Ellie Gabel details how extending product lifecycles reduces waste, emissions and costs while helping businesses and consumers transition to a circular economy.
Innovators in every industry know that replacing parts and machinery is one of the most disruptive and financially exhausting endeavours. Consumers feel this too, as product quality deteriorates and budgets are strained by the need to repurchase life’s essentials.
Instead, organisations could use and manufacture items with longer lifecycles, leading to one of the greatest sustainability wins for the planet – a circular economy.
Reducing resource consumption
The amount of effort required to create one product or machine is immense, ranging from raw material extraction to transportation to a facility for processing at higher temperatures.
One of the sectors most notably impacted by lifecycle extension strategies is the manufacturing industry. Facilities stock warehouses full of replacement parts for large equipment, which sometimes rely on scarce heavy metals or other resources requiring monumental environmental destruction.
If parts lasted longer by default, there would be less demand for their creation, and fewer replacements would be needed.
Sectors such as renewable energy and electric vehicles may face the most significant supply chain and procurement challenges, as essential materials like nickel and cobalt are expected to double in demand by 2040 in the net-zero emissions scenario.
Lowering emissions and energy use
Lengthening a product’s lifespan also has an impact on its emissions by reducing the energy expenditure associated with it.
Processing and manufacturing new objects often require high temperatures, resulting in notable waste heat loss and a dependence on fossil fuels. If a company doubles the lifespan of one product, it cuts energy use in half by not having to make as much stock.
In ground and air transportation, this is essential, especially for complex, niche components. Engineers are getting creative, using coatings to slow or stop galvanic corrosion, which can result in failures and costly repairs, and 3D-printing materials with low-carbon alternatives.
Creating engines with heavy rare metals has inspired the development of more lightweight, longer-lasting options, making vehicles more sustainable. The longer each car or plane stays in operation, the less pressure manufacturers experience to invest energy and other resources into parts creation.
Decreasing product waste
Less than 9% of manufactured products are taken through the entire recycling process, manifesting as huge piles of waste in landfills. Making an item last longer reduces the likelihood of this outcome.
This benefit is especially pronounced in the electronics sector. E-waste seeps toxins into the environment, as broken screens and wires pollute habitats and wildlife. Electronics also contain rare metals that are becoming increasingly scarce due to finite reserves.
Additionally, many products destined for landfills end up in incinerators, exacerbating greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to further pollution.
As the number of electronic devices per capita increases, this issue will only worsen without the elimination of planned obsolescence and the strengthening of electronics’ quality.
In conjunction with eliminating planned obsolescence, increasing the right to repair for these products will alleviate burdens from manufacturers while cutting emissions. Many technologies, such as laptops, have embedded hardware, making individual parts difficult or impossible to repair.
Making modular models enables customers to replace components without requiring the materials, energy and other resources necessary for creating an entirely new product. Around 62 million tonnes of electronics were produced in 2022, underscoring the need for longer lifecycles.
Increasing economic savings
Many businesses make their products cheaply so that customers must toss and re-buy them more often. While companies do this to increase profits, as financial responsibilities fall onto the customer to replace the item, there is a notable expense on the maker to produce more products faster.
Eventually, it becomes less efficient and lucrative to follow this framework. This is most evident in industries such as urban infrastructure, where failing infrastructure, like bridges, imposes a financial burden on numerous citizens and governments.
Strategies like data-informed preventive maintenance, resilience-based design and self-healing materials are only a few ways to make infrastructure persist despite climate stressors. Bridge and road maintenance costs are estimated to be at least $8.6 billion annually.
Building these structures with more intention means using smarter, more durable elements to withstand the effects of ageing.
Fostering a circular economy
Dedicating labour and resources to product and infrastructure quality empowers communities to adopt circular economy mindsets, identifying opportunities to repurpose everyday items. The ability to repair, disassemble, refurbish or even compost is crucial for moving away from a wasteful, single-use culture.
The fashion industry is one of the most overt offenders in reinforcing a hyperconsumerist, wasteful economy. Fast fashion is a significant polluter, and the public is taking notice.
This is why the secondhand market will be worth almost $370 billion by 2027, with the United States being a top exporter of used clothes and shoes. Every time a used garment finds a home, it signals to retailers to slow their release cycles and create higher-quality clothes that last.
The paradigm shift to durability
Planned obsolescence and low-quality production have become the standard to keep consumer goods inexpensive. However, these items are breaking apart and heading to the landfill.
Extending the lifecycle of a product is one of the most impactful ways to reduce carbon emissions while providing the public with higher-quality options. Eventually, landfills will see reductions as more businesses prioritise longevity and circular economy principles.
