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PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​CURRENT PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS

  • ​Greening Digital Companies 2024: Monitoring emissions and climate commitments. The ITU and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) have collaborated on the joint “Greening Digital Companies: Monitoring Emissions and Climate Commitments 2024” report. This year’s report, now in its third edition, offers an in-depth evaluation of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy usage of 200 digital companies, focusing on corporate value chain (Scope 3) emissions. These emissions, which encompass both upstream and downstream activities, represent the most significant portion of the carbon footprint for these companies. Despite the digital sector’s commitment to environmental sustainability, GHG emissions and energy consumption have risen, with artificial intelligence further exacerbating the sector’s environmental footprint.
  • National E-waste Monitor: Namibia 2024. This report summarizes the outcomes obtained from the application of the international framework to measure e-waste statistics and from the use of e-waste tools as Namibia currently lacks the capacity to monitor e-waste quantities. Namibia faces two key challenges in terms of national e-waste recycling: large geographical distances to facilities and comparatively low current awareness among citizens. Other challenges include increasing volumes of e-waste, competition with the informal sector, absence of an established regulatory framework (in development), and lack of financial investments. Namibia has ratified several international and regional conventions and agreements related to environmental management, which are also of relevance for e-waste. Namibia must establish integrated waste management infrastructure for the collection and dismantling of e-waste backed by technical standards and guidelines, and construct new or repurpose existing waste drop-off, pre-treatment, dismantling, and disposal sites. The final goal of this report is to develop a roadmap and recommendations to improve e-waste data quality and availability in Namibia.​
  • National E-waste Monitor: Botswana 2024. This report examines the overall statistics of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) placed on the market (POM) and e-waste generation in Botswana. Botswana is currently making efforts to improve the regulatory framework regarding e-waste – an Integrated Waste Management Policy has been produced – as there is no specific regulatory instrument dealing with e-waste management, including data collection, in the country. An analysis within the Policy identified e-waste as one of the fastest growing waste streams in Botswana, along with several other issues and challenges regarding e-waste in Botswana. Botswana has ratified several international and regional conventions and agreements related to environmental management, which are also of relevance for e-waste. Botswana has some companies actively dealing with e-waste, but the available infrastructure is insufficient to handle e-waste and the licensed companies are not specialized in this sector. The final goal of the National Monitor is to put forward a series of recommendations on how to improve e-waste data availability and quality in Botswana.​
  • The Global E-waste Monitor 2024. The fourth of edition of the Global E-waste Monitor funded and prepared in partnership by the UNITAR SCYCLE Programme, ITU, and Fondation Carmignac. The Monitor is an indispensable reference tool for both policymakers and industry that shows the position of the world in terms of the global e-waste challenge. It provides the most up-to-date overview of global e-waste data, statistics, and progress in policy and regulation.​​
  • Measuring the Emissions and Energy Footprint of the ICT Sector: Implications for Climate Action​, 2024​ The joint ITU and World Bank report collates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and electricity consumption from the ICT sector in the thirty highest emitting countries. The report also presents case studies from several countries which report on ICT emissions and energy use, in order to delve into regulatory approaches and policy implications inferred from the data.
  • Regional E-Waste Monitor for the Western Balkans 2023​. The joint ITU-UNEP-UNITAR Regional E-waste Monitor for the Western Balkans collects internationally comparable e-waste statistics in the region. Offering factual insights, it analyzes statistics, key stakeholders, current policies, legislation, technological practices, and societal interdependencies. The report not only highlights the challenges but provides recommendations to address the e-waste issue effectively.
  • Towards the harmonization of data collection - A baseline study for e-waste in East Africa​, 2023. the report aims to enhance the quality, collection, and interpretation of e-waste data in East Africa, specifically in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. These countries have made strides in addressing e-waste management issues through regional strategies and policies. However, the need for improved data and statistics persists. This study is an output of the EACO Regional E-waste Data Harmonization project.  
  • Greening Digital Companies 2023: Monitoring Emissions and Climate Commitments​, 2023. ​The second edition of the joint report between the International Telecommunication Union and the World Benchmarking Alliance documents the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use of 200 of the world's leading digital companies. 
  • Green data centers: towards a sustainable digital transformation - A practitioner's guide, 2023. ITU and the World Bank guide covers six dimensions that practitioners can consider to green data centers: climate-resilient data centers, sustainable design and buildings, sustainable ICT, sustainable energy, sustainable cooling, and e-waste management. This guide targets a wide range of practitioners, from policymakers to data center technicians and stresses the importance of contextualized strategies that address local conditions and focus on challenges faced by low-and-middle-income countries.​
  • Circular and sustainable public procurement – ICT equipment guide​, 2023. This is a guide for governments and other public sector organizations that procure information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, systems and services. It sets out the systems and process requirements for ICT procurement in a way that supports the transition to circular and sustainable system solutions. It considers the need for policy and strategy, setting the conditions for and building circular and sustainable design into procurement processes.
  • Global and Complementary Actions for Electronics Extended Producer Responsibility, 2022. ​This thought paper presents complementary solutions and concepts to propel e-waste collection rates in line with extended producer responsibility (EPR)​ - based regulation, whilst also delving into the perceived need for an international regime around EPR to assist with harmonization efforts. The thought paper was released on 14 October 2022, International E-waste Day 2022 (#eWasteDay).​​

