Ecological design is getting more and more important. Eco-design should be applied in a holistic manner. Measuring Cradle-to-gate LCA is sub-optimal, since it does not consider the usage of the device. ESPR, ie. Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation will provide pressure to companies to measure and improve their resource usage. One point is that electronics need to balance between environmental responsability and tech needs. Analyzing the the product requires a lot of effort and deep knowledge of the processes.
Common device changing reasons are: slowness, lack of security updates, dead battery, physical breakage, device is not repairable for a reasonable price, want for a fancier product. Materials acquisition, Design and manufacturing, use phase, EOL are the main life cycle stages. Repairing reduces waste, provides savings and conserves raw materials & the shipping & manufacturing energy. Smartphones produce 10's of kg's of co2, even as they weight under 0.5kg. The French have implemeted a repairability score and the manufacturers interpret the rules in their own favor. Some vendors are focusing on repairability, ie. Fairphone. It's important to extend the lifecycle of products - could you use the your old device for something else or use it for longer?
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