In the face of increasing environmental challenges such as resource scarcity, biodiversity loss and water, air and soil pollution, the current consumption rate of resources is testing the earth’s physical limits (Bansal and Song, 2017; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017; Esposito, Tse and Soufani, 2018). Of all products, electrical and electronic devices are especially challenging for sustainability considering their demand, resource usage and the challenges in waste management. In the EU 12.4 million tons of EEE is put on the market, of which 4.7 million tons of WEEE is collected. This is about 10.5 kg of collected e-waste per person, per year in the EU alone (Eurostat, 2020). Especially for small electronics the substitution rate is high and products are replaced before reaching their functional lifetime because of the introduction of newer, better performing models.
To address these challenges the concept of the circular economy emerged as an alternative to turn this single-use lifestyle into one in which resources are circulated (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017). Electronics also provide an especially interesting product group regarding the circular economy, not only for the challenges listed above but the development phase for electronics is also highly time-consuming when circularity is a requirement. Considering this industry, the transition to the circular economy requires the implementation of circular strategies in the day-to-day business as well as along the product lifecycle. Clear guidance on how to achieve this is however not always easy to find in academic literature. Every circular economy expert has a different area of expertise, creating a scattered range of guidelines, frameworks, indicators and approaches for designing, measuring and implementing circular economy principles in business. Business in practice therefore requires a navigation aid to select and properly implement circular economy methods for a particular business. This thesis therefore answers the research question “How can appropriate circular economy methods be selected by OEMs to support the transition towards a circular economy in electronics?”
This thesis studies six companies within the electronics industry on their use of CE methods to eventually develop a navigational aid for original equipment manufacturers in the electronics industry. The case comparison led to four distinctive groups on how companies select and apply CE methods as well as a set of generic insights. Together these were applied in the development of the Circular Economy Method Compass. The CE Method Compass is a holistic approach to navigating circular economy methods that offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electronics industry guidance in the transition to the circular economy and the development process of circular products and services. The CE Method Compass summarizes a comprehensive overview of available circular economy methods over five categories of CE methods: differentiation, collaboration, physical architecture, consumer engagement, and evaluation and assessment methods. The categories hereby cover the development process from the initiation of a circular vision to the final assessment of a product or service. The five categories combined have the opportunity to enable the R-strategies, creating circularity. The CE Method Compass can furthermore be used by both companies that wish to enhance their circular economy strategy as by companies new to the circular economy. The CE Method Compass hereby supports the use of CE methods by OEMs in the electronics industry and has the ability to increase the circularity of the sector.
This is valuable because achieving circularity in electronics is a challenging assignment. The CE Method Compass hereby provides an overview of where and how circular value can be achieved. Overall, the CE Method Compass facilitates navigation and broad application of CE methods. The compass is however only a first iteration of such a navigational aid and future research is needed to develop it further.