Are you looking to understand how technology usage can help your company reach carbon emission reduction targets? Perhaps you want to understand different initiatives that can enable more sustainable tech practices.
Ingram Micro Lifecycle has been supporting the circular use of technology for decades. Our innovative solutions extend the lifecycle of technology, enabling reuse while feasible. These services maximize a product's potential life and value recovery for our customers.
Below, we highlight initiatives from different regions, demonstrating a commitment to more sustainable technology use and a circular economy.
Acceptance of a circular economy
As countries seek to reduce their carbon emissions and negative environmental impacts, many governments and authorities are introducing new or expanding current legislation in support of this.
Many are adopting circular initiatives that limit the consumption of raw and finite materials while reducing the carbon emissions associated with manufacturing and waste generation.
Although this is not an exhaustive list, here are some examples of how cities and countries are moving towards a circular economy. How can you incorporate these strategies and thinking into your use of technology?
Amsterdam, Denmark
Amsterdam’s Circular Innovation Programme outlines the city's target of achieving circularity by 2050. Announced in 2020, Amsterdam became the first city to commit to such a goal. The program focuses initially on food, consumer goods, and the built environment.
For consumer goods (including technology), repair services, sharing platforms, and second-hand shops are encouraged. The city will better use “discarded” products, ensuring these don’t go to landfills, but benefit from lifecycle extension and reuse instead.
The Amsterdam Circular 2020-2025 Strategy noted that in response to a study, most respondents believed that products should be designed with repairability in mind.
Chile
Chile’s Law on Waste Management, Extended Producer Responsibility and Promotion of Recycling aims to boost recycling and reuse rates by 30%.
Their initiatives to hit their target of circularity by 2040 include training and education for skills that progress the economy towards circularity. Higher education providers provide vocational courses around car and electronics repair, life cycle analysis, circular business models, and ecodesign, for example.
A labeling system will also provide consumer transparency around the useful life of products at the point of purchase, intending to encourage more sustainable purchases.
Denmark
Did you know the world’s first offshore wind farm was built in Denmark? In 1991, the country's journey with green energy began. Denmark now has over 70% of its electricity from renewable sources.
It has numerous eco-friendly achievements, including reducing air pollution to less than a fifth of the levels during the 1970s. In 2021, it hit a 93% return rate on disposable drinks packaging using a deposit return system.
The State of Green is an initiative that raises awareness of sustainable practices and works to connect businesses and suppliers for greener supply chains. It demonstrates multiple examples of a circular economy in action.
Waste electronics are covered by producer responsibility regulations, the Danish Producer Responsibility (DPA), which supports the Danish Environmental Protection Act. WEEE must be collected from municipal collection sites and managed responsibly. This applies to private and business WEEE at the end of its useful life.
A new partnership in 2025 seeks a more sustainable use of electronics. Drawing inspiration from France, Denmark has begun encouraging durability and repairability indexes for electronics. This alliance will seek better supply chain collaboration, focusing on repairing products.
France
France has an anti-waste law designed to phase out single-use plastic by 2040. In 2023, the decree 2022-748 for the AGEC Law came into effect, boosting the transparency of waste-generating items.
It followed the report in 2022 that France was destroying €630 million worth of unsold products annually. Destroying unsold products equates to 5-20 times more greenhouse gas emissions than that associated with reuse.
As a result, France became the first country to make the destruction of unsold non-food products illegal. Owners of unsold products must reuse, donate, or recycle them.
The law deals with big and small issues, such as stickers on fruit, automatic printing of till receipts, and the clearance of household demolition waste. Each is intended to reduce waste generation.
It also enforces the addition of product sheets that outline the materials used in manufacturing, repairability, and end-of-life instructions. This customer-facing information enables better disposition options to reduce waste. Packaging compostability is also encouraged.
Because of this legislation, France became the first country to introduce a repairability index. This index must be displayed on electronic products, including laptops, smartphones, washing machines, and televisions.
Article 19 Section 16 of the Law states that repair services for household appliances, small IT and telecommunications equipment, screens, and monitors should not only be readily available but should offer used spare parts instead of new parts.
The law overall intends to eliminate waste and pollution in the design stage, moving the country towards a circular economy.
Ireland
In 2024, Ireland’s Office of Government Procurement (OGP) launched a framework that permits public bodies to purchase remanufactured laptops. The first of its kind in the EU, it considers the cost and sustainability benefits of choosing remanufactured technology over brand new. It supports the country’s Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027.
Clear criteria explain the standards this equipment must meet, with the quality control checks and the warranties required. The €30 million contract is believed to fund 60,000 remanufactured laptops over its 4-year term.
Minnesota, US
The Office of Sustainability was established in 2017 and includes sustainability in IT procurement, promoting efficient energy use and smarter asset management.
Their Office of State Procurement is also a founding member of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, strengthening their commitment to sustainable IT asset use.
Procurement practices not only consider the cost of acquisition but also the lifecycle costs associated with the product. This includes acquisition, use, maintenance, and disposal, ensuring the full lifecycle cost and disposition are considered upfront.
The state has also extended its PC and laptop deployment cycle to five years to prolong the refresh point of assets. This reduces how frequently assets are replaced. Any replaced assets with residual value are donated or sold through their surplus services division. This initiative keeps the asset from becoming e-waste and enables the reuse of the product while feasible.
Sweden
Procurement guidance contains sustainability criteria that support the use of refurbished technology. This allowance demonstrates that sustainable IT is an important step in reducing the country’s energy efficiency and carbon footprint.
Suppliers of reused or remanufactured IT equipment must provide quality assurance and control evidence. Suppliers must hold ISO 9001 and 14001 or equivalent to verify compliance with high standards.
United Kingdom
The Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA) was created in 2022, following COP27. The UK Government was the first major economy to introduce legislation for achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The GDSA brings specialists together, including existing or potential digital and data suppliers, to generate solutions for sustainable technology.
It has three core working groups, each with a specific focus:
- Circular Economy
- Score 3 Emissions
- Planetary Impact
The groups propose new tooling, reporting mythologies, training, frameworks, and guidance on societal issues. They raise awareness and trial new initiatives. The governance team then reviews these initiatives.
All these outcomes will create a more sustainable use of digital data and technology across the Government and their suppliers. The GDSA will move the UK Government towards the net zero target.
Your key takeaways
Although this isn’t a complete list of how each global authority progresses with circular initiatives, it’s intended to inspire and encourage your circular practices. Think about how you can align this thinking with your everyday business policies.
Can your business use more remanufactured technology? Are your customers thinking about the disposition of their electronics? What's the repair potential for your products? What happens to products when they're returned to you? How much e-waste do you generate?
Ingram Micro Lifecycle is committed to enabling a circular economy for our customers’ IT assets, mobility equipment, and consumer electronics including Small Domestic Appliances. We have a wide range of supply chain solutions that extend the lifecycle of technology to save costs and boost sustainability.
To find out more about how we can help you, get in touch today.
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