R2 NEWSLETTER: MARCH 2024

SERI LEADS CIRCULAR ELECTRONICS TRACK

AT E-WASTE WORLD 2024

We’re thrilled to announce that building off the success of last year’s event, SERI is once again a content partner with E-Waste World this summer in Frankfurt, Germany, curating a full two days of content in the Circular Electronics content track! Our goal is to help attendees rethink their relationships with electronics by presenting electronics sustainability through a whole lifecycle lens.  

If you haven’t been to this event before, it’s three co-located conferences in one, combining E-Waste World with the Battery Recycling and Metal Recycling Conferences and Expos. Within E-Waste World are two tracks, E-Waste & WEEE Recycling and our track, Circular Electronics. Whereas the E-Waste & WEEE Recycling track focuses specifically on end-of-life, SERI is again building the Circular Electronics track with a holistic view of what it takes to make electronics sustainable, considering everything from design and materials choices through use, reuse, and then end-of-life. 

"Especially in Europe, there’s a tremendous culture and strong infrastructure for all types of recycling, electronics included. But making electronics sustainable and circular requires shifting our decisions, starting at the very beginning of the electronics lifecycle and all the way through end-of-life. It has to be more than just a materials recovery conversation."

Corey Dehmey, SERI CEO

Our goal with the Circular Electronics track is to bring in speakers and attendees who may not have attended the conference in the past, including manufacturers, designers, reverse logistics professionals, refurbishers, ITAD providers, IT Resellers, Repair organizations, and corporate sustainability leaders, among other stakeholders that have a role to play in making electronics sustainable and building a circular economy. 

“Making electronics sustainable and building a circular economy requires all stakeholders thinking a little differently,” said Jeff Seibert, SERI’s Chief Provocateur. He continues, “In our roles and responsibilities, it’s easy to think of the decisions we make in a vacuum. But really, they are all interconnected and interdependent. For example, how do materials and design choices impact repairability and recyclability further down the line? What are the impacts of product passports and right to repair legislation on how long products stay in use? What role can IT resellers play in a circular economy, and how do our recycling choices impact the materials streams for new products? And what role does ESG reporting play in the entire process? It’s all related, and we need to think that way.” 

SERI’s CEO Corey Dehmey continues to serve on the Conference Advisory Board and sees this track as a powerful opportunity to shift thinking. “Especially in Europe, there’s a tremendous culture and strong infrastructure for all types of recycling, electronics included. But making electronics sustainable and circular requires shifting our decisions starting at the very beginning of the electronics lifecycle and all the way through end-of-life. It has to be more than just a materials recovery conversation,” said Dehmey. 

Toward the end of April, we will share a full conference agenda and begin highlighting individual sessions and speakers. Until then, the conference website is a good way to get a sense of what this conference has to offer, and see the ad below for a registration discount code.



We hope to see you in Frankfurt in June! 

LOOKING AHEAD: APPENDIX G

Now that the update to R2v3 with Appendix G has been published with the addition of PV Modules (commonly known as Solar Panels), we know many are wondering about the timeline for certification. We hope the graphic above will provide some answers, but really, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes to create guidance, do translations, and train CBs and auditors, all before facilities can begin certifying. 

Though there are many variables that impact the exact dates, we anticipate CBs will be ready to begin certifying PV facilities to Appendix G in summer 2024. Facilities that are already R2 Certified will have until January 31, 2027 to add Appendix G if they receive PV Modules.  

Look in future editions of this newsletter and on our LinkedIn channels where we will continue to provide updates in the coming months. 

Responding to an increasingly complex market landscape impacted by changes to the Basel Convention, SERI commissioned research into the challenges and opportunities emerging in the e-plastics market. As a next step, to make the report more robust and inspiring, SERI is seeking to supplement the report with reactions, additional insight, feedback, and other input from industry stakeholders. Our goal is to gather comments that help inform global approaches to address the challenges presented. Neither SERI nor R2 ushered in these regulatory changes, but we want to help inform approaches that the whole value chain can pursue to help the electronics recycling industry navigate the challenges. 



SERI is accepting inputs until April 30, 2024, and then will compile constructive responses anonymously into an appendix to the final report, which will be published in the SERI Knowledge Base. 

