The new report from TCO Development, the organization behind the global sustainability certification for IT products TCO Certified, explains how everyone who buys and uses IT products can implement circular and more sustainable practices.
“Circular solutions are already available. We now need to use them,” says Clare Hobby, Global Purchaser Engagement Director at TCO Development.
The report, Impacts and Insights: Circular IT Management in Practice, sets out how the circular economy helps solve many of the most pressing sustainability challenges linked to IT products. Today’s linear consumption causes substantial carbon dioxide emissions. Natural resources are being rapidly exhausted and vast amounts of hazardous e-waste piles up, with more than 50 million metric tonnes being discarded every year, of which only 20% is being responsibly taken care of. The circular economy can help us reduce the pressure we’re putting on the planet.
As a pioneer of circular procurement, Aalborg municipality has seen the effects of acting with greater circularity.
“The amount of CO2 we can save by keeping IT products longer surprised me. Using laptops for another three years will save emissions equivalent to heating and powering all municipality buildings for a year,” says Birgitte Krebs Schleemann, project manager for sustainability procurement at Aalborg municipality.
The circular transition is a paradigm shift that will require both big and small changes. In the report, experts in the frontline of circularity and IT share 33 concrete tips.
“We want to go beyond theory — this report provides practical help for those who want to take the next step,” says Clare Hobby.
Some of the tips:
- Use your IT-products longer — it’s the single most important thing you can do to save natural resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
- Work to gradually implement circular practices, such as take-back programs.
- Think circular when you’re purchasing IT products. Use circular criteria.
- Give your IT products a second life by reselling them.
- Acknowledge that circularity is a team effort and no one can do it alone. Both internal and external cooperation is key!
