As major consumers of smartphones, ICLEI Members and Procura+ participants Malmö (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Helsinki (Finland) are challenging the market with a joint statement of demand outlining their vision to move towards fair and circular smartphones by 2025.

The statement includes nine points of actionable ambitions such a:

• By 2025, tendering is done with harmonised criteria and clauses that push for fair and safe working conditions and environmental sustainability across the entire supply chain including raw materials extraction, manufacturing and delivery stages, as well as at repair, reuse, recycling and disposal stages of smartphones and their components;
• By 2025, 2nd-life devices are being procured, which meet needs, in terms of quantity, quality, and security;
• By 2025, worker-driven monitoring and certification is applied to contribute to circularity, environmental and social responsibility, supported by regular dialogue for continuous improvement.

The joint statement was developed under the European Make ICT Fair project over a period of six months, which included several internal and external feedback loops.

The Nordic Forum for Market Dialogue, which took place on 25 November 2020, was one opportunity for discussion and reflection on the statement, held in collaboration with representatives from suppliers and resellers, as well as relevant third-party organisations. The market engagement event, opened by Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö, proved to be a highly valuable tool to strengthen cooperation between the relevant stakeholders. The dialogue emphasised that the ambitions of the statement can be achieved only through collaboration.

"As public buyers, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to take social, environmental and economic aspects into consideration in our procurements. As chair of Procura+ Europe, the City of Malmö is pleased to collaborate with other public buyers such as with the City of Oslo, City of Helsinki, Region Stockholm, and Municipality of Copenhagen. Together we share a vision towards fair, circular smartphones by 2025. We hope that with this statement of demand we can find workable solutions to the sustainability challenges we face together with suppliers and resellers," said Mayor Stjernfeldt Jammeh.

As of today, the joint statement is open to other public authorities who wish to support the ambitions. Pooling demand and sharing ambition between public buyers will create a collective power that will help ensure fair and safe conditions for workers, while also creating a market for circular solutions.

The statement is supported by ICLEI Europe, Electronics Watch, and the Procura+ network.

For more information and to support the statement, please contact Josefine Hintz at: josefine.hintz@iclei.org.