PR96566

STOCKHOLM, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Smartphones have long been linked to a number of major sustainability issues,

but interest in more sustainable devices is growing. Emerging brands are

leading the way.

Although sales of new smartphones seem to have slowed down in the beginning of

2022 due to for example component shortages and global uncertainty, still, more

than one billion smartphones are sold yearly around the globe. One reason for

these large sales figures is that smartphones are being exchanged often. In

December last year Deloitte

[https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-a

nd-telecom-predictions/2022/environmental-impact-smartphones.html] estimated

that the expected total amount of smartphones in use by the end of 2022 (4.5

billion) will generate 146 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions this year.

An alarming 83 percent of these emissions will come from the manufacture,

shipping, and first year of use of the 1.4 billion new smartphones that are

sold in 2022.

TCO Development[https://tcocertified.com/],the organization behind TCO

Certified - the world's leading sustainability certification for IT products,

has seen a greater demand for more sustainable smartphones recently.

"Purchaser demand for more sustainable smartphones is growing, and there is

also a greater interest among smartphone brands to invest in sustainability,

which makes the future look a bit brighter. It is emerging brands that are

leading the way towards more sustainable smartphones," says Soren Enholm, CEO

of TCO Development.

Last year, Fairphone 4 5G became certified according to TCO Certified. Realme

GT2 Pro followed this year. In total there are now three models certified

according to TCO Certified. Criteria in TCO Certified cover both environmental

and social responsibility in the supply chain and throughout the product life

cycle, including hazardous substances, circularity, socially responsible

manufacturing, environmentally responsible manufacturing and more.

TCO Certified helps get the purchaser's voice directly into the IT supply

chain, where the majority of a smartphone's lifetime sustainability impacts are

found. Criteria are designed to drive change where it matters most. With a wide

choice of certified product models from well-known brands, it is the

certification of choice for purchasers wanting to select IT products

responsibly.

About TCO Certified

The organization behind the sustainability certification TCO Certified is TCO

Development. Our vision is that all IT products should have an environmentally

and socially sustainable life cycle. Science-based criteria and independent

verification of compliance help us track and accelerate progress over time.

Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1840456/TCO_Development.jpg

Contact: Dennis Svard, Global PR Manager, press@tcodevelopment.com

SOURCE: TCO Development