Dusseldorf When companies and authorities procure smartphones, hard facts such as features and price are at stake. But one soft criterion is gaining in importance: more and more customers are paying attention to the sustainability of products. The IT service provider Bechtle therefore recently added Fairphone products to its portfolio in order to offer “additional options”.
This is a great success for the start-up from the Netherlands. Thanks to the cooperation, it can now reach customers in several European countries, also beyond the most important market of Germany.
At the same time, it is gaining credibility: The Fairphone 4 now appears in the overviews of the IT specialist alongside models such as the iPhone 13 or the Samsung Galaxy S21.
It could help Fairphone complete an impossible mission. The company wants to change the smartphone industry from the inside out by setting a model for sustainability – and thus forcing the competition to react.
But it has to be at least so profitable that the employees in the head office and on the assembly line can pay for it – and that in an industry where hardly any manufacturer makes profits besides Apple and Samsung.
Five year guarantee
The name is supposed to be with the Fairphone program, in every way. The company promises factory workers in China safe conditions, decent wages and employee representation. In addition, the raw materials should not come from conflict regions in which warlords control the mines. Neither of these things can be taken for granted for a long time.
Longevity and repairability are part of the concept. For the current fourth generation, Fairphone offers a five-year guarantee, and updates should be available until at least the end of 2025, and possibly even until the end of 2027. No other manufacturer will deliver the latest software for that long.
In addition, the devices have a modular design so that users can repair them themselves – a screwdriver is included in the packaging, the spare parts are available in the online shop. For example, the battery for the Fairphone 4 costs around 30 euros, the camera module 80 euros and the screen as well. For comparison: If you have the display of the iPhone 13 exchanged at Apple, you pay 311 euros.
This approach makes it possible to reduce the impact of smartphone production on the climate. Because: Even if the devices are switched on 24 hours a day and have to be plugged into the socket every day, far more greenhouse gases are released during production – through the extraction of raw materials, production of the components and assembly in the factory.
Quantifying is not easy. There are a large number of studies with different methods and framework conditions, observes the Öko-Institut. These put the emissions for production, transport and disposal at 10 to 100 kilograms of CO2.
“Even if the results are only comparable to a limited extent due to different methods, it is noticeable that newer devices with larger screen diagonals and higher technical equipment also show higher CO2 values,” writes the institute. The independent organization therefore assumes that modern models are at the upper end of the range.
The impact on the climate can be significantly reduced if the usage time is extended. If a smartphone is taken out of service after two and a half years – as is often the case – the manufacturing cost is around 40 kilograms of CO2 per year. After five years, however, it is only 20 kilograms.
A role model for Apple and others
The crux: very few smartphones last that long. In the event of a fall, cracks quickly appear across the screen and the battery will noticeably drain after two or three years at the latest. Since most models cannot be opened without special tools, users have to go to a workshop with them. Many buy new hardware straight away.
Fairphone shows that there is another way. With sales of 95,000 units last year, the start-up on the gigantic smartphone market was just a rounding error, says Ben Wood, an analyst at the market researcher CCS Insight.
But it shows the “art of the possible when it comes to offering an ethical and more sustainable mobile phone”. As a reference, it is putting pressure on the entire industry.
Something is actually happening. In November, for example, Apple announced that it would sell customers spare parts and tools for repairing certain models. This may be in anticipation of laws pending in several countries, but it is also a success of the Right to Repair movement, which is demanding the right to repair electronics. Fairphone is one of the role models here.
The change is not easy, especially for a start-up with just over 70 employees. Fairphone feels that over and over again. The first model only received software updates for a limited time – adaptation and delivery are time-consuming.
The second and third generation also offered moderate equipment at comparatively high prices – that has to do with sustainability, but also the low number of units.
Sustainability “on another level”
The Fairphone 4, which has been on the market since autumn, should do a lot better. The company has learned lessons from the past, says market researcher Wood. The new model seems to be a clear step forward.
He sees a good chance that the manufacturer can assert itself. “Big companies like Apple and Samsung are already on the way to more sustainability, but Fairphone takes things to another level.” If management is able to balance costs with market potential, it can be a healthy business build up.
The IT service provider Bechtle is impressed: The demand is manageable compared to large manufacturers, but is growing steadily – which only confirms the decision to cooperate.
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