Alchemy conducts Life Cycle Assessments with Greenly

What can you tell us about your company? 🔍

Alchemy stands at the forefront of the circular tech market, emerging as the fastest growing global company. Over the past six years, Alchemy has reshaped the refurbished tech landscape by extending the lifespan of more than 5 million devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearables. Their comprehensive end-to-end solution encompasses recovery, refreshment, and remarketing, creating a sustainable ecosystem for home electrical products.

Alchemy has since grown into a team of over 350 employees, operating across 60 diverse markets.Alchemy has become a dynamic force in the circular tech sector, with a track record of extending the life of devices and reducing electronic waste. We also have a B2C brand: Loop.

How important is sustainability for Alchemy and Loop? 🌱

Sustainability lies at the very heart of our proposition and is intricately woven into the company’s mission and vision. Alchemy is committed to assisting consumers through our B2C brand, Loop, and businesses in gaining a transparent view of their carbon footprint when making choices about tech devices and home electrical products. This commitment extends beyond rhetoric, it’s shaping our core proposition and operations.

What were the key motivations for Alchemy to collaborate with Greenly and conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)? ⭐️

The decision to partner with Greenly and undertake a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) grew from a need to provide consumers and businesses with a truly transparent view of the carbon footprint savings associated with purchasing refurbished devices. We sought to go beyond the prevalent use of generic data and become the first company in the circular tech market to certify the CO2 savings achievable through the refurbishment process.

How did Greenly support you throughout the LCA process? 🚀

Greenly's leadership in carbon and product life cycle assessments played a pivotal role in guiding us through the LCA process. The collaboration involved comprehensive support, ranging from helping the team understand the intricacies of the process to ensuring the collection of data followed best practices. Greenly's climate experts audited the provided data, culminating in the development of a sophisticated carbon calculator that precisely measures and summarizes the CO2 impact of Alchemy's refurbishment operations.

What specific aspects of Alchemy’s operations were evaluated in the LCA? 📊

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted with Greenly adopted a multi-dimensional approach, evaluating various aspects of our operations. This included an in-depth analysis of the entire lifecycle of refurbished devices, encompassing collection, refurbishment processes, transportation, packaging, use, and end-of-life considerations. The assessment was further tailored to different product lines, regions, and channels, providing a nuanced understanding of the environmental impact across diverse parameters.

What did the LCA reveal? 👀

The LCA results unveiled compelling insights into the environmental impact of refurbished devices across different product lines. Notably, smartphones, tablets, wearables, and laptops exhibited substantial reductions in CO2 emissions compared to their new counterparts. For instance, smartphones emitted only 1 kgCO2e during the refurbishment process, showcasing a significant positive impact on sustainability.

Smartphone: 

• 98% LESS EMISSIONS VS NEW (65% when including use & end of life)
• 1 kgCO2e emitted during refurbishment process
• Saves over 60 kgCO2e per product (50 kgCO2e when including use & end of life)

Tablet:

•  97.5% LESS EMISSIONS VS NEW (74% when including use & end of life)
• Just over 2 kgCO2e emitted on during refurbishment process
• Save over 80 kgCO2e per product vs. new (70 kgCO2e when including use & end of life)

Wearables:

•  97.7% LESS EMISSIONS VS NEW (72% when including use & end of life)
• Less than 1 kgCO2e emitted on during refurbishment process
• Save over 30 kgCO2e per product vs. new (25 kgCO2e when including use & end of life)

Laptop: 

• 96% LESS EMISSIONS VS NEW (64% when including use & end of life)
• Less than 9 kgCO2e emitted on during refurbishment process
• Save over 200 kgCO2e per product vs. new (164 kgCO2e when including use & end of life)

How did the LCA results influence the sustainability strategy or decision-making within Alchemy? 📝

The LCA results have played a transformative role in making our sustainability tangible for all teams within Alchemy, from operations to sales. The recommendations derived from the LCA, especially on a regional basis, are currently shaping the company’s strategy. There are plans in motion to initiate a corporate carbon assessment in the medium term, further underscoring Alchemy’s commitment to reducing its own environmental footprint.

How are you using these results? 🛠️

On the B2C front, the ability to communicate the specific CO2 savings associated with each refurbished device is a game-changer. Alchemy is not merely presenting a generic category statistic but is now capable of offering a tailored and detailed breakdown of the carbon footprint savings to individual customers. This personalized approach provides reassurance and empowers consumers to make informed decisions based on their device, model, and region.

For  B2B, Alchemy is actively assisting companies in aligning with their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies. When businesses opt for refurbished devices from Alchemy for their employees, they are not only making a sustainable choice but also contributing positively towards their ESG goals. Alchemy can now measure and certify this positive impact and contribution.  

Did the LCA uncover any unexpected environmental impacts or opportunities for improvement? ☀️

The analysis shed light on some unexpected environmental impacts, particularly in the realm of transportation, which accounts for approximately 90% of our emissions, excluding use and end-of-life stages.

One significant revelation was the potential for substantial environmental and cost savings through more strategic logistic choices. Recognizing the environmental impact associated with our global sourcing practices (upstream) and the expedited shipping approach driven by customer and market expectations, we are actively exploring opportunities for improvement.

How has the collaboration with Greenly and the LCA process helped Alchemy enhance its sustainability performance and communicate its environmental efforts to stakeholders? 📚

Prior to the collaboration with Greenly, Alchemy, like its peers, relied on market generic data about the impact of manufacturing new products to communicate the eco benefits of refurbished devices. The collaboration with Greenly and the subsequent LCA provided Alchemy with a fully transparent view, allowing the company to lead the market in presenting a holistic and accurate perspective on its positive sustainable impact. The obtained CO2 certification serves as a market first, setting Alchemy apart in its commitment to environmental responsibility.