Circular technology: Where ESG goals and commercial performance come together
Circular technology: Where ESG goals and commercial performance come together
Publish Date: 2026-06-04 12:42:00
Source Domain: www.esgdive.com
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John Doughty is senior vice president of global partnerships at Alchemy, a global circular technology company. Doughty has over 30 years of experience in the mobile and technology services industries and leads Alchemy’s strategic partnerships across 60 markets. Views are the author’s own.
The secondary technology market is on course to hit $262 billion by 2032, according to market research, and the businesses gaining ground are proving that ESG goals and profitability can advance together.
Corporate sustainability reports routinely highlight recycled packaging, responsibly sourced materials and carbon offsets. What’s far harder to find is a coherent answer to a more fundamental question of what happens to technology products when they reach end-of-life? Trade-in infrastructure, product take-back and circular procurement remain conspicuously absent from most corporate agendas, tucked away in footnotes if they appear at all.
The sheer volume of consumer electronics in circulation today — an estimated 8 billion as of 2026 — makes the missed opportunity hard to ignore.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables all share something in common. They’re built from finite resources – rare minerals and materials that don’t come cheap and don’t replenish easily. Every single one of those devices will eventually reach the end of its useful life.
For retailers, manufacturers and telecommunications companies that are still approaching circularity as a reporting obligation rather than a strategic priority, the gap between where they are and where the opportunity sits is only widening.
From sustainability initiative to commercial strategy
For a long time, the…
