How the IT industry contributes to the circular economy

The hardware industry has been transitioning toward a more circular economy to address the ecological footprint of their products.

According to Gartner, 80 percent of vendors’ product portfolio will be linked to circular initiatives by 2030.

Annette Zimmermann, VP Analyst at Gartner, explained how vendors need to reach the 80 percent estimate.

She said each vendor has a different focus when it comes to making their product more sustainable.

“For example, some are highly focused on packing and have achieved 100 percent recycled material. Other vendors focus on the product itself and increase the portion of certified recycled materials in their devices,” she explained.

“In addition, vendors have adopted a circular supply chain which consists of collecting, reusing/extending lifetimes, repairing, remanufacturing, refurbishing and recycling.”

However, Zimmerman said more can be done. She said vendors can accelerate the transition to a circular supply chain by setting relevant KPIs, such as specific recycled material targets in new products.

“Or, they can promote renewable energy generation and storage (such as biobatteries) to reduce the environmental and social impact of raw material extraction and processing,” she explained.

Manufacturing real circular products requires a system shift rather than marginal product enhancements, Zimmerman said.

“To truly migrate toward a circular economy in IT, hardware vendors should transition from an eco-efficient to an eco-effective product approach,” she said.

“The concept of eco-effectiveness embraces the optimisation of an inherently new and circular system. This is about retaining and extending the product value as long as possible.”

Nevertheless, more vendors should prioritise designing products that include recycled components and renewable materials and are easy to disassemble and repair to increase device lifetimes, Zimmerman noted.

“This approach will undoubtedly help increase the percentage of hardware vendors’ product portfolio that are linked to circular initiatives,” she added.

Generative AI and the circular economy

Generative AI can also be used to enhance the circular economy and is already doing so, according to Zimmerman.

She said in material science, it can be used to design more sustainable materials and another example includes materials informatics.

“They consist of the application of AI, digital twins and data analytics which improve the efficiency of materials development by using informatics that ultimately lowers the impact on the environment,” she said.

“The faster discovery of new materials that have specific properties can play an important role in several areas, including new methods in recycling and repurposing of existing product materials and a sustainable production process of electronics.”

Gartner estimates 2025, more than 30 percent of new drugs and materials will be systematically discovered using generative AI techniques, up from zero today.