Reducing the carbon footprint of ICT products through material efficiency strategies: A life cycle analysis of smartphones

With the support of a life cycle assessment model, this study estimates the carbon footprint (CF) of smartphones and life cycle costs (LCC) for consumers in scenarios where different material efficiency strategies are implemented in Europe. Results show that a major contribution to the CF of smartphones is due to extraction and processing of materials and following manufacturing of parts: 10.7 kg CO2,eq/year, when assuming a biennial replacement cycle. Printed wiring board, display assembly, and integrated circuits make 75% of the impacts from materials. The CF is increased by assembly (+2.7 kg CO2,eq/year), distribution (+1.9 kg CO2,eq/year), and recharging of the device (+1.9 kg CO2,eq/year) and decreased by the end of life recycling (−0.8 kg CO2,eq/year). However, the CF of smartphones can dramatically increase when the energy consumed in communication services is counted (+26.4 kg CO2,eq/year). LCC can vary significantly (235–622 EUR/year). The service contract can in particular be a decisive cost factor (up to 61–85% of the LCC). It was calculated that the 1:1 displacement of new smartphones by used devices could decrease the CF by 52–79% (excluding communication services) and the LCC by 5–16%. An extension of the replacement cycle from 2 to 3 years could decrease the CF by 23–30% and the LCC by 4–10%, depending on whether repair operations are required. Measures for implementing such material efficiency strategies are presented and results can help inform decision‐makers about how to reduce impacts associated with smartphones.This work has been financially supported by the European Commission through the Administrative Agreement N. 070201/2015/SI2.719458/ENV.A.1, signed by DG ENV and DG JRC

Analysis and development of a scoring system for repair and upgrade of products

As part of the implementation of the EU action plan for the Circular Economy, the European Commission has carried out a study for the analysis and development of a possible scoring system to inform about the ability to repair and upgrade products. The overall aims of the study, described in the present report, are: 1) To develop a general approach for the assessment of the ability to repare/upgrade energy related products (ErP); 2) To test the feasibility and types of results derived using the general approach on three specific product groups (Laptops, Vacuum Cleaners and Washing Machines). Building on the experience gained by CEN-CENELEC-JTC10 during the development of prEN 45554, a general framework has been proposed that provides technical guidance for the identification of most relevant aspects and priority parts for products on the market, as well as for scoring and aggregating different aspects of repair and upgrade. A limited number of technical parameters have been selected which cover design characteristics and relevant operational aspects related to the repair/upgrade of products. Purely economic parameters are out of the scope of this study but they are addressed indirectly by the selected parameters since these can have an influence on the cost of repair/upgrade operations. The assessment of products has been simplified by focusing, when relevant, on priority parts, to be defined on a product group basis taking into account aspects such as the frequency of failure/upgrade, the functional importance of parts, as well as qualitative information. The assessment framework is composed of: a) Pass/fail criteria that products have to fulfil in order to be considered as reparable/upgradable, and thus eligible for being assessed through the scoring criteria; b) Scoring criteria, to rate the extent to which products are reparable or upgradable. Scores can be aggregated and reported in different types of indices, which could be more or less suitable based on the final application of the scoring system. However, it was recognised that background information used for their quantification should be also provided for transparency reasons. In order to understand specific aspects and needs for different types/groups of products, the general framework has been theoretically applied to three illustrative product groups: laptops, vacuum cleaners and washing machines. The assessment has been kept practical by focusing on key parameters for the analysed product groups. This scoring system could serve as a technical reference for potential use in policy-making (e.g. Ecodesign, Energy Label, GPP, Ecolabel), for the design of a new label, or as public guidance document (for designers and consumer testing organisations). However, the study itself does not propose or pre-empt any future policy decision. Moreover, the scoring system may need to be revised periodically, in the logic of continuous methodological improvement and adaptation to changing market conditions. The applicability of the system should be also supported by future investigation aiming at: - The analysis of how consumers can understand different types of information related to the repair/upgrade of products; - The analysis of the performance of real products on the market to understand how parameters, rating and weighting of the scoring system should be adjusted, and how frequently they should be updated over time. Finally, it has also to be observed that different aspects should be evaluated in a preliminary phase to understand which are the best material efficiency strategies to implement for a specific product (e.g. similar levels of benefits could be achieved either designing more reliable products that last longer, or that can be repaired/upgraded more easily). Durability of a product is relevant as long as a product has actually an extended service life. Reliability, reparability and upgradability are all durability aspects targeted to extending the service lifetime of products and tightly linked to each other. Also in the cases in which reliability could have higher importance, reparability and upgradability can be still complementary to extend the lifetime of products.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

