Vodafone plans to extend the life of mobile phones

At the end of February, Vodafone announced a major initiative to extend the life of new mobile phones and encourage customers to trade or recycle old devices. This is moving the industry towards a more circular economy that reduces waste and carbon emissions. From spring 2022 onwards, customers in European markets will have access to a comprehensive range of insurance, support and repair services for their devices. At the same time, the company is planning a digital platform where users will negotiate the possibility of replacing their existing phones. Vodafone will also encourage customers to return all mobile devices that are already at the end of their operation and recycle or donate them to charity. They will offer a wide range of high-quality refurbished smartphones at competitive prices. They have partnered with Recommerce to form a strategic partnership that allows Europe's largest smartphone customer base to take advantage of used devices in retail.

By purchasing a refurbished smartphone, you save about 50 kg of CO2 emissions and eliminate the need to extract 164 kg of raw materials.

In addition, you can extend the life of your mobile device with: insurance against damage, the possibility of replacement through the application, repair. In 2021, Vodafone launched the "Return Friday" consumer campaign on Black Friday. Customers were encouraged to buy old phones with loans for new devices, and the old ones were redirected to recycling and recovery. In addition to mobile devices, Vodafone will expand its recovery and reuse program to routers and televisions in Germany, Portugal and Spain. Their strategy is to build a more circular economy for consumers and industry by developing innovative programs that address the challenges of e-waste. They plan to completely eliminate their carbon footprint by 2040, which would surpass the original ambition of a zero carbon footprint by 2050 by ten years.

Source: Vodafone