Focus area CIRCULARITY
Circularity helps you tackle many of today’s sustainability risks
Our current, linear way of producing and consuming IT products damages fragile ecosystems and depletes natural resources. It also contributes to climate change, as large amounts of greenhouse gases are generated during both production and use.
By using products longer and enabling the circulation of products and materials, we can reduce the environmental impact and secure the supply of essential materials.
A circular approach means acknowledging that the planet’s resources are finite and that we need to protect and nurture natural biotopes and assets such as oil, freshwater and rare earth metals. Today, IT products are often manufactured and used in a linear manner. Large amounts of virgin natural resources are consumed to produce products that are often difficult to repair and upgrade. Products are often discarded after a relatively short time, and only a small share of the materials is safely recycled to manufacture new products. The result of linearity is a depletion of scarce resources and the loss of natural habitats. Huge amounts of e-waste are generated, and today, most of it is handled in unsafe ways, which risks human health and the environment.
Benefits of circular IT
Protection of natural habitats
Natural resources are saved
Less impact on our climate
Reduced amounts of e-waste
Lower costs for IT management
Resources are reused in the circular economy
In a circular economy, products are designed to be durable, upgradeable and repairable to ensure they can last longer. Instead of disposing of them after a few years, we take good care of them, and once the product no longer meets the needs of the first user, reselling or donating options are considered, to give them a second life.
Circularity has positive impacts on a wide scope of sustainability issues. Natural resources are preserved and the amount of e-waste is reduced. Extending the product’s life also significantly lowers its climate impact. By doubling a notebook computer’s use time from three years to six, the annual greenhouse gas footprint is almost halved. Even holding onto your device for just one more year will make a big difference — keeping it for four years instead of three reduces its annual footprint by an impressive 23,5 percent. (Source: Report Generator)
Worker rights leverage the circular transition
One aspect that is often overlooked in the circular agenda is social sustainability. This is unfortunate from a human perspective, but it also reduces our chances of succeeding with the circular transition. In fact, human and worker rights can be used as leverage to accelerate the pace of change.
One reason why IT products are discarded prematurely is that they are relatively cheap to buy — we pay far from the full cost if the value of natural resources and human well-being is factored in. Stopping the exploitation of people in the IT product supply chain will lead to higher production costs, and that is the single most effective way of driving the innovation and development of longer-lasting products that users want to keep, service, and repair rather than dispose of and replace. By protecting worker rights and raising wage levels, we can more quickly move toward a circular production and consumption of IT products.
It all starts with circular procurement
Circularity means keeping products and materials in use as long as possible. Therefore, it’s essential to take a whole-life cycle approach to products, from procurement through longer life, repair, redeployment and recovery strategies.
Before acquiring new products, evaluate whether the products you have can be used for a longer period. Establish a program for refurbishment and redeployment. If you need additional devices, consider refurbished and remanufactured alternatives.
When it’s time to procure new equipment, you can adopt strategies that promote a more circular, life cycle approach. Include criteria for circularity in your procurement policies and specifications to ensure that the products you source are durable, repairable, upgradeable, and include recycled materials. Additionally, make sure that the batteries in portable devices are of high quality and can be replaced easily. To support longer procurement cycles, request an extended product warranty from your supplier and ensure that security and functionality updates will be available for as long as possible. Your work with circular IT will be easier if you select the right supplier. Make use of pre-competitive dialogs, such as RFIs, to gather information.
Once you have selected and acquired the appropriate products, it’s crucial to use them in a circular manner. Repair, upgrade, and reuse products to maximize their value until they can no longer be used. Also, check with your supplier for buy-back options, which can give products a second life and ensure they are handled safely at the end of their lifespan.
More tips are available in our guide How to procure IT products for the circular economy.
Circular IT in five steps
Circular IT in five steps
TCO Certified makes circular IT easier
TCO Certified includes a comprehensive set of criteria designed to support your circular IT strategy. We’re setting a new standard for product longevity with a minimum of five years use time. Extensive circular requirements on hardware, software and information availability help extend product life, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease e-waste levels.
Sourcing certified products allows you to plan for longer procurement cycles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize e-waste, and maximize the value of your IT investments.
Circularity criteria in TCO Certified
The IT brand must support the products it manufactures for at least five years by providing product warranties and free security and functionality updates.
The issue we want to solve
Many IT products are discarded long before the end of their useful life due to expired warranties, lack of software updates, or security concerns. This is unfortunate because the majority of a product's climate impact and other sustainability effects occur during the manufacturing process.
How the criterion works
We require that every certified product is supported for at least five years. This includes access to longer product warranties and free security and functionality updates throughout this period. We calculate the annualized carbon footprint for each certified product model to highlight the reduction in climate impact associated with using products longer.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
Knowing that products get the support they need to remain secure and functioning allows you to implement longer procurement cycles and extend product lifespans. This results in lower costs, reduced waste, and a significant decrease in climate impact.
