like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 matter, but the real advantage is the confidence and clarity.

They give customers who can’t afford uncertainty. So we want to thank Mary Hammersbach for being with us today and giving us some great insights into these certifications and others and being audit ready in a time where customer requirements are always evolving. So thank you for listening and we’ll see you next time.