LOOKING BACK
Going back to the early days of the transition to R2v3, especially at the very beginning, we were aware that there was an undercurrent of perception that R2v3 was going to be too prescriptive and too difficult for facilities to achieve. And while we were confident that the R2 community would rise to the new standard set by the R2 TAC, the truth is, you never really know until after you launch something and then have a chance to look back. So, we wanted to take a final look back at the transition, this time through the numbers.
The first number that we want to highlight is 1,020.
As of July 31, 2023, 1,020 facilities (and counting) have raised the bar for the electronics reuse and recycling industry by putting in the work to become R2v3 Certified. And we know it takes real work and dedication to do the right things every day to earn R2v3 Certification. Yes, it was challenging, and maybe at times a little intimidating and probably frustrating, but of all the electronics reuse and recycling facilities in the world, you are the ones who have stepped up to meet, and in many cases exceed, the highest standards for our industry. We hope your whole organization is proud of your R2 Certification because it certainly says a lot about your facility.
Now, digging deeper into the numbers and what they tell us. Over the three-year transition period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, 711 facilities transitioned from R2:2013 to R2v3, and 274 new facilities were added in five new countries, which says to us that while we know R2v3 raised the bar and set a higher standard, you were up for the challenge. Within those 985 facilities that became R2v3 Certified by July 1, there are some big facilities and some very small one and two-person shops. You come from 41 countries, so the R2 network of facilities continues to expand globally.
Looking at the disposition of the numbers across appendices, one important trend stands out to us. R2 Certification works for Sustainable ITAD. In fact, about 75% of all R2 Certified facilities are ITAD facilities certified to Appendix B – Logical Data Erasure & Appendix C – Test & Repair. There were nearly twice as many R2 Certifications for Appendix C – Test & Repair than for Appendix E – Materials Recovery. And more than half of those recycling facilities certified to Appendix E are also certified to Appendix C, further evidence that R2 facilities are leading the way to reuse. While recycling is what takes electronics from linear to circular, reuse is how we get from circular to sustainable. And reuse is impossible without logical data erasure.
As we educate customers about Sustainable ITAD, Sustainable Returns, and Sustainable Mobile, so many facilities implementing and certifying to these appendices create strong solutions for the challenge. Together, we create systemic change from linear to circular to sustainable.
One more dataset to look at is our tracking of the growth of R2 as a year-over-year percentage, looking at the percentage of facilities added compared to those lost.
Looking at this chart, there are a few things to point out. The first vertical line represents the approximate beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the second vertical line is the start of the transition to R2v3. The green line represents the percentage of new facilities added per year over time, and the blue line is the percentage of facilities lost over the same period.
So, what did we learn?
First, facility additions. Most of this is what we expected to see…as we approached the beginning of the transition, fewer new facilities were added, primarily because certifying to an old version of a standard when a new one is close to release simply does not make business sense. The growth rate continued to slow during the pandemic and the beginning of the transition for a few reasons. First, SERI continued to require onsite audits for new R2 Certifications, and that simply was not possible for a time due to travel restrictions. In addition, new certification growth was limited by the labor shortage that affected all industries and the available auditor pool. As a result, CBs focused primarily on keeping their existing customers and giving them priority over new facilities for auditing. But throughout, R2 Certification continued to grow as new certifications outpaced attrition.
Looking at the blue line, what we found interesting is that the facility losses generally stayed consistent with what we tend to see every year – some facilities close, some shift their business models, and some simply choose not to keep their certification. But the numbers do not show a spike in losses due to the new R2v3 Standard.
So, as a final transition wrap, we want to recognize the hard work all R2v3 Certified facilities put into implementing the new standard, as well as the part that every R2 facility is playing in continuing to move our industry forward toward a more sustainable, circular future!
LOOKING AHEAD
We’re already starting to get asked, “What’s next for R2?” So, we thought this was the perfect time to dive into that question and give a quick peek at what we’re up to. And, as an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer, at some point in the coming two years, we’ll start the required five-year review of the R2 Standard (the clock started in 2020 with the release of R2v3), but in the meantime, we’re continuing with some really interesting conversations about our industry and how R2 fits into its constant evolution.
Here are a few of the hot topics that we’re thinking about:
- IoT – Looking back, the original R2 Standard was built in the time of hard drives and computers. But with the IoT (Internet of Things), more devices are interconnected, transmitting and storing data in a wider variety of configurations. How should R2 evolve to address data security on such a range of devices?
- Mobile – along the lines of IoT, more computing is shifting to mobile. What does that mean for R2?
- ITAD and Reuse – Even just looking at the data over the transition to R2v3 and the number of facilities certified to Appendix B & C, it’s clear that our industry and our customers are continuing to emphasize reuse. How do we ensure R2 continues to create confidence to support the trend?
- Additional products/materials flow – You’ve probably been reading about our process of adding PV Panels to the R2 Standard, but what about things like EV batteries and electrical equipment? R2 has historically focused on electronics and not included electrical devices, but with more things becoming “smart,” does this change things for the R2 Standard?
- Basel Convention Amendments – How do R2 Certified facilities around the world continue to comply with the changes to the Basel Convention, like the Plastic Amendments of 2019 and the new 2022 Amendments incorporating all e-waste slated to go into effect in 2025, in a global industry that relies on international trade to transition to circular economy.
Many of these conversations are in the early stages, but these are a few of the topics we’re digging into. Most are complex and multilayered topics to consider, and SERI continues to facilitate discussion among stakeholders and external experts in the form of expert workgroups to stay at the forefront of our dynamic industry. The workgroups inform the R2 TAC, and the TAC is the committee that continuously evaluates R2 and determines what is needed to proactively address these topics and more.