Monitoring E-waste

  • Regional E-Waste Monitor for the Western Balkans 2023​. The joint ITU-UNEP-UNITAR Regional E-waste Monitor for the Western Balkans collects internationally comparable e-waste statistics in the region. Offering factual insights, it analyzes statistics, key stakeholders, current policies, legislation, technological practices, and societal interdependencies. The report not only highlights the challenges but provides recommendations to address the e-waste issue effectively.
  • Towards the harmonization of data collection - A baseline study for e-waste in East Africa​, 2023. the report aims to enhance the quality, collection, and interpretation of e-waste data in East Africa, specifically in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. These countries have made strides in addressing e-waste management issues through regional strategies and policies. However, the need for improved data and statistics persists. This study is an output of the EACO Regional E-waste Data Harmonization project.  ​
  • Regional E-waste Monitor for Latin America 2022 ​(also available in Spanish). The Regional E-waste Monitor for Latin-America 2022, presents results for the 13 countries participating in project UNIDO-GEF 5554. The report provides an assessment of statistics, legislation, and management infrastructure of e-waste and persistent organic pollutants in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru Uruguay and Venezuela. E-waste generation in the region increased by 49 percent, from 0.9 Mt (4.7 kg/inh) in 2010 to 1.3 Mt (6.7 kg/inh) in 2019. E-waste collection for environmentally sound management takes place in all countries (although it could not be quantified in Guatemala) and 2.7 per cent of total e-waste are collected to be managed in an environmental sound manner. 
  • Regional E-waste Monitor for the Arab States 2021​. The Regional E-waste Monitor provides an assessment of statistics, legislation, and management infrastructure of e-waste for 22 Arab States. The Regional E-waste Monitor provides an assessment of statistics, legislation, and management infrastructure of e-waste for 22 Arab States. The e-waste generation in the region increased by 61 per cent from 1.8 Mt (4.9 kg/inh) in 2010 to 2.8 Mt (6.6 kg/inh) in 2019. The Arab States collected and managed a total of 2.2 kt (0.01 kg/inh) of e-waste in 2019, which equates to a collection rate of 0.1 per cent. Managing e-waste presents an economic opportunity for the region as, in 2019, e-waste generated among Arab States represented a total value of USD 3 billion in secondary raw materials.

E-waste Policy and Management

  • Technical Reports, Development of E-waste P​olicy for Uzbekistan​, 2022. The International Telecommunication Union in collaboration with the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Environmental Protection (SCRUEEP) and the Ministry for Development of Information, Technologies and Communication (MITC), is currently supporting the Government in the development of e-waste policy and regulation. As part of the process, the partnership has prepared four technical reports to understand the landscape and map the best way forward.​
  • ​Policy Practices for E-waste Management, 2021 (also available in French, Spanish and Arabic)​. The toolkit report considers the need for an all-actors approach and for the fair, inclusive and timely application of the extended producer responsibility principle. Policymakers are invited to use this toolkit as a pragmatic guide to formulate and strengthen e-waste management systems. The toolkit can be referred to for the entire system or for the individual pillars of business and finance, policy and regulation, technology and skills, monitoring and control, and marketing and awareness.
  • Successful Electronic Waste Management Initiatives. This report identifies successful electronic waste management projects in all regions. This report will guide Member States in handling electronic waste management challenges through initiatives related to capacity building on environmentally sound management of e-waste and the establishment of electronic waste management centers in different regions.

