When equipping digital workplaces, companies must consider more than just price, availability, and performance. Sustainability is increasingly a key factor – whether for ESG reporting, CO₂ targets, or employer branding. But how do Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) and traditional device purchasing compare in terms of environmental impact?

Resources with DaaS: fewer devices, better utilization

In traditional procurement models, each company purchases its own hardware – often with generous safety margins in quantity, specs, and performance. Devices are rarely shared, reused, or optimized. The result:

• Higher resource consumption per organization
• Large stockpiles of underused or outdated equipment
• Short product life cycles

DaaS takes a different approach: Device fleets are provided on demand, swapped as needed, and professionally refurbished after return. Devices are used multiple times – either within the same company or by another customer. This significantly reduces the number of new devices required.

Lifecycle emissions: the real CO₂ impact of IT devices

The majority of a device’s carbon footprint comes not from usage, but from production and logistics. Extending the lifecycle is one of the most effective ways to reduce emissions.

In purchase models, companies typically refresh devices every 2–3 years – regardless of functionality.
With DaaS, devices stay in circulation as long as possible, thanks to managed returns, refurbishment, and second-life usage. This reduces emissions from manufacturing.

Circular economy: from theory to practice with DaaS

In traditional setups, device lifecycles often end with storage, resale, or disposal – with no guarantee of data deletion, repair, or recycling. Many devices end up unused in drawers or are discarded prematurely.

In contrast, DaaS providers like Everphone implement a fully circular model:

• Systematic return, refurbishment, and resale
• Certified, GDPR-compliant data wiping
• Repair-first approach before replacing
• Transparent reporting on second-life cycles and resource savings

We refurbish almost all returned devices and give them a second life – either in a business context or through partner networks. Over the years, we have achieved a refurbishment rate that, with minor fluctuations, ranges between 95 and 99 percent. 

Only devices whose repair is technically or economically unfeasible are professionally recycled. In these cases, the valuable raw materials contained in the components are recovered as far as possible.

Outsourcing responsibility–the smart way

An underrated benefit: DaaS makes sustainability operationally feasible by offloading the effort. Internal IT no longer handles disposal, HR doesn’t chase down returns during offboarding, and Procurement avoids micromanaging device orders.

All processes run through the platform – with a full audit trail for ESG compliance and reporting.

Conclusion: Sustainability for means using, not owning

When you buy devices, you own them – but you also own the responsibility for their usage, emissions, and end-of-life handling. DaaS shifts that responsibility to experts who extend lifecycles, reduce waste, and keep devices in circulation.

From an environmental perspective, DaaS is clearly superior to device ownership – especially for larger, distributed, or fast-changing fleets.