Five of Europe’s leading mobile operators have joined forces to launch a new Eco Rating labelling scheme that will help consumers identify and compare the most sustainable mobile phones.
The Eco Rating initiative has been created by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica (owners of O2), Telia Company and Vodafone “to provide consistent, accurate information at retail on the environmental impact of producing, using, transporting and disposing of smartphones and feature phones.”
A range of new consumer phones from 12 mobile phone brands will be assessed by the Eco Rating initiative, with others expected to be announced in the future.
Launch partners include Bullitt Group – Home of CAT and Motorola rugged phones, Doro, HMD Global – Home of Nokia Phones, Huawei, MobiWire, Motorola / Lenovo, OnePlus, OPPO, Samsung Electronics, TCL / Alcatel, Xiaomi and ZTE.
Starting from June 2021, the mobile operators will begin to introduce the distinct Eco Rating labelling at point of sale across 24 countries1 in Europe where they are present. Customers can learn more about the initiative and see how the rating is calculated by visiting a new website at www.ecoratingdevices.com
Following a detailed assessment, each mobile phone handset will be given an overall Eco Rating score out of a maximum of 100 to signal the environmental performance of the device across its entire life cycle. The Eco Rating label will also highlight five key aspects of mobile device sustainability, providing additional information about durability, repairability, recyclability, climate efficiency and resource efficiency.
The Chief Executives of the five mobile operators – Tim Höttges (Deutsche Telekom), Stéphane Richard (Orange), José María Álvarez-Pallete (Telefónica), Allison Kirkby (Telia Company) and Nick Read (Vodafone Group) – together welcomed the launch of the Eco Rating Initiative:
“Building a more sustainable future is our joint responsibility, so we believe the time is right to drive a harmonised, industry-wide Eco Rating Scheme that will improve transparency and help raise awareness of the environmental impact of the phones that our customers choose.
“We look forward to welcoming more manufacturers and telecoms operators to the Eco Rating initiative in the future, and we hope it will inspire the whole industry to accelerate its transition towards a more circular model for mobile phones.”
