CCS Insight webinar: corporate device circularity becomes a visible anchor for sustainability credibility

Despite this shift, overall awareness levels remain higher than in 2023, indicating continued underlying interest. The challenge is not rejection but quiet neglect. When sustainability is experienced primarily through policies and disclosures, it risks feeling abstract. For credibility and cultural alignment, organisations require practical signals that demonstrate action in ways employees can see and understand.

Devices signal tangible action

End of life device management has emerged as one of the most visible and consistent sustainability signals inside organisations. The handling of laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets provides a clear moment where sustainability intersects with everyday operations. According to industry data referenced during the discussion, 72% of laptops are reused or responsibly recycled, while desktop PCs achieve 59%. More than half of smartphones are returned, repurposed, or recycled, with tablets following similar patterns.

These processes are mature and familiar. Employees directly observe devices being collected, replaced, redeployed, or sent for certified recycling. Unlike upstream lifecycle stages, end of life activity offers clarity and reassurance. Even as broader sustainability messaging becomes less visible, device circularity remains a practical demonstration of responsible behaviour that employees recognise.

Enterprise trade-in maturity

Research tracking global trading volumes across multiple device categories confirms that enterprise participation in circular flows is well established. Large organisations with structured IT asset management routinely return 70% or more of devices into formal trade-in systems. The primary drivers are pragmatic rather than ideological. Lease returns, predictable refresh cycles, and operational efficiency underpin these decisions, particularly for organisations managing thousands of endpoints.

Environmental, social, and governance considerations are increasingly factored into decision making, but they typically reinforce existing lifecycle management logic rather than replacing it. Circular outcomes are therefore achieved because of economic and operational discipline, not as a standalone sustainability initiative.

Security constraints and consumer gaps

Not all enterprise activity aligns cleanly with circular ambitions. In regulated sectors such as healthcare and finance, data security concerns frequently outweigh reuse or remarketing considerations. Many organisations prefer secure on site disposal to eliminate perceived risks associated with third-party handling, even when this limits circular recovery. This trend has become more pronounced across parts of Europe.

The larger structural challenge, however, lies outside enterprise environments. In consumer markets, less than 1% of laptops enter trade-in channels, with residual value largely concentrated in Apple Mac devices. Most consumer laptops are used until failure, reflecting longer lifecycles and the absence of convenient take-back programs. This gap highlights where scale and behavioural change are most urgently required.

Procurement remains underdeveloped

While end of life processes are mature, procurement of refurbished devices remains the weakest link in corporate circularity. Employer purchases of pre-owned hardware typically represent only 4 to 6% of total volumes. This persists despite clear evidence that employees are receptive. Around 75% indicate they would be comfortable using refurbished or recycled work devices, and many already purchase pre-owned smartphones and tablets privately. Globally, only 9% of laptops enter the market as refurbished second-hand sales. Procurement therefore represents the least developed stage of the lifecycle, even as downstream recovery operates efficiently.

Several converging forces are strengthening the business case for refurbished electronics. Expanding marketplace infrastructure has improved access to quality inventory. Strong residual value, particularly for Apple devices, supports stable pricing. Cost efficiency is increasingly material, with refurbished laptops averaging € 400 compared to € 700 for new equivalents. Regulatory pressure is also mounting, with France mandating that 15% of corporate purchases be refurbished and similar approaches emerging in Sweden and Norway. Together, these factors position refurbished procurement as a strategic lever rather than a peripheral sustainability gesture.