Environmental and social assurance in e-waste management is becoming a critical priority for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) engaging in the circular value chain. While some standards exist, many OEMs require additional due diligence to address unique risks within the recycling industry.
The Circular Electronics Roadmap calls for a consistent and transparent environmental, health, and safety assurance scheme for secondary materials, comparable to systems deployed for decades in linear supply chains. Without comprehensive lifecycle due diligence that sufficiently abates risk in recycling processes and material sourcing, integrating secondary materials into value chains remains a challenge.
Recognizing this, CEP and ERM co-hosted a workshop at the Inaugural Electronics Sustainability Summit in October 2024, bringing together stakeholders from across the electronics value chain. The discussions focused on streamlining audits, improving data transparency, and creating collaborative pathways to strengthen due diligence processes and enable circularity.
This paper summarizes the workshop findings and offers recommendations aimed at driving greater collaboration and transparency in e-waste management.