ABB circularity programme reduces industrial electronic waste

Of 32,000 faulty items processed across the four years, 214.5kg went to landfill in 2020 but by the end of 2023 this had fallen to 14.2kg, supporting ABB’s global efforts to enable a more sustainable future.

The initiative focuses on the repair, reuse and recycling of faulty parts to extend their life and help reduce waste and conserve resources that would otherwise be used to manufacture new parts.

Approximately 62 million tonnes of electronic waste is generated globally, with this figure estimated to rise to 82 million tonnes in 2030. ABB’s programme aims to combat this by reducing the amount of electronic scrap sent to landfill, offering complete traceability for every old or faulty part returned by customers.

The programme creates significant value for customers through collaboration with recycling experts Stena Recycling in Europe and Ohio Drop Off in the US, who provide certified reports that assess the material properties of each part across various categories, offering transparency in sustainability reporting. Additionally, ABB offers financial incentives for customers to exchange faulty parts for remanufactured or refurbished ones, which provides them with cost-effective, sustainable solutions and reduces waste.

When parts cannot be repaired or used for remanufacturing, ABB ensures they are responsibly disposed of, enabling customers to recover valuable materials and reduce the reliance on virgin resources. In some cases, parts are disassembled, cleaned, inspected, reconditioned and reassembled to create remanufactured parts – an approach particularly valuable in ensuring availability of materials and components.

“End-to-end traceability and extending the lifecycle of our products is crucial, especially in the face of a rising global demand for critical materials. Without the transformation of production and consumption models to support the circular economy, we cannot meaningfully preserve natural resources and cut emissions,” said Marie-Hélène Westholm-Knebel, Global Head of Sustainability at ABB Energy Industries. “Our collaborations with recycling partners ensure that sustainability standards are upheld from the very beginning to the final stage of a product's lifecycle.”

“The success of this programme has already been proven at industrial plants around the world where our customers have service agreements that enable them to play an active role in striving for a circular economy,” said Paul Sundt, Service Segment Manager at ABB Energy Industries. “We hope to see this continue as more customers realise the value, and improved sustainability, that can be generated across their supply chain.”

ABB’s circularity strategy is a key element of ABB’s sustainability agenda and focuses on preserving resources at every stage of a product’s lifecycle. The company is emphasising the need to establish an ecosystem of partner networks globally to drive circular principles and foster new business models that promote repair, reuse and recycling best practice.