Tech Topic Series: Eco-Design for Circular Electronics Economy, Webinar #2

Series partners

                               



iNEMI’s Eco-Design for Circular Electronics Economy is a series of three interactive webinars featuring experts from leading organizations that are doing innovative/beyond-compliance eco-design work. The series will be an avenue for eco-design leaders to showcase their thought processes, strategies, successes and failures. The goal is to capture the best and most innovative practices being used today and to highlight the processes these leaders follow to determine where to focus their eco-design efforts. All webinars will be recorded for broader distribution and exposure. Download an introduction to the series.

Webinar #2
July 17, 2021

Speakers: 

• Christophe Garnier, Global Environmental Standards Manager, Schneider Electric
• Miquel Ballester, Product Management, and Thea Kleinmagd, Circular Material Chains Innovator, Fairphone
• Download the presentation

Presentation Synopsis

Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric has both upstream and downstream initiatives that promote a circular economy. Upstream — during product development and design — Schneider creates products to be energy efficient, to exclude potentially harmful or toxic substances, and to make products upgradeable and durable to extend life and improve performance. 

Downstream initiatives include extending product life through modernization (retrofitting), lifespan extensions for a second and sometimes third life through refurbishment, and providing end-of-life instructions for collection and recycling. 

Schneider’s Product Environmental Profile (PEP) documents include information about material composition, including bill of materials (BOM) and environmental impacts as well as circularity profile (such as recycled content and recyclability rate) plus end of life (EOL) instructions. PEPs are developed per ISO 14025 and the data is third-party certified. An estimated 80% of product turnover is covered by products having a PEP.

Fairphone 
Fairphone enables circularity through the extremely modular design of its smartphones. This modularity:

• Prolongs lifespans through repair and upgrades 
• Enables module harvesting and refurbishment of modules for reuse as spare parts
• Allows more efficient and targeted recycling 

By 2040, communication technology is expected to account for 14% of the global environmental footprint. Longevity is crucial to reducing the environmental impact of smartphones, and Fairphone’s modular design creates a more sustainable and long-lasting smartphone. The phones allow for easy opening and break-down for repairs and upgrades. Reliability is improved with greater resistance to drops, dust, etc. Diagnosing problems and updating are easy, and affordable spare parts and information for repairs are available. 

Once a phone reaches the end of its life, it is easy to “take back.” Fairphone is “slowing and closing the loop” with circular design, optimal use and value recovery, and creating an ecosystem for take-back with modularity as its backbone. 
 

Series Follow-Up
In addition to the initial three sessions, a summary video will be developed at the end of the series that captures the best practices and unique lessons from each of the speakers.  

Future sessions beyond the initial three may also be scheduled as we find more speakers and get feedback from attendees and iNEMI members to guide us.