Methodology

Electronic device refurbishing

RIV-REC-01-ELEC

V2.1

Overall Available Credits

39083

tCO₂eq

Overall forecasted delivery

227445

tCO₂eq

Most used mechanism

Avoidance

Last Update

August 2, 2024

using this methodology

10

Projects

About the methodology

Small IT and telecommunication equipment account for about 2% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are rapidly growing in their emissions impact. Besides contributing to climate change, these devices require rare minerals and generate increasing hazardous waste, with most environmental impact occurring during manufacturing. Extending device lifetimes through repair and refurbishment can significantly reduce GHG emissions by decreasing the need for new production and reducing electronic waste. Refurbishing involves restoring used devices to a functional state through various processes, and while consumer acceptance is growing, challenges such as high repair costs, market fragmentation, and lack of consumer trust remain. The Riverse methodology for electronic device refurbishing focuses on projects that collect, repair, and resell small electronic devices. This document is a concise presentation of this methodology.

Electronic device refurbishing

August 2, 2024

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V2.1

Open Documentation

Technology

Reconditioning electronic devices involves a series of steps aimed at restoring used devices to a functional and presentable condition. The process typically includes:

Inspection and Assessment: Evaluating the device's functionality and external condition.
Repairs and Upgrades: Replacing defective components or upgrading parts, often requiring skilled technicians.
Testing: Ensuring the device operates as intended.
Cleaning: Enhancing the appearance of the device through thorough cleaning.
Software Update: Resetting or updating the software to its original state.
Packaging: Preparing the device for resale.

Scientific approach

Quantification

The IT refurbishing model quantification takes into account every part of a project-based comparative life-cycle assessment.

Open image

The methodology quantifies GHG emissions avoided compared to baseline scenarios using the ISO 14064-2 standard. Key aspects include:

Baseline Scenario:

Assumes the typical end-of-life treatment for devices and the production of new devices, for the given country where it was collected.
Includes a share of refurbished devices in the typical consumer purchase of a new device.

Project Scenario:

Transportation for collection of the devices.
Considers the residual value of the collected devices on the refurbishing market, indicating they are not merely waste but possess significant worth.
Includes the refurbishing process (accounts for energy and material inputs).
Enhanced recycling of the devices that couldn’t be refurbished.

Functional Unit:

The use of one electronic device for one year, normalized to account for the lifespan of new vs. refurbished devices.

Calculations:

Emissions from new device production and end-of-life treatment are compared to those from the refurbishing process.
Emission factors for new and refurbished products are sourced from established databases like Ecoinvent and specific studies (e.g., ADEME's LCA of reconditioned electronics).

Main Scientific Resources:

European Commission: Moeslinger, M., Almasy, K., Jamard, M. et al., Towards an effective right to repair for electronics – Overcoming legal, political, and supply barriers to contribute to circular electronics in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022. [DOI link]
The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME): Bureau Veritas, Assessment of the environmental impact of a set of refurbished products – Final report, 2022. [ADEME Report]
Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Goddin, J., et al., Circularity Indicators: An Approach to Measuring Circularity, Methodology, 2019. [DOI link]
Freitag et al. The real climate and transformative impact of ICT: A Critique of estimates, trends, and regulations, Patterns, 2021. [DOI link]
Pamminger, R., Glaser, S., Wimmer, W., Modelling of different circular end-of-use scenarios for smartphones, International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2021. [DOI link]
Ecoinvent Database version 3
Kouloumpis, V., Konstantzos, G.E., Chroni, C., Abeliotis, K., Lasaridi, K., Does the circularity end justify the means? A life cycle assessment of preparing waste electrical and electronic equipment for reuse, Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2023. [DOI link]

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Core criteria of the methodology

Riverse ensures that carbon financing spurs additional climate action by enabling solutions that wouldn't occur without carbon finance revenue. Carbon credits cannot be issued for activities that would have happened anyway.

Regulatory Surplus Analysis:

‍The EU has introduced the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the RoHS Directive to prevent WEEE generation and promote resource efficiency through re-use, recycling, and other forms of recovery. The WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU) sets targets for collecting e-waste, but according to Eurostat data, many countries have not yet met their targets. There are currently no regulations requiring electronic device refurbishing. Thus, electronic device refurbishing projects remain voluntary and are not obligatory for compliance. Any increase in electronic device refurbishing and WEEE recycling thanks to the support of these regulations is included in the GHG reduction quantifications.

Barrier Analysis:

‍Electronic device refurbishing projects will typically prove their additionality using barrier analysis. This analysis shows that they face financial, technological, or institutional barriers that pose a threat to their overall operations, and that can only be overcome with solutions funded by carbon finance. For example:

Employee training and skills development: As refurbishing is a manual process, projects need to allocate a significant portion of their operating budget to this. Projects may struggle to meet their required cash flow due to insufficient profits.
Investment in quality control equipment: As a manual process, refurbishing is prone to errors, and limitations on what repairs/improvements can be done manually. Projects can invest in machinery to help, but it may not be a financially viable investment.
Competitive pricing: Due to the manual nature of refurbishing, projects struggle to compete with fully automated production in Asia. Without financial backing from carbon credits, these projects often operate with very thin profit margins, resulting in low or negative cash flow.

Investment Analysis:

‍Instead of barrier analysis, electronic device refurbishing projects may use investment analysis to prove that they need carbon financing to invest in expansion and scale up their activities, and that the investment would not pay for itself. For example:

Investment in expanding device collection capacity: Projects may invest in new methods for collecting used devices, such as installing additional collection boxes. This can increase the number of devices available for refurbishing, thereby helping to scale up operations.
Investment in accelerating the refurbishing process: Projects may invest in machinery to speed up the otherwise manual refurbishing process, thereby increasing their throughput of devices.

Note that for investments in expansion, only the additional activities enabled by the expansion shall be eligible for Riverse Carbon Credits.

Compliance

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Calculation

We adhere to the ISO14064-2 standard to accurately quantify GHG emissions reductions and sequestration. Our approach ensures that all calculations are transparent, consistent, and reliable.

Our approach

Project Reporting

All our projects must comply with the General Standard Rules in accordance with ICVCM and ICROA requirements. This ensures the highest level of integrity and transparency in our reporting processes.

ICROA accreditation

Audit and Verification

Every project undergoes rigorous validation and recurring verification/monitoring audits by accredited Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs). This process guarantees the credibility and accuracy of our projects' emissions reductions.

List of accredited VVBs

Credit TraceabilitY

Our registry offers end-to-end traceability for the lifecycle of our credits, preventing double counting or double claiming. This system ensures that each credit's history is fully transparent and accountable.

Access Registry

Projects using this methodology

Overall Available Credits

39083

tCO₂eq

browse in registry

10

Projects

Cobenefits most found in the projects

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Eligibility criteria

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All projects must comply with the following eligibility criteria: Measurability, Reality, Additionality, Permanence (not applicable here, avoidance credits), No Double Counting, Co-benefits, Substitution, Environmental and Social Do No Harm, Leakage, Technology Readiness Level, Target Alignments, and Minimum Impact.

Specific Scope for IT Refurbishing Projects:

Covers projects that carry out the technical aspects of refurbishment. Activities that only collect used devices (e.g., buyback schemes) or serve as marketplaces for refurbishers are not eligible projects.
Distinguishes between two types of refurbishing, both of which are eligible:
- Light refurbishing: Focuses on cosmetic or minor technical repairs of existing device parts.
- Full refurbishing: Involves an intensive process that includes replacing some device components.
Covers small consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and screens. Larger devices like washing machines and vacuum cleaners are not included under this framework.

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Project Application

Versioning history

Version management is handled through a system that ensures consistency and traceability of changes.

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V2.1

Aug 2, 2024

Currently in use

V2

Jun 3, 2024

Currently in use

V1.2

Sep 7, 2023

Currently in use

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