At the New York Climate Week 2025, one trend that rang loud and clear was the emphasis and importance of circular economy principles and need for action. Which we predicted when we said that by the end of 2025, more than one-third of Fortune 100 companies will pledge to circular economy goals. According to the United Nations Digital Economy Report, the production and use of digital devices, data centers and information and communications technology (ICT) networks account for an estimated 6% to 12% of global electricity use and contribute significantly to e-waste and resource depletion. To address these challenges the United Nations advocates for a circular digital economy that prioritizes circularity in the entire IT lifecycle.

Global regulations are also stepping up. Policies associated with circularity that mandate product durability, reparability, and recyclability are already in place, while extended producer responsibility and right-to-repair laws are expanding globally to close regulatory gaps. Regulatory and policy measures like the Europe’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Extended Producer Responsibility, along with  growing customer demand across sectors (financial services, manufacturing, consumer electronics), and strong financial incentives are driving a range of circular business models.

However, circular economy initiatives often lack a holistic approach, leading to varied interpretations and applications. Forrester’s 2025 Priorities Survey shows that while firms overwhelmingly take actions that lead to circularity (such as improving waste and materials management), only 31% explicitly classify these activities as circular initiatives. This confusion leads firms to overfocus on and overinvest in aspects like recyclability and overlook the comprehensive nature of circularity, which includes lifecycle emissions, embodied carbon, waste management, materials sourcing, and end-of-life strategies.

Learn From Previous Successes

In our latest report, How To Implement The Circular Economy In IT, we highlight that successful circular economy strategies require a holistic approach across six key components: design, manufacturing, transportation, usage, collection, and recycling. Technology and AI play crucial roles in enabling transparency and optimization.

This report serves as a detailed roadmap for applying circular economy principles in IT and explores how organizations can redesign their technology products, services, and processes to reduce waste and extend product lifecycles. It also includes case studies from Cisco, Dell, Lenovo, and Ericsson with examples of their key circular economy initiatives to give you ideas on where to start your efforts. Finally, example key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of IT circularity efforts are given for each stage of the lifecycle.

Talk to us more about this report and schedule your inquiry or guidance session today!