Ateliers sans frontières is a non-profit worforce development organization which recycles outdated computers, and sends them to developing countries. Pascal Lermechin, in charge of the French development of Onyx Triade Electronic and sponsor to the association, built up a partnership between the two organizations.

What was the Veolia Environnement Foundation funding for ?

The financial assistance awarded to Ateliers sans frontières has enabled to optimize both the outdated computers collection and their recovery. Thanks to this support, Ateliers sans frontières has managed to buy a collection truck and some equipment in order to check if computer screens work properly. I realized how professional and efficient they were when I visited their workshops.

What did you do then to help them ?

As Triade Electronic's business is the recycling of discarded electrical and computer equipment, I thought we could work together.We now call on Ateliers sans frontières to collect the scrapped equipment in the Val-de-Marne region. Furthermore, we've agreed to supply them with a part of the more recent computers we get from our clients. So they can test them, refurbish them and then send them out to Africa via a NGO.

What do you see coming out of this collaboration ?

The human and social dimension of the project, together with the respect for environmental standards and the guarantee of a high degree of traceability, will be complementary to Triade Electronic's particular line of business.My team even won the 2005 Veolia Environnement Award for Social Initiatives, in the jobs category thanks to this partnership.