Sustainable Tech: Every day, we all use phones, laptops, tablets, and smart watches. However, many people don’t know how those devices get made each time.
A lot happens to get a Phone from the factory to the retail shelf. Raw Materials are mined, and then parts for the phone are manufactured in separate factories, and then the parts are gathered back at a single location, sometimes countries apart, and assembled into the end product.
It takes energy to create everything from raw materials to the parts to ship to assemble them all into the completed phone. The processes of manufacturing products naturally cause carbon dioxide (C02) emissions to be released into the ecosystem of the Earth. Therefore, there is increasing pressure on the technology sector to lessen its impact on the environment.
Many technology companies are engaging in discussions to manufacture products that either result in no net increase of C02 to the atmosphere (carbon neutral), or that will eventually eliminate any carbon waste they generate (net zero).
The burning question is the same. Will the technology industry ever be able to produce devices without emitting C02?
Right now, that is still going to be very challenging.
Why Electronics Manufacturing Creates So Much Carbon
The creation of electronics also has a major impact on our environment. Most phones consist of a multitude of parts made from a large number of different materials, and the manufacturing of these products typically consists of several steps in multiple factories.
In order to create their products, electronics manufacturers must first source a number of different raw materials. Companies that manufacture mobile phones, for instance, need materials such as copper, lithium, and cobalt to produce batteries, as well as other limited resources that will be used to manufacture the phone chips.
To extract these resources from the ground, they are mined using heavy machinery, which consumes fuel and electricity and emits carbon dioxide into the air during mining.
Once companies have acquired raw materials, they need to take all of those resources to factories to produce components. Companies manufacture electronic components such as chips, screens, batteries, and circuit boards at these factories, which consume substantial amounts of energy and water.
After the components have been produced, companies then ship the components to their assembly factories so they can assemble the final product. Transport also adds to the problem.
Many electronics are made in Asian countries and then shipped to markets like the US, Europe, and India. Ships, trucks, and planes used for transport also create emissions. Because of this long chain of production, electronics manufacturing creates a large carbon footprint.
Companies Are Trying to Reduce Emissions
In recent years, increasing recognition has been gained within the technology industry on matters such as climate change and sustainable practices. Technology firms have begun to implement sustainable business practices, which will be progressively introduced until each company has reached its own sustainability goals by 2030.
As an example of one company’s goal to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions associated with the design and production of its products and distributing those products, Apple has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across its entire supply chain by 2030. Other major companies, including Microsoft, Dell, and Samsung, are also developing plans for attaining similar targets.
Common to all of these companies’ plans is a focus on three primary areas: Reducing power consumption during the manufacturing process, improving energy efficiency by utilizing renewable sources of energy, and designing products to minimize the adverse effects of product use on the environment.
These steps are quite beneficial, but there are many challenges associated with their successful completion. There remains a large dependence on energy-intensive processes related to the manufacturing of electronics.
Moving Factories Toward Clean Energy
One of the most significant alterations in technology fabrication is using alternative forms of energy from renewable sources. There are buildings across many plants that are being powered by wind and/or solar, as opposed to utilizing electricity generated from coal.
Some very large companies have also requested that their manufacturers move toward alternative energy in the form of clean energy. Many of the businesses that are manufacturing goods for these companies have taken the steps to implement solar-powered facilities to supply power to their factories.
This, in turn, will significantly lower emissions due to manufacturing. However, this process is occurring at a slow rate.
Currently, many manufacturing plants in many countries continue to utilize traditional electricity generation. There is still not a sufficient amount of clean energy from renewable resources available worldwide. While the use of renewable energy is beneficial, it does not address the entire solution.
Raw Materials Are Still a Big Challenge
Although factories may utilize clean energy, there are still crucial material resources needed to produce the electronic devices that we rely on every day and use throughout our lifetime. For example, lithium (for batteries) and cobalt (for electronics) are mined materials that require a lot of land and water to be extracted, as well as large machinery, fuel, etc.
As a result of this, many businesses are trying to make use of recycled materials when making their products. For example, old cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices contain a variety of valuable metals that may be reclaimed for future use in manufacturing (i.e., aluminum, copper, gold, etc.).
Some companies are already utilizing recycled aluminum in their laptop & mobile phone detectors and hope to implement similar processes in the near future for the other types of electronic devices they produce.
Nonetheless, recycling electronics is quite difficult. Electronics are made very compactly, so it is hard to recycle them and takes a significant amount of time and specialized machines and workers in order to properly retrieve reusable metals.
As a result, most of today’s electronic devices are manufactured with newly mined raw materials.
Making Gadgets Last Longer
The way to cut down on carbon emissions is pretty easy: Extend the life of devices. When people can hold onto their phones or laptops longer, manufacturers of those devices will not need to produce new ones as often.
A number of manufacturers are now providing longer software support so that your phone will continue to work properly for a longer time.
In addition, there is a growing amount of discussion regarding the right to repair, meaning that users and repair shops should have easy access to repairing their devices. When devices are easy to repair, people will be less likely to replace them often.
So, producing fewer devices equals reduced emissions.
The Supply Chain Makes Things Complicated
One major problem in sustainable tech manufacturing is the supply chain. A single smartphone can involve hundreds of suppliers in different countries. Each supplier runs its own factory and transport system. Various forms of energy are used by each of us.
While major tech firms can reduce emissions from their facilities, they are still mostly responsible for the emissions from their suppliers. Carbon emissions are difficult to track throughout an entire supply chain.
Most companies are now employing a tool to calculate the carbon emissions of their suppliers. It will take time, however, for the entire supply chain to achieve carbon neutrality. Working with hundreds of manufacturers worldwide will be required in order to achieve this goal.
Can Gadgets Become Carbon Neutral?
Carbon neutrality is theoretically achievable for every gadget, but it may take a long time before it’s completely sustainable.
Completing all of this will require manufacturers to transition to using renewable energy sources for their factories; businesses to adjust their supply chains to have lower emissions; and the establishment of improved recycling systems will need to take place.
Additionally, products must be designed for longer lifespans and for easier repair.
As of today, many businesses continue purchasing carbon offsets to cover their organizations’ carbon emissions. For example, many companies buy carbon offsets through purchasing tree-planting projects that offset their carbon emissions.
Although the purchase of carbon offsets is beneficial, it is not the long-term solution to the reduction of carbon emissions produced by manufactured goods. The solutions for reducing carbon emissions will come through reducing the level of carbon emissions during the manufacturing processes.
The Road Ahead
Creating technology sustainably is increasingly becoming a significant concern for those in the technology sector. There is now an increasing number of people, whether they are government bodies, investors, or consumers, who are starting to care more about how devices are being made.
There has been quite a bit of pressure placed on technology companies to reduce their carbon footprint and provide an environmentally responsible supply chain.
Although the realization of producing carbon-neutral products is still a long way off from happening, this goal is increasingly being followed by the industry. In the next ten years, as the technology continues to develop, we will have a better idea of how far we can reach that goal.
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