A circular economy for IT hardware means using devices for as long as they run securely, then refurbishing and passing them on, and recycling only at the very end. For that you need a long service life and a fixed return process with a partner who remarkets devices, for example a device-as-a-service provider like Everphone.
The EU mainly puts the obligations on manufacturers. Whether your laptop or work phone gets a second life after its first use still comes down to you: procurement, return and data erasure. That is exactly where the loop stalls in most companies.
Where the loop breaks for company devices
A circular economy is a worthy goal because it makes better use of resources. Still, in many companies the life of an IT device ends after a single use cycle. Worldwide, around 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2022 according to the UN monitor, and only 22.3 percent of it was documented as collected and recycled. The report expects 82 million tonnes by 2030. That is a giant pile of old work phones, laptops, routers and all the small items like dongles, cables and adapters.
Germany is not doing better. According to the German Environment Agency, the collection rate for waste electrical equipment was 31.7 percent in 2022, against a legal target of 65 percent. The figure covers all electrical equipment, not just IT. According to Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a German environmental NGO, only about 1.7 percent of the collected devices were refurbished and reused.
For your IT, that means: a laptop that ends up in the collection box after three years rarely returns to use. Usually nobody is responsible, or has the capacity, to erase the data, check the device and pass it on. So the loop fails because of a process, not because of the device.
What the EU regulates for smartphones and laptops
Since June 20, 2025, new ecodesign rules apply to smartphones and tablets (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1670).
- Batteries must withstand at least 800 charge cycles and keep at least 80 percent of their initial capacity.
- Spare parts must be available for seven years after the end of sales.
- Software updates must be provided for five years.
This helps you extend use, because spare parts and durable batteries become mandatory for new models. But the obligation falls on manufacturers. For laptops, there are no comparable EU requirements so far.
The German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) also mainly affects manufacturers. According to the IHK, the German chamber of commerce, anyone who places B2B devices on the market must provide a way to take them back. For erasing personal data, however, end users are responsible themselves, which means your company.
The consequence: data erasure is your job, and it decides whether a device may be passed on at all. How to do that in a legally safe way is covered in Is device as a service GDPR-compliant?.
The five stages in the life of a company device
Each stage has a question you can answer and a number you can measure it by. A first plan needs nothing more.
| Stage | What you decide | What you measure |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement | Models with spare parts, a durable battery and a long update period | Update period in years per model |
| Use | Minimum service life, protective case, battery care | Average age of devices in use |
| Reassignment | Device goes straight to the next person when someone leaves | Unassigned devices in stock |
| Return and erasure | Fixed process with certified data erasure | Days between departure and return |
| Refurbishment | Refurbishment and remarketing instead of scrapping | Share of devices with a second life |
The two middle stages cost the least and deliver the most. How to set up the process from purchase to return is described in Device lifecycle management. Measurability at the point of return is covered in Audit trail for company devices.
Worked example: what longer use changes for 120 laptops
Take a company with 120 employees, each with a laptop. If every laptop is replaced after three years, you buy 40 devices a year. If each device lasts six years on average, because it is refurbished after three years and used on by someone else, that is 20.
New purchases are halved. Because most of a laptop's emissions come from manufacturing, the biggest item in your footprint is halved too. How much CO₂e that amounts to per workplace is worked out in How sustainable is device as a service?.
One limit applies: using devices longer only pays off as long as the manufacturer delivers security updates. A device without updates has to go out of use, however good the battery is. That is no longer a sustainability question but a security question.
Where device as a service closes the loop
The return and refurbishment stages are the hardest for a single IT department to run. With a few hundred devices, your own refurbishment or a spare parts stock rarely pays off. A device-as-a-service provider pools this across many customers.
At Everphone, asset management, certified data erasure and refurbishment after the return are part of the service at no extra cost.
That does not mean we only issue refurbished devices. On the contrary, the vast majority of our rental devices are brand new. With DaaS, the loop closes after use: in 2024, Everphone repaired and put back into circulation 99 percent of the returned smartphones and tablets.
Not always at the same company, but that does not matter: the devices are erased with certification and only then refurbished and passed on. You receive a clean audit trail of the old devices for your compliance report and can supply your employees with fresh devices where needed and wanted.
At the same time, the old devices are immediately ready for further use. It is hard to be more sustainable with company laptops, tablets and smartphones.
What to start with this week
Make a list of all devices with purchase year and assignment. You will see at once which ones sit in stock and which are older than their update period. Then set a minimum service life above your current replacement cycle, and write down the return process for departures on one page.
A service like device as a service is often the shorter route compared with building your own processes. We are happy to advise you. Up to 250 employees, you can also simply order directly in the DaaS shop. For larger organisations, it pays to look more closely and tailor the DaaS service. It will most likely be more sustainable in both cases.
Frequently asked questions
What does the EU regulate on the circular economy for IT hardware?
Since June 20, 2025, ecodesign requirements apply to smartphones and tablets: durable batteries, spare parts for seven years after the end of sales and five years of software updates. They are aimed at manufacturers. For laptops, there are no comparable EU requirements so far. Your company is mainly responsible for service life, return and data erasure.
Who is responsible for data erasure on old devices?
According to the IHK, end users are themselves responsible for erasing personal data. In a company, that means you have to erase the data, or have it erased, before a device is passed on. Certified erasure documents this and preserves the device for reuse.
Are refurbished devices safe to use in a company?
Yes, if two things hold: the previous owner's data has been erased with certification, and the manufacturer still delivers security updates for the model. Check the update period before every handover. Once it has expired, the device is no longer fit for use.
How long should a company laptop be used?
For as long as the manufacturer delivers security updates and the device carries the workload. Blanket numbers of years help little. What counts is the total service life across all employees who use the device one after another, including after refurbishment.