The Nordic Council of Ministers´ Working Group on Sustainable Consumption and Production have published a report on Circular Business Models in the Mobile Phone Industry.

The mobile phone industry has been characterised by high rates of product obsolescence. The emergence of the smart phone has changed the landscape, making repair, refurbishment and resell attractive to businesses and consumers. Moreover, emerging modular phone design should allow functional upgrades with low resource wastage. This provides opportunities for a circular economy approach, which can reduce resource use and waste whilst providing opportunities for electronics firms.

The report investigates the adoption of circular business models within Nordic markets. Producers, retailers, refurbishers, recyclers and resellers tell of their motivation, experiences and the challenges that they face. A special look is taken at consumer and waste law and the challenges and opportunities they represent. The report ends with 17 policy proposals that can accelerate the adoption of circularity in the sector.

Download the full Nordic report here.