Closing the Loop’s CEO, Joost de Kluijver, on how his One for One model is driving real progress in circular tech

The whitepaper ‘E-waste Compensation: The Starting Point for Real Circularity in Tech’ presents e-waste compensation as a scalable, practical solution for tech companies to initiate circular economy strategies. Authored by circularity expert Hugo Warner and commissioned by Closing the Loop, it centres on the “One for One” model in which one discarded device is collected, in a developing country, and responsibly recycled for every new one sold. The approach helps brands meet sustainability goals, engage stakeholders, and improve supply chain resilience while maintaining commercial viability. The model is positioned as low-friction, brand-enhancing, and effective in complying with rising regulatory and consumer demands for sustainability.

Previously, SecondaryMarket.news published an exclusive interview with Hugo Warner, offering deeper insights into the potential of partnering through Closing the Loop’s One for One model. To further explore this collaboration, we asked Joost de Kluijver, co-founder and CEO of Closing the Loop, to share his perspective on Hugo Warner’s whitepaper.

SecondaryMarket.news: For readers unfamiliar with Closing the Loop, could you share more about the origins of the organization, how its service shaped your practical approach to waste reduction in tech, and what benefits tech brands can get from waste reduction efforts?

Joost de Kluijver: The company was established as an answer to a very simple question: “If almost everyone is in favour of greener (or circular) ways to use tech, then why is only such a small part of consumers buying ‘green’?” We believed that the concept of waste reduction had been made unnecessarily complex, painful, and simply not customer centric. This is quite odd as circularity can be the perfect customer service. It is all about innovation, improvement, and positive storytelling.

We have, in this industry, seen concepts such as reuse, trade-in, and the reselling of used devices for many years. However, do these propositions currently get the masses on board for the journey towards less waste? The thought behind Closing the Loop was to build a service that puts the customer first and delivers on their current but unmet needs. As we succeeded in that, our service became a true win-win: delivering value for tech brands (helping them with sales, MarCom, branding etc.) while reducing global electronic waste in a direct, unprecedented manner.

SecondaryMarket.news: One for One (aka. E-waste compensation) is described as a ‘pragmatic’, customer-centric and ‘scalable’ solution. Could you walk us through the practical steps of how a tech brand might integrate CTL’s "One for One" model into its existing product lifecycle or go-to-market strategy?

Joost de Kluijver: The first question is always: ‘’Why would a tech brand use our service?” The answer to that question can differ depending on the type of customer, as we work with VARs, OEMs, mobile operators, and companies like leasing firms. However, most of the time, our service is used to improve the appeal of our customer’s product or services, while also delivering significant waste reduction results.

Operationally, it is extremely easy to add One for One to a proposition. The only thing we need to know is the number of devices the service should be applied to. We can even receive that number in a monthly email. Our customers do not have to do anything; they do not need to share data about their own customers, and we do not interfere with their products or processes. It’s dead simple: if our customer delivers 1000 (new) phones, then we match that delivery by collecting and recycling 1000 end-of-life ones. That’s how One for One works.

But our service is not a ‘tick the box’ kind of service. The real value comes from our in-house teams that help our customers turn One for One into a USP for sales, a good communications story, or an understandable pillar of a green branding project.

SecondaryMarket.news: One for One is linked to the purchase moment of a product or service. What is the significance of that? How is this different from other circular services in tech?

Joost de Kluijver: Waste reduction propositions normally come into play at the final stage of the end-user’s journey (as, for example, in the form of ‘’please hand in your used device in 3 years”).

However, most customers want to apply that thinking at the start: at the moment they get their new device in their hands. The purchase moment is when customers spend money, so it is a very logical moment to offer a green service. It is also the moment when they want to feel even better about their new, shiny device. Tech brands that use our service get the unique possibility to deliver on this end-user need. They can say that the device they sell (which will be used by their customers for many years to come) has directly led to one end-of-life device removed from the market. This is great for CX, and positions green/circular as it should be positioned: a moment of excitement and positive surprise.

SecondaryMarket.news: What motivated Closing the Loop to commission this whitepaper at this particular moment in the industry’s evolution, and how do you hope it will shift perspectives on circularity and pragmatic sustainability in the fast-moving, often linear technology sector?

Joost de Kluijver: There are a few main drivers that are holding back the growth and scaling of circular innovations. One of them is the fear of doing something that might be considered greenwashing. At Closing the Loop, we can tackle that fear by showing the track record of some highly reputable organisations that have used or promoted our service. It often helps to take a step back and have a third party analyse what One for One is and how it fits into the bigger picture.

My personal obsession is changing the green/circular narrative into one that is about opportunities, innovation, value, and a better industry, as I believe both tech brands and consumers will benefit from repositioning circularity. This white paper supports that shift by highlighting that there are easy, engaging, and positive starting points toward a truly circular industry.

SecondaryMarket.news: There is a growing segment of sustainability-minded consumers who are interested in buying greener solutions but often don’t act on that interest. How does One for One build brand trust and bridge the gap between wanting green and actually choosing it?

