Five of Europe’s major mobile operators have teamed up to launch a new consumer label to measure the sustainability of mobile phones. The initiative was started was Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica (operating under the O2 and Movistar brands), Telia Company and Vodafone as a way to help people identify and compare the most sustainable phones, and encourage suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their devices. The rating considers five features, namely durability, repairability, resource efficiency, recyclability and climate efficiency. Scores will range up to 100.
The Eco Rating will roll out across Europe from June, and will include phone from 12 vendors, including launch partners Bullitt Group (Cat, Motorola rugged phones), Doro, HMD Global (Nokia Phones), Huawei, MobiWire, Motorola/Lenovo, OnePlus, Oppo, Samsung Electronics, TCL/Alcatel, Xiaomi and ZTE. The label will introduced at point of sales across 24 countries in Europe.
The CEOs of all five mobile operators Tim Hoettges (Deutsche Telekom), Stephane Richard (Orange), Jose María Alvarez-Pallete (Telefonica), Allison Kirkby (Telia Company) and Nick Read (Vodafone Group) all welcomed the launch of the Eco Rating Initiative: “Building a more sustainable future is our joint responsibility, so we believe the time is right to drive a harmonised, industry-wide Eco Rating Scheme that will improve transparency and help raise awareness of the environmental impact of the phones that our customers choose. The CEOS added that they looked forward to welcoming more manufacturers and telecoms operators to the rating initiative, and hope" it will inspire the whole industry to accelerate its transition towards a more circular model for mobile phones.”
The rating methodology was developed with technical support and supervision from IHobe, a publicly-owned agency specialised in economic development, sustainability and the environment), with the participation of device suppliers, using the latest standards and guidelines from the European Union, ITU-T, ETSI and ISO, with new parameters introduced where appropriate.
