Circularity in the IT Industry

In the first part of this five-part series on IT hardware circularity we discuss what circularity is, why it has become a major frontier in the IT space, and an overview of how leading manufacturers are meeting their responsibility to improve the quality of their products, while reducing costs and mitigating their impacts on the planet.

According to the UN, electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling. A record 62 million metric tons of e-waste was produced in 2022, an increase of 82% from 2010! IT is on track to rise another 32%, to 82 million tons by 2030. Today just 1% of rare earth element demand is met by e-waste recycling. This e-waste therefore represents billions of dollars of strategically valuable resources squandered.

What is circularity?

Circularity is the principle of reusing resources across the value chain to reduce waste and environmental impact. It underpins the circular economy ideal and offers businesses a way to cut costs – particularly in raw materials – while meeting growing expectations for sustainability. By extending product lifecycles and minimizing resource use, circularity helps conserve ecosystems, reduce energy consumption, and limit carbon emissions. Circular economy practices not only conserve energy and reduce waste, but they also give new life to products and components. These practices support climate goals while improving supply chain resilience, enhancing sustainability performance, lowering production costs, and strengthening brand reputation. 

Figure 1 : An overview of the circular economy concept

The Tech Sector Takes the Lead on Circularity

In the fast-moving landscape of the IT industry, circularity is emerging as a foundational concept aimed at reducing waste, reducing costs, increasing revenues, and enhancing sustainability. Traditionally, IT devices were disposed of at the end of their lifecycle, contributing significantly to environmental waste as they would end up in a landfill. Landfill disposal adds to the carbon emissions generated from landfills. Moreover, this would often mean that some precious and valuable resources, such as gold, copper, cobalt, and more would be discarded, increasing the need for them to be found and extracted elsewhere. Recognizing this challenge, the industry is increasingly designing products with circularity in mind, focusing on sustainable practices that extend the life and utility of IT equipment such as modularity and remote monitoring capabilities. Increased documentation like Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are enabling the sector to bring consumers into these efforts as partners.

Modular components enhance reusability by allowing businesses to purchase only the necessary capacity, thereby optimizing resource use and increasing circularity. As companies' needs expand, they can seamlessly upgrade their systems by adding power and battery modules to existing units, rather than replacing entire systems. This approach not only minimizes environmental impact but also offers cost-effective scalability. Furthermore, the modularity of power components facilitates easy maintenance and replacement. Instead of discarding entire units, individual modules can be repaired and refurbished, extending their lifecycle and reducing waste.

The integration of connectivity and remote monitoring capabilities in these systems supports proactive maintenance and, by extension, circularity. IT teams can identify and address potential issues early, preventing costly failures and further promoting sustainability.

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) serve as comprehensive digital records for products, accessible via smart devices. They securely track a product's lifecycle information, including carbon footprint and guidance on end-of-life handling (safe disposal and recycling). This transparency empowers consumers to make sustainable choices and reassures them about the longevity and recyclability of their purchases. DPPs enhance consumer appeal by detailing the sustainable composition of products, including material sourcing and recycled content, thus validating businesses' sustainability claims and countering greenwashing accusations. They also improve the resale experience by verifying product ownership, sourcing details, and repair history, offering transparency and confidence in the secondhand market. This fosters customer loyalty by presenting companies as trustworthy and committed to sustainability.

Leaders in the Tech Sector's Journey to Circularity

NetApp, Juniper, and Dell are incorporating circularity into the core of their sustainability journeys and Net Zero strategies. They each have their own strengths and approaches to a circular economy and deserve additional discussion and exploration. The next issues in the series will examine each of these manufacturers' initiatives in depth.

Juniper Networks: A Modular Approach to Products

Juniper Networks' circularity initiatives are designed to reduce environmental impact by extending product life, promoting reuse, and ensuring responsible end-of-life management. Central to Juniper's approach is designing high-performance, modular products that can be upgraded over time, minimizing the need for full replacements. This strategy not only reduces electronic waste but also supports operational continuity and lowers the total cost of ownership for customers.