Methods for the Assessment of the Reparability and Upgradability of Energy-related Products: Application to TVs

Improving the material efficiency of products can be important to reduce their environmental impacts. In particular, an improvement of the reparability and upgradability of products can have the potential of bringing added value to the environment and to the economy by limiting the early replacement of products and thus saving resources. However, the design of products needs to be assisted by appropriate assessment methods. In this context, the Joint Research Centre Directorate B, Circular Economy & Industrial Leadership unit, has compiled a multi-level approach for assessing the reparability and upgradability of products. This report describes the application of such approach to TVs, with the aim of improving the knowledge about the assessment of the reparability and upgradability of ErP. The draft report is structured in the following chapters: 1. Product group definition and characterisation (including: scoping, legislation and testing methods of interest for repair and upgrade, relevant information on market, user behaviour and product) 2. Identification of critical aspects and priority parts for the product group and Level 1 assessment (development of a checklist of positive attributes influencing reparability and upgradability of the product group) 3. Annex: further methodological guidance notes about Level 2 (scoring of attributes influencing reparability and upgradability of the product group) and Level 3 assessment (discussion on quantitative parameters) 4. Additional questions. Two written consultations are planned, the first one taking place from 20 April until 14 May 2018. Please note that at this stage it has been possible to prepare only a draft and incomplete report. The goal of the first consultation is to revise and integrate the background information gathered so far and set the basis for the development of the other steps of the study. Depending on your interest in and familiarity with the subjects covered in the report, you may provide input either to all or some parts and questions of the report, by using the provided commenting form.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

