Keeping your phone for 5 years instead of 3 cuts its annual carbon footprint by 31%

Manufacturing a smartphone concentrates the bulk of its environmental impact. Extracting rare metals, assembling components, shipping the device: all of this happens before the first use. What happens afterwards — how long you keep it — determines whether that impact is amortised over two years or seven.

The Fraunhofer IZM Institute, an independent research organisation, studied the Fairphone 4 across three usage scenarios. Keeping your phone for five years rather than three reduces its annual carbon footprint by 31%. Extending to seven years (with two battery replacements) reduces it by 44%. “The best way to reduce the environmental impact of a phone is to ensure it can be used for as long as possible,” summarises Thea Kleinmagd, researcher at Fraunhofer.

The Fairphone is designed around this logic: interchangeable modules, replaceable battery, parts available to purchase. Its iFixit repairability score reaches the maximum of 10/10.

This signal goes beyond the brand. It raises a fundamental question: if device lifespan were a regulated criterion — as vehicle emissions already are — how quickly would the industry adapt? The right to repair is a climate policy in its own right.

Further reading: Technology Designed to Last: Fairphone and the Modular Design Bet