R2 TIP: PRODUCT SAFETY IN REUSED ELECTRONICS

Functional products that are tested, potentially repaired, and resold are great for making technology affordable. However, there are many safety risks that must be managed in the process, and R2 Certified facilities are responsible for ensuring that functional products sold for reuse are inspected for safe use. 

Equipment can be damaged in collection and shipping, especially when people consider them e-waste and don’t take care to protect them. Upcycling equipment from e-waste collections is a risky proposition, so all devices being tested should also be physically inspected for damage that could make them unsafe. 

Additionally, just like your auto, electronics can be recalled too. Having a process to identify recalls and applying that to the products in your stream is another aspect of managing product safety. Another growing threat is the safety of counterfeit parts. Do those knock-off AC adapters contain circuit boards to prevent overcharging like the real thing? Appendix C requires the incorporation of product safety plans to your

R2 Reuse Plan. You can learn more in the R2 Knowledge Base.  

RECENTLY ADDED TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

• PERIODIC EVALUATION FOR RISK OF EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
• SERI SEEKS INPUT ON E-PLASTICS MARKET RESEARCH

COMING IN APRIL

INTERNAL AUDIT MODULE:

CONDUCTING YOUR R2 INTERNAL AUDIT

As the next addition to the Internal Audit series, SERI is producing an online training module to help facilities conduct their R2 internal audits more effectively. The training, which will be online and available to everybody, will be published in the R2 Knowledge Base in April. 

AVAILABLE R2v3 TRAINING CLASSES

NEW TO R2: INTRO TO R2 WEBINAR 

If you want to learn more about R2, join us on our Intro to R2 Webinars. They are held 3-4 times per month and are offered to accommodate time zones on all continents.

R2 AUDITOR TRAINING CLASSES

Looking for in-depth, online, and interactive training on R2v3? These classes are open to auditors, consultants, and facilities. We have a range of class schedules to accommodate different time zones, including Sydney, Australia, in May, London in June, and Mumbai, India in July. Space is limited, so sign up for the class today!

May Auditor Course – May 28-31, 7 a.m. - 11 a.m. AEDT (Sydney, Australia)

June Auditor Course – June 24-27, 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. GMT (London)

July Auditor Course – July 22-25, 7 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, India)

Each month, we let you know where we’re going and what conversations we’re having for two reasons. First, we hope you’ll catch up with us if you plan to be in the same places. But even more importantly, we want everyone to know how and where we are sharing our message, talking about electronics sustainability for a global circular economy and, in many cases, how R2 fits as a part of the puzzle. We see educating all the decision-makers to make better choices as a big part of the journey to electronics sustainability.   

In March, Chief of Global Standards Mike Easterbrook educated the PV Industry about the new opportunity to spec R2v3 Certification for PV Module facilities at the NREL PV Circularity Workshop.     

Where we're headed next:

• IECQ 2024 ANNUAL MEETING, Brisbane, Australia, April 15-18 – CEO Corey Dehmey will be participating in the launch of R2 Certification through JASANZ in Australia and New Zealand and the opportunity to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for electronics.   

• ISRI 2024, Las Vegas, NV, April 15-18 – The SERI team will be in Las Vegas discussing sustainability, the addition of PV modules to the R2 Standard, and the new SERI ESG Standard. 

• WCEF, Brussels, Belgium, April 15-18 – The SERI team will participate in a panel organized by WBSCD and the Circular Electronics Partnership titled “Measuring Circularity across the Electronics Value Chain,” where we will champion the efforts made by our ESG TAC to develop consistent and verifiable metrics for reporting the positive impact that electronics reuse and recycling is making on sustainability and social good.

• CIRCULARITY, Chicago, IL, May 22-24 – Chief Provocateur Jeff Seibert will lead a panel discussion to help sustainability folks better understand how they can make a positive impact with electronics, and the SERI team will engage at a booth. 

• MOBILE DISRUPT CONFERENCE, Las Vegas, NV June 18-19 –  Mike will be promoting R2, networking, and helping businesses better understand how to make the shift to Sustainable Mobile.

• E-WASTE WORLD CONFERENCE & EXPO, Frankfurt, Germany, June 26-27 – SERI is pleased to announce our role as a content partner for the second year in a row, curating the Circular Electronics track of the conference and promoting a whole lifecycle approach. SERI will also exhibit at the conference. 

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