Guidance for the Assessment of Material Efficiency: Application to Smartphones

Improving the material efficiency of products has the potential of bringing benefits to the environment and to the economy, by saving resources and avoiding production of waste. However, improved design of products needs to be assisted by appropriate assessment methods. In this context, the Joint Research Centre Directorate B, Circular Economy & Industrial Leadership unit (JRC B.5), prepared a guidance for the assessment of material efficiency of products (GAME) addressing two practical targets: - The identification of key material efficiency aspects of products; - The definition of tangible improvement measures. The guidance, which is described in this report in parallel to its application to smartphones, is based on the analysis of technical and functional aspects of products, as well as on the definition of life cycle assessment scenarios targeting environmental and economic impacts. The product group “smartphones” is used as an illustrative case study to show how to implement this guidance for the analysis. Possible actions for improving the performance of smartphones with respect to material efficiency are investigated. Aspects like durability, reparability, upgradability, recyclability and use of materials are analysed. Resembling the methodology for the ecodesign of energy-related product (MEErP), the analysis was carried out in the following steps: 1. Product group definition - The scope of the analysis is defined, legislative references identified as well as relevant testing methods; 2. Market - The market of the product is characterised, particularly in relation with practices promoting a more circular economy; 3. User behaviour - How consumers use and interact with the product is analysed; 4. Technical aspects - Technical elements for the analysis of material efficiency and system aspects are provided; 5. Material efficiency hotspots - Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost impacts are quantified for alternative scenarios based on the information gathered; 6. Definition of possible design measures for improving material efficiency - Possible measures that could improve the material efficiency of the analysed product are defined. Main findings related to the application of the guidance to smartphones are provided below. - Different organisations have been working worldwide for the development of standards and labels on smartphones (Section 1) which can be used as a starting point for improving the material efficiency and the sustainability of the product. - The market sales of new smartphones globally appear to have slowed down in recent years, while the 2nd-hand market has slightly increased in size (Section 2). Two main business strategies of manufacturers and service providers can be outlined: i) focusing on the upgrade of models and the integration of new technological features; and ii) contributing to the development of circular business models that can allow retaining the product's value (e.g. via more durable/reparable designs). - Smartphones are on average replaced by users every two years (Section 3). In more than half of the cases, the replacement was found to be due to the user wanting a new model/software (in absence of failures). Results may differ from one country to another. The technical lifetime of smartphones could be extended to 4.5 years. - From a technological point of view, functionality of smartphones has been increasing over time, with consequent increase of power demand, storage capacity and materials needed (Sections 4.1 and 2). - Smartphones are made of a variety of materials, some of them used in very small quantities but of global concern because of their social, economic and geopolitical impacts (CRM and minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas). At the end of life, smartphones are typically left unused at home (one out of two). This diverts resources from processes aimed at the reuse, recycling and recovery of materials (Sections 4.2 and 4.4.). - Limiting states of smartphones are often associated to a failure of screens and batteries. The upgradability of Operating System, firmware and software (i.e. security updates/patches) are also important aspects to ensure the longevity of smartphones (Section 4.3). Design strategies followed by manufacturers to extend the lifetime of smartphones focus on reliability and resistance of the device and/or on their reparability/upgradability. - A broad variety of products is available on the market that presents different functionalities, characteristics and impacts. Life Cycle Thinking can be used to better understand trade-offs and investigate if any material efficiency strategy can be prioritised over the others (Section 5). In the case of smartphones, it was found that remanufacturing and reuse should come first, followed by extending the years of use of the device, especially in absence of repair interventions. The impact of replacing a battery appears in particular low if compared to the benefits achievable with an extension of the product lifetime. It should also be observed that benefits from the use of second-hand devices could be partially offset by an increase of the global purchase of smartphones. Recycling can be then considered as a complementary strategy to recover precious metals and critical materials. - Significant impacts from the life cycle of smartphones are associated to data consumption and the related networks, which constitute an "invisible" source of impact of which to make consumers more aware, operators and policy makers. On the other hand, energy consumption due to the recharge of the battery seems to play only a secondary role. Moreover, service contracts appear the most important cost for consumers along the life cycle of the product (Section 5). - A series of possible measures to improve the material efficiency of smartphones has been presented based on the information gathered (Section 6). These cover both technical and behavioural aspects of smartphones since also consumers can play a dramatic role in determining the life cycle impact of their devices. Results of the study could be used for the integration of material efficiency aspects in decision-making processes targeting the design, manufacture and purchase of smartphones. It should be remarked that results are general in nature, so that do not take into account the characteristics of specific models on the market, and should not be extended to other product categories. However, these can serve as an information basis for broader discussion about the possible regulation and standardisation of ICT products. The guidance could be moreover adapted to the specificities of any product on the market, and integrated in ecodesign, energy labelling and eco-labelling studies aimed at identifying measures to improve the sustainability of product groups. In this respect, the guidance is considered compatible with the MEErP. The integration in MEErP of the aspects described in this study is recommended to handle material efficiency aspects in Ecodesign. The study also highlights that the discussion on material efficiency is complex and can be limited by lack of quantitative information and data. As remedy to such limitation, the study was conducted through a structured consultation process involving stakeholders with different backgrounds and interests (e.g. representatives of manufacturers, repairers, recyclers, NGOs and testing organisations, Member States and scientific institutions). From the one hand, this has allowed access to best available information from alternative sources; from the other hand, this has allowed a quality check of the information reported. As a general rule it is thus remarked the importance of engaging with a comprehensive and heterogeneous pool of stakeholders, as well as to interpret, analyse critically and report transparently the information processed and any result proceeding from modelling activities.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

An approach to the assessment of durability of Energy-related Products

Extending the lifetime of products can potentially avoid the purchase of new products and therefore reduce consumption of materials and generation of waste. The lifetime can be extended by designing more durable products, as also highlighted in the Communication of the European Commission COM(2015) 614 'Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy'. The aim of this paper is to present an approach for the identification of appropriate strategies contributing to improve the durability of Energyrelated Products (ErP). After the definition of a product system, the approach foresees the analysis of failure and degradation mechanisms and the further identification and assessment of improvement measures, also with the support of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This approach and method can find practical application in the analysis of products for which design options aimed at improving durability are sought.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

Analysis of evaluation systems for product repairability: a case study for washing machines

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Classifying and browsing LCA studies: the new functionalities of the LCA Resource Directory.

