Geneva, 24 October – Today, the Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP), published an extensive Circular Electronics Design Guide. While competitive pressures, regulations, and consumer demand push and pull the sector toward circularity, companies in the electronics sector still lack the holistic view, practical tools, and enabling conditions to navigate the transition with confidence. This is why the Circular Electronics Partnership partnered with the Circular Design Forum, supported by Accenture, to create an actionable guide by practitioners for practitioners. The comprehensive resource equips and empowers professionals in their circular design journey.
Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world, with 62 million tonnes of e-waste being produced annually, on track to rise to over 80 million tonnes by 2030, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024. As electronic consumption continues to rise globally, addressing the lifecycle of these products can significantly reduce waste, conserve resources and mitigate the adverse environmental impacts associated with electronic waste. In 2022, the value of metals in global e-waste was approximately USD $91 billion, mainly coming from iron, copper and gold. Companies can tap this value potential by adopting new circular business models, optimizing the entire product life cycle along the value chain.
Daniel Reid, Head of Secretariat, CEP, commented, “Product design holds immense potential in transforming the present linear model of production and consumption of electronics. The development and use of this extensive resource on circular design can help address many of the barriers to the industry transition that the Circular Electronics Roadmap outlines. We commend the efforts of the contributing experts and wish to make this guide a daily companion for those looking to innovate, scale, and transform their organization.”
The guide includes a Circular Innovation Blueprint that takes users through a four-step circular innovation process – enable, frame, plan, and implement, combined with real examples from industry leaders. A Transition Map further helps companies prioritize and scale circular initiatives taking into consideration the organizational, product, and industrial ecosystem timelines. Ultimately, this resource offers both strategic and technical guidance, balancing the macro and micro level views needed for successful circular design.
As product design is only part of the circular transition story, the guide is intended for everyone who can play a role in enabling innovation and change within the industry, both inside manufacturing organizations, and across the electronics value chains and sectors of society.
Reflecting on the need to develop expertise across the organization, Christopher Seely Ecodesign Engineer, Circularity, Microsoft, stated, “It is essential to bring your development teams along on the journey of designing for circularity by educating them. Ensure they understand concepts like waste reduction and carbon footprint, while also delving into specific circular strategies, such as fully comprehending the recycling process. Sustainability teams are typically small compared to the enormous efforts required for circularity implementation. Therefore, our greatest impact comes not from being present in every meeting or involved in every decision but from educating people and building experts within each team. This way, when a team faces decisions that may impact circularity, they can make informed choices as if one of our experts were in the room.”
Teun van Wetten, Design Director & Head of Sustainability at Accenture Industrial Design, further noted, “Through thoughtful design, we have the unique opportunity to influence the sustainability and longevity of electronic products. However, meaningful change cannot be achieved in isolation. It requires the concerted efforts of all parties involved—from designers and engineers to manufacturers, policymakers, and end-users. Without collaboration, our impact will be limited and superficial.”
The Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP) invites stakeholders working on circularity in the electronics sector to explore the practical guide and leverage these novel insights in their daily decision-making. CEP hopes to continue updating the guide and help it reach more users worldwide to inspire and equip the agents of change within the electronics value chain and beyond.
CEP thanks Accenture Industrial Design for the tremendous effort and expertise in developing the guide and the 60+ experts from 25 organizations who shared their knowledge as part of this project.
Contributing organizations:
Accenture, Bang & Olufsen, Danfoss, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, ERI, Fairphone, Fraunhofer IZM, Global Electronics Council, Globant, HMD, HP, iFixit, Logitech, Microsoft, Partners For Innovation, Pezy, Philips, Royal College of Art, Schneider Electric, Signify, Studio Elk, Synapse, TU Delft, Versuni
