BAE Systems
The situation
BAE Systems’ Military Air Solutions division deployed approximately 3,500 laptops, PCs and workstations annually, with equipment lifecycles capped at four years. Packaging for this equipment, cardboard and polystyrene, generated roughly three tonnes of cardboard and half a tonne of polystyrene waste each year. The equipment went to skips, recycling facilities, or landfill.
BAE Systems recognised a corporate responsibility regarding environmental impact. The current approach was neither sustainable nor aligned with the company’s values. The challenge wasn’t to find a way to manage the waste, but to rethink the entire approach to packaging and recycling.
What SCC did
SCC, working alongside CSC, took time to understand the specific operational requirements. The equipment had to arrive in good condition, deployed immediately, with minimal setup. Packaging couldn’t just protect the hardware, it had to enable rapid deployment. Rather than defaulting to industry-standard approaches, they designed from first principles.
The solution replaced single-use cardboard and polystyrene packaging with reusable containers. Equipment arrived in durable, reusable cases that could be collected, cleaned, and used again. Polystyrene was eliminated entirely. Cardboard waste dropped dramatically. The closed-loop system meant materials stayed in circulation rather than entering landfill.
What changed
The environmental burden reduced significantly. BAE Systems went from generating tonnes of packaging waste annually to a circular system where materials are reused indefinitely. The shift delivered an unexpected benefit: costs fell as well. Reusable packaging, managed at scale, is cheaper than repeatedly ordering and disposing of single-use materials.
More broadly, the initiative became a differentiator. Customers and partners noticed that BAE Systems took environmental responsibility seriously enough to rethink standard processes.
What the client learned
BAE Systems learned that environmental responsibility and operational efficiency aren’t competing objectives. By questioning assumptions and designing from first principles, the company found solutions that improve both. The experience shifted how the organisation thinks about other operational challenges. What seemed like a packaging problem turned out to be an opportunity to rethink how the company operates.
BAE Systems needed a cost-effective IT recycling solution. SCC helped us reduce waste, recover value and meet our environmental commitments at the same time.
Christina Aspden, Head of IM&T Service Improvement, BAE Systems
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