As the world gains a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate on critical environmental systems, consumer sentiment toward sustainability is shifting.
The desire to shift to more responsible consumption and product selection continues to grow. The focus on sustainability and ethical consumption is transforming how businesses manufacture, distribute, and recycle their products.
Advanced recycling and circularity – practices formerly lesser known in mainstream discussion – are rapidly moving into the public consciousness. Consumer interest in the product lifecycle grows yearly, from renewable energy-fuelled manufacturing to post-consumer materials programs. These shifts are spurring companies to embrace more robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs to align with consumer trends.
Few sectors highlight the shift as prominently as consumer electronics. Notably resource-intensive, this sector attracts understandable attention from consumers eager to stay connected while minimising the impacts of consumption.
This article explores changing consumer perceptions of consumption and sustainability and the related business impacts of these shifts. It also discusses the electronics industry’s prominent place within climate concerns and its potential to lead sustainability efforts for a greener future.
The changing reality of consumer sustainability trends
A shift has taken place within the last decade. Where sustainability discussions once largely occurred in scientific journals and legislative review panels, consumers have now become the central voice discussing the need for change.
The eco-conscious demographic is expanding. What’s more, they increasingly let their wallets do the talking on sustainability issues. These consumers choose brands and products that prioritise eco-friendly practices. Nearly half of respondents (46%) to the 2024 PwC Voice of the Consumer survey reported that they were “buying more sustainable products or products with a reduced climate impact.” Other common responses included reducing overall consumption, eating different foods, and reducing activities like travel and online shopping to improve their personal climate impact.
Consumers are also willing to pay a premium for more climate-friendly options. A 2020 McKinsey survey revealed that more than 60% of respondents said they’d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. As for how much more? The PwC study referenced above reports consumers were willing to pay 9.7% above average price for sustainably produced or sourced goods.
The legislative response to evolving consumer trends
Legislative action echoes the growing desire for more sustainable practices. New regulations call for greater insight into how public companies operate. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new climate disclosure rules in March 2024, mandating that public companies report how climate impacts their products and practices. Similarly, California enacted a set of climate disclosure laws that impact both private and public enterprises doing business within the state.
Abroad, the European Union introduced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in January 2023, compelling companies to publish reports on their social and environmental impact. These legislative efforts underscore a global trend towards transparency, accountability, and sustainability in business practices, signalling a shift toward greener economies worldwide.
The electronics industry’s place in environmental impact
The electronics industry represents a major component of global manufacturing. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the electronics industry is one of eight supply chains that make up over 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Other contributors include:
- Food
- Construction
- Fashion
- Fast-moving consumer goods
- Automotive
- Professional services
- Freight
These industries contribute both directly through production and end-use indirect emissions. Much of the climate impact of electronics comes from rapid innovation, raw materials use, transport, and end-of-life disposal.
The end-of-life impacts of electronics distribution are considerable. The UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) estimates e-waste to be the fastest-growing waste stream globally, with approximately 62 million tonnes produced in 2022 alone, with an estimated increase to 82 million tonnes by 2030.
How electronics can lead the way in more sustainable outcomes
Despite the impacts of producing and transporting electronic components and products, the sector still has opportunities to be a force for good. Better sustainability practices have the potential to significantly reduce climate impacts while improving efficiency and cost management.
According to the Global Electronics Council, several sustainable practices can produce tangible results. It outlines several high-priority changes and their potential for meaningful improvement:
- Preferencing renewable energy resources for use in production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Implementing material and efficiency improvements during manufacturing to reduce emissions
- Choosing low-carbon fuel for transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Making durability and repair improvements; when paired with recycling and recovery efforts, these improvements further reduce emissions
Individual changes have the potential to reduce the electronics sector’s climate impact. When the industry commits to all these practices, the overall impact can move the needle on climate efforts.
Where should distributors focus their sustainability efforts?
Distributors play a crucial role in the transition towards sustainability within the electronics industry. By focusing on a few key areas, distributors can meet customer needs, build a brand reputation of sustainable practices, and contribute to efforts for better environmental outcomes.
Consider these beneficial areas of focus for distributors when building or refining an ESG programme:
Carbon and greenhouse gas reduction
Reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in product selection and distribution is the foundation of enhancing ESG programmes. Distributors can approach this priority in several ways:
- Prioritising sustainable vendors that minimize climate impacts in manufacturing and energy use practices
- Preferencing eco-friendly logistics options to reduce transportation impacts
- Auditing internal practices to identify opportunities for carbon emission reductions
Waldom’s Green Stock programme supports carbon and greenhouse gas reduction efforts by providing an avenue to redistribute useful stock items, reducing the need to manufacture new components.
Supply chain optimisation
Improving components manufacturing is half the journey to greener electronics. The other half is reducing the impact of distributing those components to end users. Focusing on supply chain optimisation allows electronics distributors to streamline delivery, optimise fuel use, and reduce scope 3 emissions.
Practices including route optimisation, consolidated freight shipping, and eco-friendly transport modes help minimise the distance travelled for goods and the resources used to deliver them. For electronics distributors, partnering with a master distributor for blind fulfilment can reap many benefits regarding cost savings, operational efficiencies, emissions reduction, and customer satisfaction.
Fair and safe work conditions
Beyond the direct climate impacts of electronic production and distribution, fair governance also resonates deeply with consumers. Conscious consumers increasingly see the social impact of their purchases, seeking out brands that prioritise fair and ethical practices.
The top priorities in governance practices include:
- Fair worker compensation
- Equitable employment practices
- Safe working conditions
Committing to these principles fosters a healthier, more motivated workforce and builds stronger consumer trust and loyalty.
Build circularity in the product lifecycle
Considering the whole life cycle of electronics (and their potential to produce waste or fuel new production) helps manufacturers and distributors tackle environmental impacts before parts are produced or discarded. For this reason, more companies are adopting practices that emphasise circularity. Prioritising the circular economy helps companies mitigate electronic waste, reduce resource depletion, and interrupt the flow of recyclable materials into the environment.
Recovering value from excess stock is of specific interest to distributors with overstock concerns. Materials reclamation programmes recover the value contained within devices and divert the materials to other production uses. This prevents waste and reduces the environmental impact. Companies recover a portion of the investment in obsolete products and reduce the need to source new raw materials for future production.
Component recovery is an important facet of the circular economy. Electronic devices like phones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets contain valuable metals and minerals. According to some estimates, these materials hold a collective value of $62.5 billion.
How Waldom helps component distributors align with climate-conscious consumers
A master distributor like Waldom can enhance sustainable practices for IP&E distributors at each step. Waldom helps distributors offer more sustainable components, facilitates expanded catalogues without heavy investment, and provides logistics and distribution support to optimise the supply chain. Waldom supports environmental goals while improving distributors’ cost-to-serve and customer satisfaction.
Waldom’s excess stock programme further promotes sustainable distribution. Through its Green Stock Programme, distributors avoid the costs and environmental impact of indefinitely warehousing excess inventory. They can also recover millions in lost revenue from excess stock disposal.
The Green Stock Programme offers many attractive benefits to manufacturers and distributors:
- Preventing valuable components and materials from entering landfills or sitting idle on warehouse shelves
- Reducing unnecessary manufacturing (and its second-order environmental impacts) by returning them to the pool of available components
- Helping distributors meet their internal ESG goals and initiatives
- Extending the useful life of previously manufactured components
