Everyday action · tip no. 6
Make your devices last and buy refurbished: the real digital lever
According to ADEME and Arcep, manufacturing devices accounts for the largest share of the carbon footprint of digital technology in France. Keeping your phone longer, repairing it or buying refurbished counts far more than deleting emails.
When people think about the impact of digital technology, they often picture data centres, emails or streaming. Yet according to studies by ADEME and Arcep, the French telecoms regulator, the largest share of the carbon footprint of digital technology in France comes from manufacturing devices: phones, computers, televisions, screens. The most effective action is therefore simple: keep your devices longer, repair them, and buy refurbished when you need to replace them.
Why manufacturing weighs so heavily
Rare, distant materials
A smartphone contains dozens of different metals: copper, gold, cobalt, lithium, rare earths and more. Extracting them requires huge quantities of rock, water and energy, often in countries where electricity is generated from coal.
Highly sophisticated components
Chips and screens are made in extremely demanding factories, with ultra-clean rooms, controlled temperatures and complex chemical processes. This also uses a lot of energy, often from fossil sources.
Low-emission use in France
By contrast, the electricity that charges a phone in France is largely low-carbon. Over the whole life of a smartphone used in France, most of its footprint was emitted before you even switched it on for the first time.
What the data say
- ADEME and Arcep, study published in 2022 (2020 data): digital technology accounted for 2.5% of France's carbon footprint, and manufacturing devices made up about 78% of that footprint.
- Later update (2022 data): with a broader method, notably including data centres located abroad, digital technology reaches 4.4% of the national footprint; manufacturing accounts for about 60%.
- Outlook: according to ADEME and Arcep, without measures to reduce it, the carbon footprint of digital technology could triple between 2020 and 2050.
- Refurbished: according to an ADEME study published in 2022, buying a refurbished smartphone rather than a new one reduces its annual environmental impact by around 77 to 91%.
Whichever version of the study you look at, the conclusion is the same: manufacturing dominates, and every extra year of life for a device reduces its annual footprint.
How to do it in practice
1. Keep your phone longer
This is the most effective action. Many phones are replaced while they still work. Before changing yours, ask yourself: is it really unusable, or just less recent? A device kept for four years instead of two roughly halves its annual footprint.
2. Protect it
A case and a tempered-glass screen protector prevent most broken screens. Avoid leaving your phone in the sun or in a hot car, and charging it to 100% all the time: heat and extreme charge levels wear out the battery.
3. Repair rather than replace
A tired battery or a cracked screen can be replaced, often for a fraction of the price of a new device. Independent repairers, community repair workshops and manufacturers' services offer these repairs. In France, a repair bonus reduces the price of certain repairs at approved professionals.
The durability index, displayed on smartphones and televisions sold in France, helps you choose devices that are easier to repair and more robust.
4. Buy a refurbished phone or laptop
When you do need to change devices, a refurbished model has been checked, repaired if necessary and cleaned. It is cheaper, often guaranteed, and avoids manufacturing a new device. The same applies to laptops, tablets and game consoles.
5. Give old devices a second life
An old phone in a drawer is of no use to anyone. You can give it away, sell it, or take it back to a shop or collection point so it can be refurbished or recycled. Remember to back up and erase your data first.
6. Ask yourself whether a new device is really useful
Before buying a new device (a smartwatch, a second television, a speaker), ask yourself whether you really need it. The best device for the climate is the one that never needs to be made.
What about usage?
Usage matters too, especially video, which accounts for the largest share of internet traffic. A few habits: prefer Wi-Fi to mobile data, turn off video autoplay and lower the resolution on small screens. But in France, these actions weigh far less than the lifespan of devices.
Misconceptions to avoid
- "Deleting emails is the number one digital action." This has a very small effect compared with manufacturing a new device. Keeping your phone one more year counts for much more.
- "Refurbished devices break down quickly." Refurbished devices are tested and come with a legal guarantee. Choose a reputable seller who clearly states the device's condition and the guarantee.
- "Recycling is enough." Recycling is essential at the end of life, but it only recovers some of the materials and also uses energy. Making things last and reusing them come first.
In short
- Manufacturing devices accounts for the largest share of the carbon footprint of digital technology in France, according to ADEME and Arcep.
- Keeping your devices longer is the most effective digital action.
- Protect, repair, buy refurbished and give old devices a second life: that is the order to follow.
- Usage habits are useful, but secondary in France.