19. May 2025
MRM Distribution shows how Microsoft licenses can save not only costs but also CO₂.
Efficiency, security, and scalability are probably the most commonly used terms among IT decision-makers. Increasingly, however, the word “sustainability” is also entering the conversation. And rightly so: IT products account for nearly four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Hardware and data centers contribute to this figure. But software can also help companies reduce CO₂ emissions – and save a significant amount of money.
The impact of software
Melanie Achten has been Managing Director of MRM Distribution since 2024. Shortly after joining, she asked her team: what impact does it actually have that we trade Microsoft licenses as used software? No one had a clearly documented answer. “I couldn’t find reliable information from other providers either,” says the mother of two, for whom the topic is particularly important. So she decided to have it calculated. The analysis was carried out by ClimatePartner, a specialist in calculating corporate climate emissions.
The result: since its founding in 2017, the licenses sold by MRM have saved 318 tons of CO₂e. For Melanie Achten, this makes reused software an essential component of any modern digital strategy.
Green licensing protects both the environment and the budget
“green licensing by MRM” is the brand under which companies can buy and sell used Microsoft licenses. The IT expert explains: “In a world where every gram of CO₂ saved matters, using Microsoft licenses as used software is both economically and environmentally sustainable.”
At the same time, IT budgets benefit as well. Office, servers, and CALs are 30 to 70 percent cheaper at MRM than new licenses, and over a three-year period they can be up to 40 percent cheaper than most Microsoft 365 plans.
Secondary purchase plus cloud in combination
As budgets remain limited, more and more IT decision-makers are responding to the steadily rising subscription costs. Many companies keep parts of their IT infrastructure on-premises or move applications back from online plans.
For SMEs that do not want – or cannot afford – to give up the innovation potential of the cloud, Melanie Achten recommends hybrid software models. The former Bechtle manager has extensive expertise in license management and sees a mix of CSP licenses and used software as providing exactly the flexibility and cost advantages often attributed to cloud solutions.
“Anyone integrating used software into their IT strategy should think in both directions,” she advises, referring not only to purchasing but also to selling – the very source from which MRM obtains its inventory.
Selling also pays off
Software is a valuable asset, and MRM Distribution offers companies attractive compensation for their licenses, even after several years of use. Melanie Achten therefore encourages companies to take advantage of this opportunity:
“Let us purchase your volume licenses when you migrate to the cloud or introduce new programs.”
Beyond the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, this approach is also sustainable because fully functional software remains in use and becomes available to organizations that can acquire it on the secondary market at a more affordable price.
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