Context The European Commission (EC) recognised Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as “the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products”. It also identified “the need to improve data availability and quality worldwide by internationally cooperating on LCA data and methods”. The life cycle approach is also part of the 2011 Communication on "A resource-efficient Europe – Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy". To support these life cycle based EU policies, the EC has started the “European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment (EPCLA)” in 2005. This Platform is implemented and coordinated by the EC Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, in close collaboration with DG Environment. The Platform works on the basis of coherent and quality-assured life cycle data, methods, and studies. The LCA Resource Directory is one of the deliverables of the Platform. This application has been running since 2006 and it contains lists of services (e.g. consulting or research services), tools (e.g. LCA tools, ecodesign tools), databases (e.g. LCI databases) and the corresponding developers and providers. Novelty The LCA Resource Directory has recently been further developed so that it can contain and organize LCA case studies and metadata on these studies. The new LCA Resource Directory will be launched during the Fall 2011. Methods The new functionalities of the LCA Resource Directory allow users (LCA expert and non-expert) to browse a database of LCA studies. Thanks to the searching tool, a user can sort the information available as metadata and identify relevant LCA studies according to his/her interests. Many of the fields of the template used to characterize LCA studies are based on the ISO 1404x series. Some fields of the template are mandatory (e.g. functional unit and system boundary) in order to assure that the information showed in the application fulfills most of the requirements of the ISO 14044 for reports to be disclosed to the public. Other fields of the template include: “Intended application(s)”, “LCIA impact categories” and “Compliance”. The LCA study has to be uploaded on the Directory. Moreover, a final verification step is performed by the web application administrator to ensure quality and consistency. The application is open worldwide (http://lca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/lcainfohub/directory.vm). Any research group, company, university, etc. is now able, after registration, to upload studies and give metadata on them using a template. DG JRC will be in charge of the maintenance of the application and will populate the Directory with the first set of studies during the Fall 2011. An open call to relevant research groups and institutions will be send in order to populate the Directory with registered users and studies. Conclusions With these new capabilities of the Resource Directory, the EPLCA makes progress in its aim of promoting life cycle thinking when making available to all kind of LCA practitioners a good quality database of LCA studies, together with a searching tool.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Improving material efficiency in the life cycle of products: a review of EU Ecolabel criteria

Purpose Material efficiency encompasses a range of strategies that support a reduction of material consumption and waste production from a product’s life cycle perspective and which can help the transition towards a circular economy. The aim of this paper is to analyse the state of implementation of material efficiency requirements for products as set out in existing EU Ecolabel criteria, consider possible improvements, identify current limitations and describe potential or existing synergies with other EU policies and initiatives. Methods Key concepts related to material efficiency have been provided and classified into three groups which are, in order of decreasing priority: reduction, reuse, and recycling/recovery. This classification system has then been used for the analysis of existing requirements set out for different EU Ecolabel products. This includes a description of potential environmental benefits, trade-offs, market barriers and risks. Material efficiency concepts have then been cross-checked with other EU policies and initiatives. Results and discussion Looking at EU Ecolabel criteria for 26 different product groups revealed a broad range of material efficiency aspects, some of which are influenced by the nature of the product group itself. Some material efficiency aspects were broadly integrated into EU Ecolabel criteria through complementary strategies (e.g. design for durability, recyclability, availability of spare parts, reversible disassembly and provision of information). However, ways to implement additional material efficiency requirements (e.g. minimum lifetime of products) should be sought further. A symbiotic relationship can exist between the EU Ecolabel and many policy tools in the sense that regulatory and standardisation frameworks can offer a robust basis for justifying the integration of material efficiency aspects in the EU Ecolabel, while the EU Ecolabel can explore and promote approaches targeted at front runners in material efficiency aspects in a voluntary manner. Conclusions The experience gained from implementing material efficiency aspects in the EU Ecolabel could serve as a reference for shaping design, communication or policy initiatives aimed at the promotion of a more circular economy. Attempts to quantify the impacts from material efficiency measures should be also integrated systematically in future research, with the support of tools like life cycle assessment. However, additional considerations of political, technical and socio-economic nature must be considered when assessing the relevance, feasibility and ambition level of any material efficiency–related requirements.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

The enhanced LCA Resources Directory: a tool aimed at improving Life Cycle Thinking practices

To support life cycle based EU policies, the European Commission created the “European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment (EPLCA)”. The platform aims at providing coherent and quality-assured life cycle data, methods and studies. The LCA Resource Directory (RD) is one of the deliverables of the EPLCA. This application has been containing so far lists of services, tools, databases and the corresponding developers and providers. The RD has recently been further developed so that it can contain and characterize LCA studies with metadata. The new functionalities of the RD allow experts and non-experts users to browse a database of LCA studies. Many of the fields of the template used to characterize the studies are based on the ISO 14040:2006; and on the ISO 14044:2006. Some fields of the template are mandatory in order to ensure that the information showed in the application fulfills the requirements of the ISO 14044 for reports to be disclosed to the public. Any research group, company or university owning an LCA study is now able, after registration, to upload the study and fill-in associated metadata. With these new functionalities of the RD, the EPLCA makes progress in its aim of promoting life cycle thinking when making available to all kind of LCA practitioners a database of LCA studies, together with a searching tool.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen