4th ITU Green
Standards Week
Turning the e-waste challenge
into an opportunity
Cristina Bueti
Adviser of ITU-T Study Group 5
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Facts about e-waste worldwide
 Last year nearly 50m tonnes of e-waste
was generated worldwide – or about
7kg for every person on the planet;
 Only 8% of old cell phones are recycled
properly;
 Only 12.5% of e-waste is recycled;
 Recycling one million laptops saves
enough energy to power 3,600 homes.
Photo credit: Andrew McConnell/Alamy
Data source: http://www.mailinmobile.com/blog/7-shocking-facts-ewaste-worldwide-recycle-devices-today/#sthash.UFwlEc7l.dpuf
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Weaknesses of e-waste management systems
Illegal traffic
E-waste dispersed
Speculation on
compliance costs
No clear common
definition
Lack of
internationally
comparable data
Heterogeneous
reporting requirements
Lack of transparent
management of
funding
Developing countryspecific criticalities
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Prevention is better than cure
Policies and standards
Sustainable manufacturing practices:
 Eco-design
 Choice of reusable and non-toxic
materials
 Prolonged products life-cycle
 E-waste disposals
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Source: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html
E-waste in Asia (1)
Asia e-waste market: USD 1.85 billion in 2012; USD 4.01 billion in 2017
(Frost & Sullivan, 2013)
Challenges
 Lack of legal framework
 Well-established informal sector
 Economic sustainability of formal
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recycling
Inadequate recycling infrastructure
Need to raise awareness
Data availability
Illegal shipments of e-waste
United Nations University, 2013
Country
E-waste generation
(tons/year)
Per capita generation
(kg/person)
China
7,253.01
5.36
India
2,751.84
2.25
South Korea
961.33
19.22
Indonesia
708.38
2.90
International
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Data source:
StEP, 2012
Telecommunication
Union
E-waste in Asia (2)
People‘s Republic of China
 The country is the second largest producer of electronic waste.
 In 2011, it generated 7.253 tons of e-waste; 40 mn TV sets and 66.7 mn
computers.
 2011 Regulation on Management of
the Recycling and Disposal of WEEE;
 Formal sector: 61 million home
appliances collected and treated in
2011;
 250.000 informal recyclers.
(StEP, 2012; 2013; UNU, 2013)
Basel Convention, 2014
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Ewasteguide, 2011
International
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4th ITU Green
Standards Week
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
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UN specialized agency for ICTs
unique public/private partnership
Members:
 193 Member States (Governments and regulatory bodies)
 Over 700 Private Sector (Sector Members and Associates)
 Over 63 Academia
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ITU’s mandate on e-waste
 Assist countries to develop policies on e-waste management
 Develop international standards on life-cycle management of ICT
equipment
 Help companies becoming more sustainable and socially responsible
 Carry out research and development
 Raise awareness
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ITU-T Study Group 5
Question 13 - Environmental impact
reduction including e-waste
Working Party 3 –
ICTs and Climate
Change
Study Group 5 – Environment
and Climate Change
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4th ITU Green
Standards Week
Research and development
Identifying standards and policy needs
An Energy-Aware
Survey on ICT Device
Power Supplies
International
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4th ITU Green
Standards Week
ITU Toolkit on Environmental Sustainability for
the ICT Sector
Purpose: enable the ICT industry to drive environmental
best practice into its own performance.
Practical Support
Standards Support
Detailed practical
support on how ICT
companies can build
sustainability into
their operations and
management
Ongoing contribution
to ITU-T Study Group
5 which has the goal
of developing global
standards in this arena
Checklist
Standardized
checklist of
sustainability
requirements
specific to the ICT
sector
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Collaboration with over 50 partners
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3p Institute for Sustainable
Management
Alcatel Lucent
BBC
BIO Intelligence Service
BT
CEDARE
Climate Associates
ClimateCHECK
Cogeco Cable
DATEC Technologies
Dell
Ernst & Young
ETRI
ETNO
ETSI
European Broadcasting Union
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France Telecom/Orange
Fronesys
Fujitsu
GHG Management Institute (GHGMI)
Hewlett-Packard
Hitachi
Huawei
IBI Group
Imperial College
Infosys
International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)
Mandat International
MicroPro Computers
Microsoft
MJRD Assessment Inc.
National Inter-University Consortium
for Telecommunications
Nokia Siemens Networks
NEC Empowered by Innovation
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NTT
Panasonic
PE INTERNATIONAL AG
Research In Motion
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa
Step Initiative
Telecom Italia
Telecommunications Networks and
Telematics Laboratory
Telecommunication Technology
Committee
Telefónica
Thomson Reuters
Toshiba
United Nations Environmental
Programme
United Nations Environmental
Programme Basel convention
United Nations University
University of Genova
University of Zagreb
Verizon
Vodafone Ghana
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Toolkit content
Document
Summary
Introduction to toolkit
A business-led perspective on the use of sustainability in ICT
organizations
Sustainable ICT in corporate
organizations
Sustainability issues with the use of ICT products and services
Sustainable products
Sustainability-led design principles and practice for ICT
products
Sustainable buildings
Sustainability management of the construction, use and
decommissioning of ICT buildings
End-of-life management
Support in dealing with the various end-of-life stages of ICT
equipment
General specifications and KPIs
Environmental KPIs that can be used to manage and evaluate
sustainability performance
Assessment framework
Mapping the standards and guidelines applying to the ICT
industry
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End-of-life management for ICT equipment
End-of-life management
An outline of the
various EOL stages (and
accompanying
legislation) , and
support for creating a
framework for
environmentally-sound
management of EOL
ICT equipment.
Material recovery and
recycling
Clean supply chains
Offsetting and
mitigation
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End-of-life management for ICT equipment
Structure of analysis:
Legal frameworks
EOL management steps
Regulatory compliance
Best practice guidance
Clean supply chains and conflict
minerals
Socio-economic issues
Corporate social responsibility
Checklists
Key guidance to ensure best practices:
General Material Recovery and
Recycling Facility Guidelines / minimum
criteria to select a service provider
Clean Supply Chain and Conflict
Minerals: An opportunity for a greener
industry
Offsetting Opportunities and
Mitigation: The ICT sector response to
Social and Environmental issues generated
by bad EOL practices
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Standards Week
Global portal on ICTs, environment and climate change
Launched in February 2014
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Raising awareness

ITU/NBTC Training for Asia-Pacific Region on "Leveraging ICTs for
Smart Sustainable Cities“
29 September - 2 October 2014, Bangkok, Thailand
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Forum on "Sustainable smart cities: from vision to reality“
13 (morning) October 2014, Geneva, Switzerland
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6th meeting of Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities (FG-SSC)
13 (afternoon) -16 October 2014, Geneva, Switzerland
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4th ITU Green
Standards Week
Next steps
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Policy makers should have long-term sustainability ambitions
 Consider e-waste management in the design of ICT policies
 Implement international standards at the national level
 Encourage concerted cooperation in handling e-waste at the national, regional
and international level
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Improve the sustainability and competitiveness of manufacturing and
business practices
 Create manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimize
negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources
 Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community, and product safety
and promote green jobs
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Foster public-private partnerships
Raise awareness at consumer level
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4th ITU Green
Standards Week
 ITU-T and Climate Change
itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange
 Symposia & Events on ICTs and Climate
Change
itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/climatechange
Thank you
cristina.bueti@itu.int
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