Onepak Inc., a digital supply chain and reverse logistics platform, has raised $20 million from the Private Equity Impact team at Nuveen, the asset manager of TIAA, to advance e-waste circularity.
The investment represents the first in the Nuveen Climate Inclusion Fund II.
Onepak provides a turnkey solution for IT users and organisations of all sizes to return, recycle, resell, or relocate IT devices through its ReturnCenter platform.
The platform enables original equipment manufacturers, leasing organisations, resellers and recyclers to manage the movement, redeployment, data destruction, disposal, and end-to-end chain of custody of used electronic devices from businesses and consumers.
“E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams, globally, with only a fraction being reused or recycled properly,” explained Steve Andon, Founder and CEO of Onepak.
Indeed, according to The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies, globally, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, and is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030,
“By leveraging an extensive logistics partner ecosystem on our frictionless technology platform, Onepak addresses the pain points that prevent devices from being redeployed or receiving proper end-of-life treatment,” said Andon.
“Onepak has developed a world-class platform and partner ecosystem to manage the complex reverse logistics needs of the electronics aftermarket,” added Ted Maa, Managing Director at Nuveen.
“We are pleased to be working with Onepak – leveraging our experience growing circular economy and climate-mitigating businesses – to create global impact by scaling the amount of e-waste that is diverted from landfills,” said Maa.