Annette Zimmermann, CRN India, August 21, 2023
By 2030, 80% of hardware vendors’ product portfolio will be linked to circular initiatives, up from 20% in 2023, according to Gartner. In fact, re-manufacturing and reusing end-of-life devices instead of having them end up in a landfill has become top of mind for most businesses around the world.
The hardware industry has been transitioning toward a more circular economy to address the ecological footprint of their products. Each vendor has a different focus when it comes to making their product more sustainable. For example, some are highly focused on packing and have achieved 100% recycled material. Other vendors focus on the product itself and increase the portion of certified recycled materials in their devices.
In addition, vendors have adopted a circular supply chain which consists of collecting, reusing/extending lifetimes, repairing, remanufacturing, refurbishing and recycling.
But more can be done. For example, vendors can accelerate the transition to a circular supply chain by setting relevant KPIs, such as specific recycled material targets in new products. Or, they can promote renewable energy generation and storage (such as biobatteries) to reduce the environmental and social impact of raw material extraction and processing.
Furthermore, manufacturing real circular products requires a system shift rather than marginal product enhancements. To truly migrate toward a circular economy in IT, hardware vendors should transition from an ecoefficient to an ecoeffective product approach. The concept of ecoeffectiveness embraces the optimization of an inherently new and circular system. This is about retaining and extending the product value as long as possible.
