The Global Electronics Association (formerly IPC) has engaged with many industry stakeholders to explore the concept of circularity for electronics focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and actionable solutions to promote sustainable practices. We document these insights and identify the most pressing issues in the Circularity for Electronics: Proceedings Report

Below you'll find a range of additional resources that outline pathways to circularity. This page provides you with information intended to help your organization prioritize solutions so that we can work towards resolving challenges together.

We will continue to expand the inventory of resources, so please bookmark this page and be sure to check back for updates.

Closing the Loop: How Circularity Powers Sustainable Progress

Circularity aims to create systems where resources are reused, recycled, or repurposed to minimize waste and maximize efficiency. It is vital for sustainable development, reducing environmental impact, conserving resources, and creating economic opportunities. Benefits include:

  • Resource Conservation: Minimizing extraction of finite materials through reuse and recycling, and other “Re” terms that promote recovery.
  • Waste Reduction: Designing products for longevity and repairability.
  • Energy Efficiency: Reducing energy demands in production.
  • Economic Growth: Unlocking business opportunities in recycling and refurbishing.
  • Environmental Protection: Lowering emissions and pollution.

Breaking Barriers to Circularity: What the Electronics Industry Must Overcome

Achieving circularity for electronics means working together to overcome key challenges, including the need for:

  • Data availability: Lack of reliable, consistent (or standardized) data hinders life cycle assessments (LCAs) and informed decision-making.
  • Economic incentives: Insufficient return on investment for adopting circular practices discourages investment.
  • Design for circularity: Existing products are not designed for reusable or repairable disassembly nor optimized for material recovery when life extension is not feasible.
  • Supply chain coordination: Fragmented supply chains struggle to align efforts for effective circularity.
  • Awareness and Education: Limited understanding of circular principles among stakeholders.

A curated selection of resources 
to help your organization

The below resources will help you to addressing the challenges of circularity you and many others faced when striving for sustainability goals. This section will be continuousely updated with more content as it become available.

Learn about opportunities for IC and other component reuse

Co-hosted with CTA, this webinar contains information about why and how to increase reuse of integrated circuits and other components.

View the Webinar

Explore IPC-7711/21: Rework, Modification and Repair of Electronic Assemblies

This industry standard from IPC enables circularity through rework, repair and modification of printed board assemblies.

Buy the Standard

Find out what industry is doing to advance circularity

Circularity is not just an environmental imperative – it’s a smart business strategy. Key themes throughout Circularity 2025 emphasized this shift in mindset. Discover main takeaways.

Read the Blog

See how circularity can help the U.S. build electronics better

The electronics ecosystem has an opportunity to embrace circularity to reduce risk and stabilize costs — and potentially minimize its environmental and social impacts in the process.

Read the Article

Read the Circular Electronics Design Guide

In October 2024, the Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP) published the “Circular Electronics Design Guide” to enable companies to embed circularity into design.

Download it Here

Summary from the Circular Materials Landscape Assessment 2024

The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) updated its “Circular Materials Landscape Assessment” to advance circular material flows across electronics industry value chains.

Learn More

What and how: Circularity and IT products

This guide from TCO Certified provides practical strategies for implementing circular practices including reducing e-waste, repairability, and procurement of IT products.

Get the Guide

Get the bigger picture from the Circular Electronics Roadmap

This Roadmap provides the electronics industry with 40 clear actions across six pathways that follow the product lifecycle to enable companies’ transition to a circular economy by 2030.

Explore Six Pathways

Circularity
Circularity for Electronics: Proceedings Report
Our newly released proceedings report captures insights from global events featuring key industry partners. It identifies the challenges to circularity and lays the foundation for collaborative, industry-led solutions. Explore the findings and be part of shaping the action plan through standards, education, advocacy, and innovation.

Get involved in our standards
development teams

We encourage industry involvement in IPC standards that support circularity initiatives by inviting you to participate in standards development teams, including:

  • IPC-7711/21 - Rework, Modification and Repair of Electronic Assemblies (Watch Video)
  • IPC-7731 - Rework, Modification and Repair of Electronic Assemblies for Wire Harness
  • IPC-7712 - Component Reclaim

To join the task group for any of these standards, visit our Join a Committee page and indicate your standard of interest.

team collaboration and vote

Join the conversation by completing the form as we continue our work in circularity for electronics.

The Global Electronics Association is committed to helping the industry build electronics better and we are excited to continue these efforts with our network of partners: Anthesis, Circular Electronics Partnership, EarthShift Global, imec, iNEMI, ITI, RBA, and SERI.

circularity evolve