Expert Hubs 2021: the circular economy in APAC

Session details

Topic: The circular economy in APAC

Partner participants: Datacom, ICT Zone

Vendor participants: Dell Technologies, HP Inc, Lenovo

The technology industry, over the years, has been instrumental in getting technology into the hands of consumers, businesses, and governments across the globe. This also means the industry has a huge role to play in what happens to this technology at the end of its ‘useful’ life. Canalys research found that only 11% of APAC partners have buyback/recycling services from PC vendors as a big part of their business and 26% offer these services, but don’t see much demand.

Overall awareness and education about sustainability are key drivers for building a circular economy.

Green awareness is rising – technology vendors worldwide have committed to sustainability goals and are making strides in sustainability initiatives; with some targeting 100% carbon footprint offset, a 1:1 take-back ratio and including post-consumer recycled materials in new devices. The shift towards a “produce-use-reuse” economy is increasingly gaining traction as businesses start to recognize that driving the circular economy is a business imperative and individuals start to realize they have the social responsibility to minimize the impact and “return” to the planet.

Customers are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability, and a lot of organizations now demand there is a sustainability and/or social impact component when they undertake projects or engage service providers. It is now rare to see RfQ(s) that do not include a sustainability component, but it seems there still isn’t high demand in APAC day-to-day.

Vendors are working hard to drive their circular economy practices, and channel partners are keen to take part in the circular economy movement. However, partner participants in the Expert Hub noted they were not aware of existing programs.

Vendors on the Expert Hub recognized this is something that needs to be worked on – employees and partner managers should be educated about the circular economy (and other sustainability) initiatives and be champions for driving these initiatives with channel partners.

Start designing products and processes with sustainability in mind.

It is important to consider both sustainability and end-users when designing products and processes. Having a circular economy is not all about recycling because that in itself burns energy, so the ability to reuse and extend life of devices is crucial. There should be smart and responsible product design from the get-go which takes into account product modularity, reparability, lifespan and packaging. Similarly, the circular economy processes should be simple and straightforward enough for partners and customers to be able to take part. If the admin workload that comes with circular economy programs takes up too much time and effort, partners and customers will be less likely to participate.

As-a-service models drive a win-win proposition for partners and customers alike.

A key concern for organizations is what happens to the data in devices that have reached end-of-life. Being able to account for data privacy, security policies and confidentiality compliance, while securely retiring end-of-life devices with expert data-wiping services, could potentially allow more organizations to embrace the circular economy.

When a device reaches its “end of useful life”, there is usually still residual value and could be “returned” through buy-back or trade-in services. In some cases, the devices may have their lifespan extended as secondhand equipment. This commercial benefit can be passed back to partners, and subsequently, back to customers.

There may have been stigma about secondhand and refurbished products in the past, especially in APAC. However, partner and vendor participants on the Expert Hub shared that customers nowadays are more concerned about the productivity of devices. As long as a device has an acceptable cosmetic look, is good-to-use and productive, it will be accepted. This all boils down to understanding your customers: some may want the latest and the greatest, some don’t.

As-a-service models that include leasing equipment, device management, proper disposal, recycling and asset recovery services, will help contribute to a better circular economy and ESG roll-out.

Collaboration is key for the circular economy.

The entire ecosystem – from vendors to partners to customers – has a role to play in driving the circular economy forward. Vendors and partners can collaborate to educate customers on circular economy practices that are being offered. Because if customers are not returning products, asset recovery can’t take place. If partners and vendors do not provide proper disposal, asset recovery or recycling services, end-of-life products are likely to end up in the landfills. Sustainability really is a journey where everyone has a role to play, no matter how big or small.