Juniper operates several programs to support circularity, including Return Materials Authorization (RMA) for responsible recycling, a Take-Back Program that facilitates equipment recovery, and a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program that refurbishes and redeploys used hardware. These efforts help reduce raw material consumption and carbon emissions associated with new product manufacturing.

Key strengths of Juniper's circularity strategy include its focus on longevity, customer cost-efficiency, and regulatory compliance with global sustainability standards. The company also provides transparent reporting on its sustainability performance, enhancing accountability. While Juniper's programs are more product-centric compared to other competitors, this targeted approach enables clear, measurable benefits; particularly in extending lifecycle value and reducing e-waste.

Overall, Juniper's circularity initiatives reinforce its commitment to sustainability by combining smart product design, reuse strategies, and efficient resource management that benefit both customers and the environment.

NetApp: Minimal Waste for Customers

NetApp's circularity program is central to its sustainability strategy, reducing environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle. 

NetApp's innovative packaging reduces material usage and shipping weight by using recyclable cushioning instead of foam inserts, while still protecting products during transport. Most 2U and 4U systems have already transitioned to more sustainable packaging, with the rest to follow in 2026.

NetApp offers a free global product take-back program for responsible recycling or disposal of end-of-life and end-of-lease equipment. Certified recycling partners ensure over 99% of materials are recycled, re-sold, or returned to service, with less than 1% landfilled.

Customers benefit from extended hardware use, reducing emissions from new production and disposal, and lowering IT operations' environmental footprint. NetApp has programs to refurbish and re-deploy equipment from leases in our Keystone storage-as-a-service (StaaS) offering, and to re-deploy fully repairable units to customers. 

NetApp's energy-efficient technologies help reduce operational costs and carbon footprints, with products and circularity efforts supporting sustainability goals and empowering customers to meet their own environmental targets, making sustainability a shared success story.

 Dell: Nothing Should go to Waste

Three of Dell's circularity initiatives have been strategically designed to meet the evolving demands for sustainability and efficiency. The first is the use of recycled materials, including incorporating up to 50% recycled cobalt in the batteries of their Pro Plus notebooks, which reduces reliance on new materials and supports environmental sustainability. Additionally, Dell crafts its packaging from 100% recycled or renewable materials, offering options to minimize packaging and transportation waste.

A second key component of Dell's circularity strategy is their Asset Recovery Services, which facilitate seamless transitions for businesses from old to new technology. This service ensures that legacy IT equipment is responsibly and securely retired, regardless of brand. Since 2007, Dell has successfully recovered more than 2.8 billion pounds of electronics, underscoring its commitment to reducing electronic waste.

Finally, Dell's Concept Luna represents an innovative leap towards sustainable and modular laptop design. By simplifying disassembly and repair processes, any broken or malfunctioning parts can be reused, upcycled, or recycled in the Luna laptop, reducing resource consumption and enhancing recyclability. The initiative emphasizes using fewer screws and adhesives, making component replacement and recycling easier, thereby promoting circularity.

The Future is Circular

Manufacturers like NetApp, Juniper, and Dell are leading the tech sector in creating a circular economy. These efforts continue to evolve, mature, and grow and WWT will continue to enable them and work with our partners to provide these solutions to our customers.

WWT's dedication to sustainability and proactive efforts to address supply chain emissions can help advance your sustainability objectives by tackling the significant challenge of downstream Scope 3 emissions with WWT's comprehensive solutions. Contact us to learn more and get a personalized consultation.

References

FreePik. Illustration of the Circularity Economy. Retrieved July 2, 2025, from https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/flat-design-circular-economy-infographic_21095200.htm#fromView=image_search_similar&page=1&position=0&uuid=1cf2325a-cacd-43d3-be27-c967cceac169&query=Circularity+Graphic