The Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP) partners and members are actively responding to its roadmap actions through a variety of projects.

Our projects

With our roadmap as a compass, all our partners have now started projects and activities to address the identified barriers to the circular transition. Together with our members, and in collaboration with other global and regional organizations, we are steadily building our way to a more circular future.

  • Project started

    P1.1 Define what constitutes circular products and services

    There is no such thing as a circular product. It is the circular “operating system” – allowing a product to be collected at end of life, be recovered through any of the R-strategies, and then circulated back into the economy – that determines a product level of circularity. And in order for an industry to transition to this ecosystem, we first need to agree on what that looks like.

    Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP), together with its members, has set out to develop a North Star as a strategic vision for a circular electronics system that we are working toward in 2030.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    15 online workshops with our 20 project member companies to discuss and build a cross value chain understanding of the future circular system.

    Project start

    August 2021 and ongoing

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    The Circular Electronics Industry Blueprint is expected to be published in Autumn 2022.

  • Project started

    P2.1 Develop guidance for circular electronics procurement

    Today, governments worldwide depend intensely on possessing a reliable, citizen-centered, proprietary IT infrastructure. A project coalition led by the governments of Germany and Estonia, and ITU, helps governments to achieve this objective by providing standardized IT infrastructure and service building blocks in a layered architecture called GovStack.

    While unfolding their full potential to ensure that the production, use, and disposal of the ICT equipment used in these building blocks poses no additional harm to the environment, governments implementing GovStack can use their purchasing power to acquire environmentally sound software and hardware. In this project, ITU and the Global Electronics Council (GEC) will develop a guide and an e-learning course to assist governments in procuring ICT for their use in a circular and sustainable manner.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    Project preparation has been carried out involving initial consultations with existing sustainable and circular procurement initiatives at a regional level and by the United Nations. The project is currently in the recruitment phase, with a project lead expected on board shortly, and a pool of candidates has been identified. In the meantime, consultees from across several countries are being identified, ready for the preparation of the guide.

    Project start

    June 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    Once the lead is on board, a series of consultations will take place with experts, the guide will be prepared – validated through a consultation workshop – designed, and edited, while an e-learning course providing an interactive overview of the guide will also be prepared.

  • Project started

    P2.2 GEC Purchaser Commitment

    The GEC Purchaser Commitment is a multi-year global campaign to increase demand for sustainable and circular technology and services.

    The commitment asks organizations to commit to:

    • Setting targets for purchasing sustainable and circular technology, products, and services
    • Reporting annual progress.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    A dedicated webpage launched to describe the campaign and provide access to the online and downloadable form to sign up to the commitment.

    Project start

    July 2021 and ongoing

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    Increased outreach for promotion of the campaign and for organizations to sign the commitment.

    GEC Purchaser Commitment
  • Project planned

    P3.2 Measuring circularity – Circular Transition Indicators Industry user group for electronics

    In 2020, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched a measuring and monitoring framework to determine the circularity performance of a company, business unit, or product line: the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI). This universal methodology is currently in use by over 1,500 organizations across the world and throughout many different industries.

    WBCSD offers CEP members an electronics user group in which members are guided through the framework step by step, together with industry peers, to understand and determine how CTI principles are best applied across the industry.

    Project start

    Planned start: September 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    The user group will comprise training on the CTI methodology and a series of work sessions designed to take the industry group through the framework step by step.

    Final deliverable: Publication of case studies for the application of CTI by the participating companies.

    Circular economy
  • Project started

    P4.2 Defining “waste neutral” for electronics

    GEC is leading a collaborative effort to define the term "waste neutral" for electronics. The working group will examine waste neutral's role in circular electronics, the need for waste reduction, the role different actors can play, and ways to motivate the industry and purchasers towards action.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    Project planning and working group outreach.

    Project start

    May 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    The working group will draft guidelines and circulate the draft for comments.

    Final deliverable: Anticipated publications early 2023.

  • Project started

    P4.8 Tie in take-back systems and collection to the business model

    Through this project, GeSI aims to address the challenge of improving take-back rates by aiming to embed the process of returning EEE into existing business practices, as well as creating a future-proof value chain that enables improved take-back systems.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    Virtual workshop where participants selected three problem statements to form the basis of deep-dive topics:

    1. Best practices for customer incentives.
    2. Moving to better valuation of WEEE.
    3. Partnering to create economy of scale.

    The members also provided use cases and existing studies to help inform the discussion.

    Project start

    February 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    Selection of deep-dive focus areas and co-developed solutions to the existing challenges with subject matter colleagues.

    The final deliverable: Evaluated pilot plan.

  • Project started

    P6.1 Digital product passport

    To determine the future application of secondary materials, we need a data set reflecting where and what a product has been in the previous cycle(s) embedded in a digital product passport. The exact data required in this passport needs further definition and agreement.

    This WBCSD project aims to develop and publish a position for the organization and its members to make the EU’s proposed Digital Product Passport (DPP) an effective and feasible instrument that drives circularity and retains material value.

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    Kickoff workshop

    Project start

    May 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    • Drive alignment on goal DPP.
    • System mapping of information needs and sources throughout various points in the value chain.
    • Identification of implementation barriers and unintended consequences.
    • Identification of solutions (if relevant already).
  • Project started

    P6.2 Create an EHS assurance scheme for secondary materials

    The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) is a coalition of over 200 electronics companies, committed to implementing globally recognized due diligence for labor, health and safety, and environmental practices in their manufacturing supply chains.

    Companies seeking to implement more circular supply chains that reuse materials and components are often challenged by a lack of visibility and assurance in reverse supply chains and end-of-life (recycling) practices.

    The RBA's EHS assurance standard developed through this project will provide a level of assurance for reclaimed materials comparable to industry best practices, so that electronics companies can more fully engage in a circular supply chain. Such an effort further provides infrastructure and methodologies for material traceability and tracking (Roadmap action P6.1 and P6.3).

    Recent activities (and achievements to date)

    RBA has developed a proposal for the need for EHS assurance in e-waste processing.

    Project start

    May 2022

    Next steps and expected final deliverable

    Stakeholders will convene for a series of workshops to design and develop standards that will be implemented through RBA's systems.

    The project aims to establish shared assurance standards through design and piloting.

    Circular Materials Landscape Assessment