All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodiesDo something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
News
The EEA briefing ‘Europe’s consumption in a circular economy: the benefits of longer-lasting electronics’ analyses the opportunities to reduce environmental and climate impacts from electronics by increasing product lifetime, delaying obsolescence and improving their suitability for circular economy business models. More than 18 kilograms of electrical and electronic products are consumed, on average, per person in the EU every year.
According to the EEA briefing, case studies on smartphones, TVs, washing machines and vacuum cleaners show that these product types all have average actual lifetimes that are at least 2.3 years shorter than their designed or desired lifetimes. This means that there is significant potential for increasing these products’ lifetimes by, for example, making them easier to use for longer periods, re-use, repair, remanufacture or recycle.
Circular economy business models — including circular design, product as a service, re-use and recycling — need to be developed to retain longer the value of electronics. To improve the 'circularity' of electronic products, the EEA briefing highlights the need for strengthening products' eco-design requirements and improving their repair, disposal and re-manufacturing potentials. Other measures include increased use of the EU Energy Label, development of green public procurement, and extension of producer responsibility to products' end of life.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/longer-lasting-electronics-benefit-environment or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 13 Nov 2024, 01:52 AM
Engineered by: EEA Web Team
Software updated on 26 September 2023 08:13 from version 23.8.18
Software version: EEA Plone KGS 23.9.14
Document Actions
Share with others