Work

Product as a Service for electrical and electronic equipment: Looking for an environmental assessment methodology in the literature.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The traditional linear business model, "take-make-dispose," has driven mass production but caused environmental degradation and resource depletion. Increasing sustainability concerns are shifting focus to Circular Business Models (CBMs), which prioritize the extended use of products and materials. Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) models, particularly in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) sector, offer a promising alternative by retaining product ownership and emphasizing reuse, repair, and recycling to reduce waste. With 60 million tons of e-waste generated in 2022, this sector urgently needs sustainable solutions. However, simply adopting PaaS does not guarantee sustainability; factors like product design, logistics, and resource use must be evaluated. This research identifies and evaluates methods to assess the environmental impacts of CBMs in the EEE sector. Using the PRISMA method, 39 studies from Web of Science and Scopus were analyzed, highlighting tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), scenario-based approaches, and hybrid models. Findings emphasize the need for robust environmental assessment methods tailored to CBMs, with models like BM-LCA showing potential to integrate environmental and economic outcomes. This study provides valuable insights for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to design effective, sustainable PaaS models, particularly for products with multiple lifecycles, contributing to a more sustainable future.

Source: Procedia CIRP

DOI: 10.1016/j.procir.2024.12.146

Authors: Nauman Shafiq-Qureshi, J. Hidalgo-Crespo, Christian Wandji, Andreas Riel