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James Lancaster
Founder and CEO, Renew IT
National Finalist in EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Australia
James Lancaster is the founder of Renew IT, an Information Technology Asset Disposition (ITAD) firm. The company supports manufacturers in delivering new assets to clients and in collecting old fleet, ensuring device data is irretrievable and generating a return on investment on ageing assets. Renew IT’s focus is on zero landfill e-waste and innovatively fostering sustainability.
The business has expanded to over 200 employees and facilities across Australia and New Zealand. Known for its inventive thinking and 35% annual revenue growth, the company processes 40,000 computers every month, a figure that is continually growing.
Not bad for an outfit that James started in his garage in 2007. He chose his market astutely: the global ITAD industry, worth 16.8 billion USD in 2022, is estimated to reach 34 billion USD by 2030. With companies and consumers regularly updating IT, the market is booming. New technologies like AI are expected to increase the demand for datacenter and ITAD services.
James is proud to be creating jobs and tackling the global e-waste crisis. Renew IT has a distinct social conscience: during COVID, for example, it converted old laptops into chromebooks to help nurses work from home.
The company has been collaborating with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) for four years to create Microfactories™ in their facilities to process e-waste and transform waste plastic into 3D printer filament. In conjunction with UNSW and the Australian Research Council, the company self-funds research and development to connect Australian research labs to the industry. Their plastics filament line has been a commercial success, and they are now recovering rare precious earths from e-waste such as neodymium (magnets), cobalt, copper, iron and tin. The future of the Microfactories is to provide jobs in regional areas, especially in mining-heavy areas where locals are losing their jobs.
James believes that entrepreneurs must be curious, tenacious and determined. If you’re passionate about something, can see commercial potential in it, and have the drive and resolve to achieve it, entrepreneurialism automatically follows.