Products must pass durability and extreme temperature tests to ensure that they are designed for a longer life.
The issue we want to solve
Every year, millions of IT products fail prematurely due to issues like cracked screens, faulty hinges, or worn-out components, leading to e-waste and expensive replacements. To address this, we have established strict durability criteria for certified products.
How the criterion works
Before a product is certified, it must undergo comprehensive durability testing. These tests simulate real-world conditions by evaluating the device’s ability to withstand drops and operate reliably under high and low temperatures.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
Investing in durable products leads to fewer replacements, reduced costs, and a smaller e-waste footprint. Keeping products longer helps you save money while reducing your climate impact and other environmental impacts.
The battery must maintain good quality through many charging cycles and be replaceable using common tools, or tools provided for free with the product. Replacement instructions must be freely accessible.
The issue we want to solve
Batteries are typically the first components to fail in IT products. As they degrade, devices become less effective, and they are often replaced. This contributes to the e-waste problem, generates unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, and leads to the overuse of natural resources.
How the criterion works
Certified mobile products must have high-quality batteries that are designed to last. These batteries undergo extensive testing to ensure their performance and longevity. When a battery eventually needs to be replaced, it must be easy to remove, allowing the device to continue functioning effectively.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
High-quality batteries mean that devices can be used longer. Fewer product replacements lead to lower costs, reduced climate impact, and less e-waste.
An independently verified repairability score indicates how easy it is to maintain, reuse, and repair the product, covering disassembly, spare parts, repair instructions, and software updates.
The issue we want to solve
Many mobile devices break and become waste because the lack of spare parts, repair guides and affordable repair options make them difficult to repair. To address this problem, we introduced the repairability index for mobile devices.
How the criterion works
Certified mobile devices receive an independently verified repairability index score based on objective assessments of factors such as spare parts availability, ease of disassembly, access to repair manuals, and software support.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
Buyers and users can easily identify product models that are more repairable, which reduces costs and e-waste. By empowering more sustainable choices, IT brands are encouraged to design more sustainable and repair-friendly devices.
The IT brand must provide service manuals explaining how to carry out component replacements free of charge.
The issue we want to solve
Many IT products are designed to be disposable. A single faulty component—such as a keyboard, battery, or memory module—can cause the entire device to be discarded unless the component can be replaced.
How the criterion works
Certified products must include free service manuals provided by the brand owner. These manuals should explain how to replace key components such as batteries, storage, and memory—making repairs easier and accessible to anyone who wants to fix their device.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
For purchasing organizations and users, the ability to replace essential components means that products can be used for a longer time. This has several positive impacts, such as reduced climate impact, a more responsible use of natural resources, lower costs, and less electronic waste.
Software that removes data from devices must be available free of charge.
The issue we want to solve
Every year, millions of IT products are left in storage or are discarded due to concerns that the data stored on these devices may fall into the wrong hands. This results in unnecessary environmental impacts that could be avoided if products were repurposed or given a second life.
How the criterion works
Personal data must be possible to remove from certified products in a secure way, free of charge. This way IT products can get a second life instead of being left unused or discarded.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
A longer product life leads to less e-waste, lower climate impact and a more responsible use of resources. It’s also a smart business strategy. Ensuring secure data removal makes it easier to resell products, which can generate additional income.
Certified products must be marked with a unique product identifier, enabling digital product passports and the transition to more circular practices.
The issue we want to solve
Every year, millions of IT products reach the end of their life—but without proper identification, many can’t be repaired, reused, or recycled effectively.
How the criterion works
The unique product identifier allows for the sharing of essential information about the product, making it easier to track, service, and recycle devices. It also helps technicians find compatible spare parts, ensures the correct software updates are applied, and establishes a foundation for future digital product passports.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
The unique product identifier makes asset management and repairs easier. It also supports a more sustainable IT strategy, allowing products to have longer lifespans and be recycled safely.
Criteria promote the first steps toward a structured framework that expands the reach of take-back programs globally and ensures a more sustainable approach to reuse and recycling.
The issue we want to solve
E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, with over 60 million metric tons of electronics discarded yearly. Less than a quarter of it is properly collected and recycled. This is unsustainable and leads to a wide range of problems, such as toxic pollution, human health risks and the overuse of natural resources.
How the criterion works
IT brand owners must implement take-back and certified recycling systems, ensuring e-waste is responsibly collected, processed, and repurposed — not exported to vulnerable communities.
Benefits for IT buyers and users
This criterion supports your sustainable IT strategy by ensuring that waste is reduced and valuable resources are recovered.