Joost de Kluijver: I believe explaining the say/do gap is very simple. The often-heard argument that consumers are not willing to put their money where their mouth is does not fly. Why would they lie about their interest?

The fact is that, on this day, our industry is failing to offer green/circular in a way that is appreciated by customers. In a nutshell, the current offerings are mostly not convenient, fun, or relevant enough. Combine that with the rather abstract arguments used to promote circularity – save the planet, reduce carbon/waste, prevent material depletion – and you get what we are currently seeing: a positive attitude about the basic concept of circularity, but low adoption. We need to be more customer-centric, at least in today’s market.

SecondaryMarket.news: What kinds of communication or customer engagement opportunities does One for One unlock that more abstract carbon‑offset programs might miss?

Joost de Kluijver: One for One is about the customer’s device: when they get that new phone or laptop in their hands, they will know that their device has led to one device saved from the landfill. One for One makes the topic of waste reduction simple, tangible, and relevant for the user. At the same time, it is also logical for tech brands; One for One is strongly connected to their core business (some might say that it is more logical for them to use than, for example, the planting of trees).

SecondaryMarket.news: Customer interest, ease of use, and scalability are often cited as a bottleneck for circular solutions. What makes One for One unique in tackling these problems?

Joost de Kluijver: The consumer does not have to do anything. One for One offers circularity as a service: everything stays as it is (same product, same brand, same supplier, same process), but the purchase leads to electronic waste being collected and recycled. This shows that our service is just a starting point, not a solution. But I think, at this moment, this industry has a bigger need for starting points that customers are willing to use, rather than concepts that might have a bigger impact but are not (yet) being used.

SecondaryMarket.news: The white paper mentions Dustin gaining a competitive advantage from using One for One. What other benefits can channel partners gain from using the service?

Joost de Kluijver: We’re seeing the service being used to improve CX (higher NPS, better customer journey), to win deals (the service delivers a USP, especially for brands that serve large companies and public buyers) and to create MarCom stories and brand value (the awards and visibility our service has received have generated significant media value). One for One focuses on a consumer need that the industry is unable to deliver on, and that is what makes it commercially interesting. On top of that, the waste reduction that One for One delivers to our customers surpasses anything they have achieved before, even for large brands such as Dustin and Vodafone.

SecondaryMarket.news: The paper mentions Vodafone Germany as a success story of a brand using One for One. What was the key to Vodafone’s success in using One for One?

Joost de Kluijver: One for One needs to be an add-on to an existing green portfolio, or otherwise the first step to creating one. Vodafone already had an impressive array of green propositions and customer services, such as trade-in and repair. But the fact is that, also in their case, the vast majority of end-users were not yet using their green services. The average consumer was not on board for the green journey, possibly because they felt that the first step was too big to take. One for One offered the perfect starting point. Next to that, the story and impact that resulted from the service have created significant visibility, media attention, and several awards wins and nominations.

SecondaryMarket.news: The white paper mentions One for One as a tool for employee engagement. Can you elaborate on how this can be implemented in practice?

Joost de Kluijver: Since 2016, business end-users in ten countries have used One for One and applied it to workplace devices such as laptops. One interesting thing we found is that organisations have very few ways to connect to their workforce: they do not go to the office that often but sit at home using a company laptop or phone. So, it makes a lot of sense to assign organisational value to every device your employees have in their hands or on their desk, all the time. When the service is applied to a business end-user’s device, the message on the device (via a sticker or screensaver) is simple: “Your device has led to one scrap device being saved from the landfill.” One for One.

SecondaryMarket.news: You mention that companies can optionally allow customers to pay for the compensation service or include it by default. What insights have you gathered on which model, opt-in versus integrated, drives more participation and long-term brand loyalty?

Joost de Kluijver: The rule of thumb is consumers are not willing to pay for green. So, if you offer them One for One, the value will need to come out of the benefits our service creates. For B2B end users, this is a paid service, just like insurance or data deletion, so they always cover the cost. They get the benefits, so they pay for the service. We have seen many exemptions to both rules and quite some creative approaches, such as brand and customer splitting the cost or spreading the cost service over a 36-month lease period.

SecondaryMarket.news: How do you see Closing the Loop evolving in the coming years as sustainability expectations increase? Are there any plans to expand beyond One for One into broader circular services, or to deepen your partnerships across global tech supply chains and policy landscapes?

Joost de Kluijver: It will take years to get most tech buyers to start buying in a greener way. Luckily, we’re increasingly working with broader teams on our clients’ side: marketing professionals, CX teams, propositions developers and sales folks, to make sure the concept of circularity creates value for the whole company and not just the CSR department. One for One can be used much more broadly (for an entire range of electronics), which is something we are working on with NGOs and researchers, as well as the tech industry. Our next big project is a facility that will turn electronic waste into metal, in Nigeria. This will be huge for the tech sector, the continent, and the mining sector, as societies increasingly look for ‘urban mining’ to get precious materials.