Electronics as quintessential part of the so-called “Digital Age”, are part and parcel of our
world and how we interact with it. Although we’ve compressed convenience into the palm
of our hand in the form of phones and tablets, electronics cover a far broader scope of the
items we come into contact with every day. Whereas the electric components of, say, an
oven might have just a lightbulb, now that same oven comes pre-installed with an intelligent
computer system. This integration of digital systems into our daily lives comes at a cost –
that of sustainability. So what is the industry doing to try and counteract this?
Sustainability is a relatively new aspect of the electronics industry. Many new devices are
still made with unrecycled metals – cobalt, gold, and copper are all metals which are found
on any microchip or motherboard, and all of these are from non-recycled sources – that is
to say that they were mined and sold new. This isn’t to say that all manufacturers are bad
though – despite being dogged by negative press of their manufacturing plant in China,
actually has an established recycling program so that your old iPhone can be recycled, for
free! Their newest iPhone will also include a much higher percentage of recycled material
than their older models.
Despite all their efforts, Apple still finds itself ranked “C” according to the Rank a
Brand Electronics Green Fair Ranking Report. The only other major manufacturer that
scored the same as them was Nokia, with the majority of other manufacturers falling far
behind, with a rank of “E”. Only one brand scored higher – Fairphone. This brand is a smaller
player and is dedicated entirely to ethical and sustainable phones, and they still did not
achieve an “A” grade.
Smartphones may be the most ubiquitous bit of tech in our daily lives, but what else is
affected in electronics, and how sustainable is it as a whole? Unforunately a large number of
consumer electronics are being built with “planned obsolescence” in the design. This isn’t to
say that a product is designed to not work after a certain period of time, but that the
minimum amount of engineering went into it to make it work, for the minimum amount of
time. Whereas in the past a domestic appliance may have been capable of running for ten
years, twenty, years or even longer, appliances break sooner and often you can simply buy a
new one. This model is unsustainable.
In addition to this, the cycle of buying a new item means that often a secondhand electronic
item might not be worth the purchase. Buying a secondhand phone which is more than a
couple of years old means that you will be buying an item that is lagging behind, and buying
a secondhand fridge means that it might be more likely to stop working. The lack of
sustainable options for those with a budget to stick to make it harder to reduce your
personal impact on the environment.
Overall, electronics have a long way to go when it comes to sustainability. With the majority
of their materials coming from open mining or plastics, items not being recycleable, and
other such issues, the industry has not yet made itself non-impactful.
