Despite smartphones from the likes of Apple and Samsung being made with significant amounts of recycled materials, the manufacturing of phones still has a dramatic impact on the environment.
Eco-friendly smartphone brand Fairphone shared its first “Nature Report" with TechRadar in an exclusive first-look, and it explores the impact of consumer electronics on nature and biodiversity. And it paints a damning picture of smartphones.
The report found that 75% of a smartphone’s environmental impact happens before it's sold, with the manufacturing of phones and the mining of materials needed for them putting pressure on biodiversity in 11 global mining hotspots:
- Brazil (Minas Gerais): Gold, Iron
- China (Ningxia): Magnesium
- Guinea (Bauxite Belt): Aluminium
- India (Karnataka): Iron
- Indonesia (Maluku, Sulawesi, Bangka Belitung Islands): Cobalt, Nickel, Tin
- Myanmar (Wa State): Tin
- Peru (Ancash, San Rafael): Copper, Tin
- Philippines (Palawan Island): Nickel
Such pressure is a form of hidden damage that Fairphone says contributes to a crisis that has seen wildlife populations drop by nearly 70% in 50 years.
While a lot of tech companies may tout low-carbon emissions, Fairphone’s report highlights that a lot of the environmental impact of consumer electronics comes from the supply chain and the mining of materials needed to produce things like batteries, wiring, lenses and more.
Much like a lot of mining, extracting metals such as cobalt, aluminum and iron can have serious environmental impact, with water and soil pollution plus deforestation being side-effects that affect local ecosystems and thus wildlife.
However, that’s one part of the environmental effects of smartphone and consumer electronics production, with manufacturing of components by separate companies and suppliers, which will then be used by a tech brand to assemble a phone, leading to negative effects such as heavy water use, the emission of greenhouse gasses, and soil pollution.
For example, the report notes that the daily water consumption of a single large chip manufacturing facility can be comparable to the needs of a small to mid-sized city.
Given a lot of new phones come with new chips from the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek, it would seem like this is part of a phone’s supply chain that can have a substantial environmental impact.
This, along with other areas of the report, note that just because a tech company might have low-carbon credentials, doesn’t mean the products it supplies are harmless to the environment.
Need to go beyond recycling
However, given Apple is planning to use 100% recycled materials in its device manufacturing by 2030, aiming to reuse cobalt, gold plating, aluminum and more, and Samsung has similar recycling and green goals, I asked Fairphone if that approach would somewhat avoid some of the pollution and environmental impact noted above. The response was illuminating and a little concerning…
“Even if a brand uses recycled materials, the report notes that approximately 75% of a smartphone's environmental impact happens during the manufacturing stage,” a Fairphone spokesperson explained, citing the aforementioned example of needing to produce new chips for phones.
“This means that even with high recycled content, the manufacturing process itself puts huge pressure on nature.”
The spokesperson also pointed out that even with recycled materials, phone brands will still need some raw materials in their phone production, and so even those with a lot of recycled materials still have an environmental impact in terms of material extraction, as well as manufacturing processes on top of that.
“While recycled materials are great, we still urge the industry to take responsibility for the entire journey of the product by assessing their full impact on nature and biodiversity and setting actionable goals.”
Fairphone itself isn’t exempt from the above pressures and challenges, as its phones still use components and materials that have an environmental impact. But the company does doggedly pursue reducing this by assessing its supply chain and working with material suppliers that have less of a negative affect on the environment or surrounding ecologies.
This is augmented by its aim to have phones that are easily repairable and have longer lifespans than those of other brands, thus reducing the overall negative effect on the environment.
From this new report, Fairphone is encouraging other phone makers to look closely at their supply chains and to take action in digging deeper into how the negative environmental and ecological effects of smartphone and consumer electronics production can be reduced or mitigated.
“We urge the industry to support local nature impact assessments in joint hotspots and design and implement prevention, mitigation, and remediation measures in a multi-stakeholder setting,” the report stated. “This means engaging with partners on the ground, with representatives from the supplier companies and mines, the governmental authorities, and local (indigenous) communities.
“This commitment to sharing experiences and learnings will empower companies to develop their individual strategies while actively protecting nature and biodiversity where it is needed most urgently.”
Think different
As a technology journalist, I very much enjoy getting my hands on new gadgets and devices on a regular basis, and I’ve attended plenty of briefings where green credentials are touted and the use of recycled materials is highlighted.
So it’s arguably easy to be caught up in trying the latest and greatest smartphones and laptops, without thinking about their environmental effect. But taking Fairphone's report into account and a bit of a step back, can be a sobering exercise.
As I look around my small apartment I have a whole host of electronics – I count at least five phones. Now that’s related to my job, but I’d be fairly confident that many of us have drawers or cupboards that have several older generation phones or other gadgets in them sitting unused and unrecycled.
A big drive of mine at TechRadar is to ensure that we keep using a lot of the devices that are sent to us, or if not we look to pass them on to charity or recycle them. After all, a lot of these electronics contain rare materials, and their initial environmental impact during their manufacturing means I think they should be used, otherwise there’s a negative impact for naught.
So I’d encourage others to do the same where they can; have a little look around and think about what you can do with your old electronics and engage with local specialist recycling facilities.
Equally, as Fairphone highlights, there’s a need for phone brands and consumer electronics companies in general to do more to make tech more eco-friendly.
Sadly, I think the constant need to push out products and the hunt for growth and adding value for shareholders means there’s almost certainly a priority on making new devices than holding fire.
Obviously, this is how businesses work, but I do think there could be a better way to do things. I’ve already written about how I think phone brands should move away from the yearly update model, especially as smartphones have become so iterative.
Look, I think the Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is really smart, but aside from that, does the device really bring anything super special to the table that makes it a big generational leap from what's come before? I’d say a hearty no in my hands on time with the phone.
To its credit, Nothing appears to be moving to a model where it’ll only release phones that are a significant upgrade on what’s come before. And I really hope others follow suit, especially as I tend to think that a phone from several years ago isn’t really that behind from today's best phones.
With that in mind, I not only hope and encourage phone makers to look at the environmental impact of their supply chains, I also want them to think about their product cycle – make more money with services or add-ons, not new iterative releases.
But I also encourage you, dear readers, to think about your phone use: do you really need the latest phone or can you hold onto what you’ve got?
Let me know what you think of this perspective, and what your take on the impact of smartphones on the environment, in the comments below.
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