The Power of One More Year – How Extending Mobile Device Use Can Dramatically Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Brought to you by IBEC Intelligence

When it comes to our individual choices as humans, many underestimate the immense power that our individual choices and actions have.  In the global conversation about climate change, we often focus on sweeping transformations, such as renewable energy, electrified transportation, or industrial decarbonization.

Yet one of the most powerful climate actions available today is surprisingly simple and already in our hands.  We should just keep and use our mobile devices just one year longer.

According to analysis by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, if Americans extended the average lifespan of their smartphones by a single year, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking approximately 636,000 cars off the road annually.  Just pause and ponder the magnitude of that number.  That is not a rounding error.  In fact, it is a material climate impact driven by everyday behavior.

This insight reframes how we think about sustainability in the electronics ecosystem.  The climate challenge is not only about what we produce next, but about how long we use what we already have.

Why Mobile Devices Carry a Heavy Carbon Footprint

The environmental impact of smartphones is often misunderstood.  Contrary to popular belief, emissions do not primarily come from charging devices or using mobile networks.  Instead, the overwhelming majority of a smartphone’s carbon footprint is embedded before it ever reaches a consumer.

Multiple lifecycle assessments cited by U.S. PIRG, Science News Explores, and device manufacturers themselves show that 80-95% of a smartphone’s total carbon emissions occur during manufacturing.  This includes:

• Mining and processing rare earth metals and critical minerals

• Semiconductor fabrication, which is one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes

• Global assembly and international transportation

Apple, for example, has publicly acknowledged in its Environmental Progress Reports that manufacturing accounts for more than 70% of the total emissions associated with many of its devices, even as energy efficiency during use continues to improve.  In other words, every new mobile phone represents a substantial upfront climate cost, one that is largely unavoidable once production begins.

The Climate Math Behind “One More Year”

Again, the now widely cited “636,000 cars” figure comes from U.S. PIRG Education Fund research analyzing emissions avoided when consumers delay device replacement.  The logic is straightforward:

• Fewer new phones manufactured means fewer emissions from factories, supply chains, and raw material extraction

• Extending device lifespans reduces demand for energy-intensive mining of cobalt, lithium, gold, and rare earth elements

• Delayed replacement slows the growing stream of electronic waste

Science News Explores summarized the findings succinctly – extending smartphone use by one year across the U.S. population delivers climate benefits on par with removing hundreds of thousands of gas-powered vehicles from circulation.

For comparison, that level of emissions reduction rivals the annual impact of major municipal climate initiatives.  And this impact can be achieved without new infrastructure or technology breakthroughs.

Planned Obsolescence – A Structural Sustainability Challenge

If the climate benefits are so clear, why do consumers replace devices so frequently?

There are many factors at work here.  Manufacturers market new models heavily touting new attractive features, and creating hype around the new model.

Another major factor is planned obsolescence, which is a combination of hardware design choices, software support limitations, and repair barriers that make devices harder or more expensive to maintain over time. Common challenges include:

• Batteries that degrade, but are difficult or costly to replace

• Proprietary parts and restricted access to repair manuals

• Software updates that strain older hardware

• Limited availability of authorized repair options

As Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, has stated publicly, “The most sustainable product is the one you already own. Repairability is climate action.”

This insight has become central to the Right to Repair movement, which argues that enabling affordable, accessible repairs is one of the fastest ways to reduce emissions tied to consumer electronics.

Right to Repair as a Climate Strategy

Right to Repair policies are increasingly recognized not just as consumer protection measures, but as environmental interventions.

By requiring manufacturers to provide access to parts, tools, and repair documentation, these policies help extend device lifespans, as well as reduce premature disposal.  Additionally, this leads to lower demand for new manufacturing, as well as cuts greenhouse gas emissions at scale.

The European Environmental Bureau estimates that extending the life of smartphones and laptops in the EU by just one year would save 4 million tons of CO₂ annually, equivalent to taking more than 2 million cars off the road.

This places repairability and reuse squarely within broader circular economy and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies.

What This Means for Businesses and Organizations

For organizations across a wide range of industries, including technology, recycling, compliance, as well as sustainability, the implications are significant:

• Device longevity is a measurable climate lever

• Reuse and repair reduce Scope 3 emissions tied to manufacturing and supply chains

• Certified repair, refurbishment, and recycling programs help organizations demonstrate accountability and environmental stewardship

• Customers, regulators, and investors increasingly expect proof, not just promises, of responsible device lifecycle management

Extending device use is no longer just an individual consumer choice.  Instead, it is a business and governance decision with tangible environmental outcomes.

The Bigger Picture – Small Choices, Systemic Impact

Climate solutions are often framed as complex or costly.  But the data tells a different story here.  Simply slowing the replacement cycle of mobile devices, by even one year, delivers outsized environmental benefits because it prevents emissions from happening in the first place.

As U.S. PIRG succinctly concluded in its research, the cleanest phone is the one that never had to be made.

In a world racing toward net-zero goals, extending device lifespans stands out as a rare opportunity where sustainability, cost savings, and operational responsibility align.  It is proof that sometimes the most powerful climate actions begin not with what’s new, but with what we choose to keep.  This clearly showcases the potent power of our individual choices and actions.

Speak to our IBEC Experts today to guide you on a path of achieving certifications, such as R2, RIOS, ISO 14001 and others that will help you achieve your sustainability goals! 

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