Vodafone is accelerating its circular economy strategy by expanding trade-in, repair, refurbishment and recycling initiatives across its European markets, aiming to extend the lifespan of mobile devices while reducing electronic waste and carbon emissions.

The operator has positioned refurbished smartphones as a core part of its consumer offering, supported by partnerships with companies such as Recommerce and digital trade-in programmes that make it easier for customers to return old devices.

According to Vodafone, extending a smartphone’s lifespan by one year can reduce its annual carbon footprint by up to 29%, while purchasing a refurbished device instead of a new one can avoid around 50 kg of CO₂e over two years and save nearly 77 kg of raw materials.

Vodafone has also reached a major milestone through its partnership with WWF, collecting one million used mobile phones as part of its “One Million Phones for the Planet” initiative. In Germany, the operator has expanded its circular efforts through a collaboration with Closing the Loop, linking every new smartphone sold to the collection and recycling of an old device.

As European operators place greater emphasis on sustainability, Vodafone is continuing to invest in device take-back programmes, refurbishment and reverse logistics, positioning circularity as a key pillar of both its environmental strategy and customer proposition.