Frankfurt/Main, September 2025. firstcolo recently announced its new cooperation with AfB social & green IT, Europe’s largest non-profit IT company. The aim of the partnership is to refurbish used IT hardware responsibly and channel it into reuse or proper recycling. On September 17, 2025, AfB carried out the first collection: three pallets of decommissioned hardware were picked up directly from firstcolo’s premises in the presence of Mathias Groben, Director Datacenter at firstcolo. Following GDPR-compliant data erasure, the devices were inspected and refurbished before being put back into circulation as “Refurbished IT”. Devices that can no longer be utilized can thus be recycled sustainably. “Green IT is far more than working paperlessly. With AfB, we are therefore relying on a partnership that extends the life cycle of our devices, saves valuable resources such as CO₂, water and energy, and at the same time assumes social responsibility,” explains Nicolaj Kamensek, COO of firstcolo GmbH.
AfB stands for “Work for People with Disabilities” and has been operating as a recognized inclusion company since 2004. Around half of its 700 employees live with a severe disability. The business model saves thousands of tonnes of CO₂ emissions, water and raw materials every year. It also combines environmental responsibility with social commitment: companies hand over their used IT hardware, which AfB professionally erases, tests, refurbishes and resells with a warranty. Devices that can no longer be used are sent for proper recycling. AfB has already received numerous awards for this commitment, including the German Sustainability Award (2012, 2021, 2024). “The cooperation between firstcolo and AfB creates a partnership that combines environmental responsibility with social commitment. Together, we conserve valuable resources and create new prospects for people with disabilities. This shows how sustainability and inclusion can go hand in hand,” says Kamensek.
As an operator of data centers in Germany, firstcolo GmbH, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, provides its customers with the highest level of service quality. In addition to traditional colocation and server system rental, firstcolo’s range of services also includes managed services, security solutions and cloud services.
