Jamie Rae was running a small graphic design company when he came up with the idea for Redeem—almost by accident. "Our biggest      overhead was printer cartridges and I always used to wonder why they were so expensive and whether there was anything else that could be done with them rather than just bin them," he says. "I thought there must be a way of recovering print cartridges in a cost-effective manner and then reselling them to the companies that remanufacture them." This thought made him set up a service to collect used cartridges for refilling and manufacturing.

Initially, there was reluctance to donate empty cartridges. "People saw it as a hassle, they didn't really want to recycle, but we are going back 10 years and the UK was still learning," he says. To persuade others to recycle, he decided to donate part of the proceeds to charity. Today Redeem works with 200 charities and donates about 10 per cent of annual turnover. So far, the business has raised more than £5m for good causes.

Through the Recycool campaign, children in 14,000 schools are learning how to take care of the environment, with many schools taking part in recycling programmes. The social emphasis of the business was recently rewarded at the Business in the Community National Awards for Excellence, where Redeem picked up the gong for best small company.

Today, with a presence in Cyprus, Hong Kong, Italy, Turkey and Ireland, Redeem has moved into electronic recycling and is now one of the biggest collectors of mobile phones in the UK and Ireland. Next is a move into the recycling of digital cameras, games consoles and GPSs.

Goods are shipped to a processing facility in Hong Kong. "Over 92 per cent of the goods is reused, so if someone has sold us a phone and if it doesn't work we will fix it, refurbish it and resell it, primarily to developing countries where people can't afford new technology," says Rae. The remaining eight per cent is sent to recycling facilities, where all of the parts are taken back to the base component. Over the years Redeem has diverted 134,000 tonnes from landfill.

Rae is proud of the environmental impact of his business, but Redeem also makes a huge difference socially with its unusual HR policy. "We are firm advocates of the belief that in life we all make mistakes because we are human. We employ people who have mental health issues, people who have been in prison and people who have been out of work for a long time. Yes, it can be challenging, but the benefits outweigh any negatives," says Rae, who believes six years as a politician strengthened his social conscience.

"Of course, business is there to make a profit and just by employing people it makes a major contribution to the social fabric of the country, but I still believe business can do more," he says.