In recent years, the circular economy has gained prominence as a tool which presents solutions to some of the most urgent sustainability challenges. If addressed effectively, the circular economy—an economy in which waste and pollution do not exist by design, products and materials are kept in use, and natural systems are regenerated—provides great promise to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Today’s global consumer electronics market is worth an estimated US$1 trillion and is projected to continue growing1. Electronic waste (e-waste) represents the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, with thrown away prematurely and less than 20% collected and recycled. Raw materials valued at approximately $57 billion are lost in e-waste globally—mainly iron, copper, and gold—and lack of proper collection and recycling leads to pollution and health hazards2. At the same time, new production of vast quantities of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) continue to use more natural resources and lead to increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

As a response to the urgent need of securing a more sustainable, resilient, and circular economy for the ICT sector and beyond, the GeSI Circular Economy Task Force (CETF) was founded with the objective to 1) accelerate on SDG12: responsible consumption and production and 2) reconcile economic growth with sustainability across the ICT sector.

The CETF’s Internal Assessment report expands on the findings from an internal questionnaire conducted by the GeSI Secretariat, which queried GeSI Members about the current state of play of circular economy within their respective companies. Responses were collected from 18 Member Companies and the results present wide-ranging strategies and interpretations of the circular economy across GeSI’s Membership.