Companies can take several steps to make their IT devices more sustainable

Digital workplaces can become more sustainable by extending the lifespan of their devices, like laptops. That is according to research from Atos, which asserts that better strategies related to device usage can double their lifespan.

The research by Atos found that 75% of employees are happy to keep using their devices over longer periods if that practice turns out beneficial to the environment. On an aggregate level, extending device lifespans can have a huge effect on a company’s overall sustainability, especially for bigger companies with a large amount of devices.

Extending the life cycle of devices can be achieved through data-driven, condition-based device refresh and remanufacturing. If companies take these steps, they can increase device life spans from the standard 3 to 5 years to up to 10 years.

Though some companies have moved to replace older devices to adopt new operating systems (like Windows 11) or on the basis of more efficient power consumption, Atos warns there is no real need for replacing devices solely for these reasons.

In fact, 79% of the carbon footprint from a typical laptop is linked to manufacturing, not to power consumption. By just adjusting the standard refresh cycle from three to four years, organizations can reduce related emissions by around 25% without device performance or user experience suffering.

Data-driven insights

The research shows that real-time data is very important for measuring and improving an organization’s sustainability. For that reason, it is best to have an integrated approach in which insights into ICT use can be used to improve sustainability.

These kinds of changes in large organizations are important because IT overall accounts for around 4% of all global carbon emissions. A lot of that stems from manufacturing and resource use. And indeed, in the ICT sector specifically, 57% of emissions are linked to devices and workplaces.

The Atos report noted that the topic is also important to employees in the ICT sector. Around half of professionals surveyed by Atos said that they would be willing to accept a lower salary if they could work for an environmentally and socially responsible organization.

Organizations can look to refurbished or remanufactured devices instead of acquiring totally new ones. Data shows that remanufactured devices are mostly indistinguishable from new devices in terms of user experience and performance.

Some of the data from Atos supports the idea that, in many cases, devices are prematurely replaced. The research found that 10% of devices that are recycled could have been repurposed and that only 12% of devices that go through the decommissioning process are actually faulty.

“We wanted to leverage the vast quantities of data available to Atos and our partners to challenge convention and pinpoint new opportunities for enterprises and their IT service providers,” said Leon Gilbert, head of digital workplace at Atos. “Some findings surprised even our experts. We can now see how the financial, environmental, and social value of every device can be increased while still delighting users.”

Tackling electronics waste

E-waste is a major problem around the world, including in the European Union. Only around 40% of e-waste in the EU is recycled, according to a report from the European Parliament.

But new rules might begin to change that. The EU recently adopted new legislation on recycling electronic equipment and on the ‘right to repair’, which helps to lengthen the lifespan of devices by allowing users to more easily do things like replace batteries or screens. Other rules, like making USB-C a common charger in the bloc, are set to come into effect in the coming years.