Circular Economy
As one of the world’s leading ICT product solution providers, Wistron is committed to R&D, design, manufacturing, and services across various industries. When designing and developing sustainable products, we consider the product life cycle, which encompasses raw material acquisition, manufacturing, distribution, product use, and waste recycling. This approach aims to reduce the environmental impact of our products, create sustainable value, and promote the circular use of resources. Since 2013, Wistron’s Recycling Business Group has been offering green services that facilitate closed-loop recycling for our brand customers and maximize benefits to the circular economy.
Green resources business achievements
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
| Disposal of electronic waste(tons) |
10,000 |
7,300 |
4,660 |
4,360 |
| PCR plastic materials shipping volume(tons) |
16,930 |
26,288 |
21,577 |
18,035 |
| Reduction in usage of new plastic materials(tons) |
7,620 |
11,131 |
11,047 |
9,471 |
| Revenue (in million RMB) of Wistron Advanced Materials (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. |
921 |
1,680 |
1,380 |
1,165 |
Raw Materials and Technological Innovations
In the past ten years, Wistron’s Recycling Business Group has been dedicated to recycling and reusing electronic waste, collaborating with Wistron and our OEM customers to cultivate a circular economy, and delivering significant achievements and contributions. In 2023, they successfully expanded their customer base to include new OEM/ ODM clients in various electronic products such as servers, fans, network communications, laptops, televisions, uninterruptible power systems, point-of-sale machines, among others. New materials are largely applied to peripheral accessories, network communications, and industrial computers. Ocean-bound plastic has been successfully used to develop ABS/OBP, PBT+GF/OBP, and, recently, PC/OBP, which is applied to display case, key cap, fan, router and other components. In 2023, we shipped a total of 169t of OBP.
|
Raw materials/technologies |
Characteristics and environmental benefits |
| Renewable materials |
Ocean-bound plastic |
Ocean-bound plastic is applied to product development and has recently led to the development of PC/OBP, which is applied to display case, key cap, fan, router and other components. In 2023, we shipped a total of 169t of OBPs. |
| Recycled materials |
In 2023, we have achieved a 55% incorporation of recycled aluminum and 50% of low-carbon steel in our laptops. 50% recycling rate for galvanized steel sheets in desktop computers and monitors. |
| Innovative technology |
Lithium battery recycling |
In 2023, a partnership was established with Princeton NeEnergy (PNE) to set up a lithium battery cathode material recycling refinery in the Recycling Business Group’s Plant in Texas, with an annual processing capacity of 500t. Mass production is scheduled to begin in Q1 of 2024. Lithium battery black powder recycling equipment has been developed in 2023, and the equipment is expected to be installed and tested in Q3 of 2024. |
Green Product Performance
In product design and development stages, Wistron uses "Green Product Design Guidelines and Review Procedures" and other specifications to consider waste disposal, recycling, and reuse from the design stage as we seek to minimize the impact on people and the environment after the products are discarded. Wistron's Recycling Business Group focuses on the recycling electronics and refining recycled plastics, continuing to cooperate with customers on PCR plastics for various products. In 2023, Wistron's shipped products using PCR plastics accounted for 84.51% of our hardware revenue, representing an increase of 4.2% compared to the previous year. This proves that Wistron's green brand continues to be recognized by the international market.
Products using PCR plastic materials as percentage of hardware revenue (%)
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
| Laptops |
61.8% |
85.6%
|
90.9% |
93.1% |
| Desktop computers |
58.1% |
68.4%
|
81.6% |
88.3% |
| LCD Display products |
95.8% |
96.5%
|
94.2% |
94.1% |
| Servers |
0% |
0.1% |
0.3% |
3.1% |
| Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) |
3.7% |
3.8% |
4.3% |
5.5% |
| Total |
58.7% |
79.1%
|
80.3% |
84.5% |
- Note: Hardware products refer to laptops/desktop computers, and all-in-one (AIO) computers/display products /servers/Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Key Performance Indicators of Green Products (%)
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
| Percentage of products compliant to WEEE regulations |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Percentage of products with environmental labels |
89.5% |
90.7% |
85.1% |
83.2% |
| Percentage of packaging designed with recycled materials |
98.0% |
98.1% |
98.6% |
99.3% |
| Percentage of products that use recycled plastic materials |
58.7% |
79.1% |
80.3% |
84.5% |
- Note: Data and examples of packaging designs using recycled materials before 2020 in Wistron Technology
Wistron's product packaging is also designed to be eco-friendly and recyclable. From cartons and cushioning to printing inks, recyclable and reusable materials are used wherever possible. Moreover, we comply with country laws and regulations, such as: China's Blue Sky Plan, France’s Mineral Oil Law, etc. We replace packaging materials with more eco-friendly ones to reduce our impact on the environment. In 2023, the products using Wistron's packaging design with recycled materials accounted for 99.3% of overall revenue. Among which, 96.5% of the external boxes were made from recycled pulp; 90.8% of the cushioning materials were made from recycled EPE; and 98.3% of the printed materials were printed with environmentally friendly water-based ink.
Recycled materials used in product packaging as percentage of hardware revenue in 2023 (%)
|
Recycled Pulp for Cardboard boxes |
Cushioning Materials
Using Recycled EPE |
Eco-Friendly Water-Based ink for
Printed Materials |
| Laptops |
99.6 |
99.6 |
99.6 |
| Desktop Computers & All-in-One (AIO) Computers |
96.2 |
78.2 |
96.2 |
| Monitors |
95.1 |
67.6 |
95.1 |
| Servers |
100 |
95.7 |
100 |
| Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Audio |
0 |
0 |
100 |
| Handheld Mobile Devices |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| IoT (Internet of Things) |
0 |
33.9 |
100 |
| Industrial or Application Devices |
100 |
100 |
0 |
| Body Gateway |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Color Radio Assembly |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Circuit Board |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Network Security |
64 |
64 |
64 |
| Board/Card |
99.6 |
9.4 |
10.6 |
| Enterprise Switch |
100 |
47.9 |
100 |
| Storage |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Total |
96.7% |
91.0% |
98.4% |
