Vodafone and WWF announced a major global partnership that will support Vodafone’s goals to reduce carbon emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2040, help to eliminate e-waste and encourage a more circular economy for mobile phones.
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The partnership launches with a new programme – one million phones for the planet – to help accelerate and refine Vodafone’s circular economy strategy by increasing the number of traded-in, refurbished and recycled devices.
Purchasing a refurbished smartphone saves around 50kg of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) – making its contribution to climate change 87% lower than that of the equivalent, newly manufactured smartphone – and removes the need to extract 76.9 kg of raw materials.
The programme will inspire Vodafone’s customers in Europe and Africa to hand in their old devices as part of a trade-in, for a donation to social causes, or to be recycled responsibly.
Starting from 22 November 2022, every phone collected during the programme will see £1, or the local equivalent, donated by Vodafone to WWF conservation projects across the world.
One million phones for the planet will run alongside existing device campaigns including Germany’s One For One appeal and the Vodafone UK’s Great British Tech Appeal.
One million phones for the planet will help accelerate Vodafone’s four-pronged approach for device circularity, announced in February 2022, to help the mobile industry move towards a more circular economy that minimises waste and further reduces carbon emissions:
• Trade-in – Vodafone will offer competitively priced trade-in offers, delivered through a new digital platform making it straightforward for customers to agree trade-in options for their existing phones.
• Refurbish and resell – Through devices received via trade-in and other device partnerships, Vodafone expects to increase the overall number of high-quality, competitively priced refurbished smartphones that it can offer customers at retail.
• Repair – To prolong the life of existing devices, Vodafone is rolling out a comprehensive and convenient suite of services for customers in Europe, including insurance, support, and repairs.
• Recycle – Any redundant devices that Vodafone receives will continue to be recycled responsibly or repurposed for social or charitable causes whenever possible.
Vodafone is working to reduce its environmental impact to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions across its full value chain by 2040, while helping business customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 350m tonnes by 2030. Vodafone is also driving action to reduce device waste and progressing against its target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of its network waste. ■
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