Climate Change

  • Greening Digital Companies 2024: Monitoring emissions and climate commitments. The ITU and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) have collaborated on the joint “Greening Digital Companies: Monitoring Emissions and Climate Commitments 2024” report. This year’s report, now in its third edition, offers an in-depth evaluation of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy usage of 200 digital companies, focusing on corporate value chain (Scope 3) emissions. These emissions, which encompass both upstream and downstream activities, represent the most significant portion of the carbon footprint for these companies. Despite the digital sector’s commitment to environmental sustainability, GHG emissions and energy consumption have risen, with artificial intelligence further exacerbating the sector’s environmental footprint.​​
  • Measuring the Emissions and Energy Footprint of the ICT Sector: Implications for Climate Action​, 2024​. The joint ITU and World Bank report collates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and electricity consumption from the ICT sector in the thirty highest emitting countries. The report also presents case studies from several countries which report on ICT emissions and energy use, in order to delve into regulatory approaches and policy implications inferred from the data.​
  • Greening Digital Companies 2023: Monitoring Emissions and Climate Commitments​​. ​The second edition of the joint report between the International Telecommunication Union and the World Benchmarking Alliance documents the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use of 200 of the world's leading digital companies. 
  • ​Green data centers: towards a sustainable digital transformation - A practitioner's guide​, 2023. ITU and the World Bank guide covers six dimensions that practitioners can consider to green data centers: climate-resilient data centers, sustainable design and buildings, sustainable ICT, sustainable energy, sustainable cooling, and e-waste management. This guide targets a wide range of practitioners, from policymakers to data center technicians and stresses the importance of contextualized strategies that address local conditions and focus on challenges faced by low-and-middle-income countries.​​​
  • Greening Digital Companies 2022​: Monitoring Emissions and Climate Commitments​. ​​The report by the International Telecommunication Union and the World Benchmarking Alliance documents the emissions and energy use of 150 of the world’s leading digital companies. Operational GHG emissions accounted for 239 million tons in 2020, equivalent to 0.76 per cent of the world total. The companies consumed 425 TWh of electricity in 2020, accounting for 1.6 per cent of global electricity production. Beyond assessing corporate climate data and targets, the report highlights best practices for digital companies to reduce their emissions and achieve carbon-neutral operations.​
  • Digital Public Goods Alliance Climate Change Adaption Call for Action and Report​, 2022. Within this report, urgent attention is brought to why relevant datasets are needed as digital public goods, the setbacks caused by a lack of data, and tangible steps that can be taken to help improve access to data.   
More
Turning digital technology innovation into climate action, 2019​​. This report highlights the urgency and severity of climate change, along with the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in both addressing and contributing to the issues of greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon footprint, e-waste and the other social and societal impacts of climate change. The report calls for the responsible use and uptake of ICTs, as well as the use of global ICT standards and best practices, the mainstreaming of eco-design principles and environmentally efficient applications of frontier technologies to help accelerate the response to climate change.

International E-waste Day Thought Papers

  • Global and complementary actions for electronics extended producer responsibility​, 2022. ​This thought paper presents complementary solutions and concepts to propel e-waste collection rates in line with extended producer responsibility (EPR)​ - based regulation, whilst also delving into the perceived need for an international regime around EPR to assist with harmonization efforts. 
  • Digital Solutions for a Circular Electronics Value Chain, 2021.​ The paper maps out major digitalization trends and highlights use cases of digital technologies across the electronics value chain, ranging from simple digital platforms and online materials marketplaces to AI-enabled e-waste recognition. Such examples are drawn from both established and emerging digital solutions, while case studies provide a deeper look into real-world applications of digital technologies across the electronics value chain.
  • Internet Waste, 2020. The thought paper focuses on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) derived from wireless infrastructure for mobile Internet connectivity, connected devices and data storage with examples from mobile networks, IoT and data centres. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness about waste from infrastructure that supports connectivity and the need for sustainable WEEE management practices within data centre and telecommunications industries considering forecasted growth.

Relevant publications

  • Circular Electronics System Map,​ 2022. To support the transition to a circular economy in the electronics industry, six global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) founded the Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP), bringing together the biggest names in technology, consumer goods and recycling. The partnership aims to drive a coordinated transition to an economically viable circular industry. While the literature well describes the need for the electronics industry to transition to a circular economy, what constitutes a circular electronic product and what a circular system looks like to enable such products at scale remain unclear. Hence, the objective of this report, collaboratively developed by CEP, its members, partners and Accenture, is to establish this common understanding within the industry to serve as a vision and guiding element for CEP members (and beyond) in the transition to a circular electronics industry.

  • ​​​A New Circular Vision for Electronics Time for a Gl​obal Reboot, published by the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), 2019. This report supports the work of the E-waste coalition, a group of seven UN entities that have come together to increase cooperation and more efficiently provide support to Member States and Parties to address the e-waste challenge. This report combines data and research from throughout the UN system to make the case for a new vision. Describin​g and analysing challenges and opportunities, and laying the groundwork for the process of systemic change is just the first step.​

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