Forum Discussion
Celebrating World Earth Day! Share your experiences
Hello everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to highlight that today, April 22nd 2025, is World Earth Day. In recognition of this, I'm sharing a video I found last year (August 2024) that offers an interesting look at the packaging redesign process for Pixel.
While sustainability hasn't been a common topic of conversation here in the AE Customer Community much yet, I know from speaking with several of you that it's a consideration for many.
I thought today would be a good opportunity to start a relaxed discussion around sustainability and generally the circular economy at work. I'd love to hear any tips, experiences (including challenges), and even the small, collective actions you take that can make a significant difference (at work or in your personal life).
For example, thinking on devices - do you have any particular habits to extend the lifespan of your devices? Perhaps you have a minimum requirement for the number of operating system updates you look for, or maybe you have a specific process for recycling or reusing devices at the end of their life.
Or perhaps if you work from home you make sure you turn screens and TVs off standby mode to reduce electricity.
Looking forward to hearing your insights, ideas and generally how you feel/would like to see sustainability in technology will evolve over time.
Thanks so much,
Lizzie
Hello,
For our fleet , we are looking for devices that will benefit for five to six years of major updates.
This makes it possible to envisage professional use for at least 36 months (or even 48) and to be able to resell devices that are really usable in terms of security.
I wish you have a good day
Kris
Thanks for this Kris - great to hear this.
So you tend to keep a device for ~4 years and then look to resell so that others can continue to use the devices - this is really interesting to hear. Is this process something you have done for a while or is it now that more and more devices are extending the length of their OS updates this is making this model easier to carry out?
This objective has become achievable in the last 2 years. The device is to be used by employees for 36 months, and I hope that choosing devices with more RAM will allow us to reach 48 months.
We also have to think about facilitating small repairs (screens and batteries) while making sure not to create a security breach.
We try to use devices for as long as possible. In fact, we could keep some of them in service for much longer, but have to replace them due to a lack of security patches.
For example, we have currently a device series that no longer receives updates after 4 years. The devices are still fast and even meet the recommended hardware requirements for Android 15. It's a real pity that these devices then have to be replaced for security reasons. But at least the new devices in the series will receive updates for 7 years.
Of course, we replace devices with defects and bad batteries. But our users often like to use the device for as long as possible.We have a recycling partner who erases all our old devices in compliance with data protection regulations. If the devices are no longer usable, the materials are recycled. If the devices are in good condition and are in demand, they are given a second life. ♻️
But not all devices end up being recycled. We keep individual devices in display cases so that guests can also view a few devices from the last few decades that we used. 😄Thanks Alex_Muc, this is really interesting. This new wave of 7 years updates sounds like it will be a game changer for many businesses and for the environment.
It's interesting to hear that your users often like to use their device for as long as possible, is this due to having to switch and move their information over to a new device or for other reasons do you think?
Your display case of 'retro' devices is a thing of beauty - I bet it's quite full now 😄
Lizzie 7 years of updates are definitely a game changer! The 4-year updates apply from the release date. If a device is not used until a year after release, only a maximum of 3 years remain. With 7 years, you can achieve a much more reliable service life of a solid 5 years. As long as the battery holds up. 😄
If users are not willing to switch to a new device, there may be various reasons for this. Either they really want to act sustainably, cannot find the time to transfer data or have become very attached to the device and do not want a change. In addition to the desire to act sustainably, there is often a justified lack of understanding as to why a device that is physically in perfect condition needs to be replaced.
And in fact the longer you can use the devices, the less often you need to do a major replacement which would be often a big bunch of devices in one go and always is a big task on multiple parts of a company.
And to provide sorted out devices to a reseller or refurbisher is one of the hardest tasks as you need to consider a lot o fthings from security side to managament side and not to forget the physical handling (when devices are spread about entire europe or even world).
Thanks Moombas, yeah I imagine the logistics here are intense 😆 , especially across multiple countries and different teams!
Do you ever get any of your colleagues interested in keeping their devices? (I suppose it depends on what type of device they use, a rugged device might not be that suitable - although I'm sure there are lots of things you could do with them with a bit of creativity 😂 😃)
hi Lizzie,
they can't as those devices are not for personal use, we only have fully managed devices.
