Transitioning Towards Circular Consumer Electronics Products

Abstract In the present digital era, consumer electronics have become ubiquitous, providing numerous conveniences in various aspects of daily life. However, the significant increase in the production and use of consumer electronics products coupled with the unplanned end-of-life management leads to the depletion of rare earth materials, increasing carbon emissions, and growing electronic waste, thus presenting unique sustainability challenges. Numerous studies have emphasized the development of circular electronic products that align with Circular Economy principles to address these issues. Consumer electronics industry-led initiatives, such as the Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP), have also made a concerted effort to establish key requirements to ensure the circular flow of consumer electronics. However, the broadness of these requirements poses challenges in operationalizing them to facilitate more effective decision-making during product design. This paper addresses this gap by proposing more specific and actionable circular product attributes identified and compiled from extant literature. The relevancy of these attributes was verified in consultation with industry practitioners. These attributes were then mapped to the broad, generic requirements proposed by the CEP. By doing so, this research contributes to translating the CEP-proposed requirements into more specific and actionable attributes to facilitate the design and manufacturing of circular products in the consumer electronics industry.