
Extending the lifecycle of products is an essential strategy for reducing their ecological footprint. By extending their lifespan, the environmental impacts associated with their production and disposal are more evenly distributed, thereby reducing annual carbon emissions. This approach is part of a circular economy and also helps to preserve natural resources while reducing waste.
Find out how sustainable and repairable products can become key driving forces behind the ecological transition.
Résultats d’études sur la durabilité et calculs sous-jacents
Extending the lifespan of products, as demonstrated by ADEME studies, reduces environmental impacts by up to 25% by dividing up their carbon footprint over a longer period of use. These studies also show a significant reduction in natural resources, such as rare metals, leading to more rational management of resources and waste. By analysing the entire life cycle, they confirm that reliability and reparability play an essential role in the ecological Transition.
Réduction des émissions liées à la production et à la fin de vie des équipements
Extending the lifespan of products allows the environmental impacts caused by their production and disposal to be reduced over a longer period of use. Here are the main elements quantified in ADEME studies
ADEME study 2019 – Modelling and environmental assessment of consumer products and consumer goods:
This study shows that extending the average lifespan of consumer goods by 50% can reduce total emissions by 10% to 25%, depending on the type of product.
Example for a smartphone:
- Overall impact over one year with a lifespan of 2 years: 65 kg of CO2e.
- Global impact over one year with a lifespan of 4 years: 47 kg of CO2e.
This represents a 28% reduction in annual emissions by doubling the lifespan.
ADEME 2020 study – Environmental and economic assessment of extending the lifespan of electrical and electronic equipment at household level:
The production processes represent on average 60% to 90% of the environmental impact of EEE (depending on the product category).
- Example for a washing machine:
- Production: 67% of GHG emissions.
- End of life: 7% of GHG emissions.
- Use: 26% of emissions, mainly due to energy consumption.
Total impact: 2.4 tonnes of CO₂e over 10 years.
If the lifespan is extended from 10 to 15 years, the emissions linked to production and end-of-life are spread over a longer period, resulting in a 25% reduction in annual impacts compared with a washing machine replaced after 10 years. This reasoning is valid for the vast majority of products.
Reducing resource extraction
The production of these products requires the extraction of many resources, particularly rare metals and other materials with a high environmental impact for EEE. Extending their lifespan helps to reduce the demand for resources, particularly for products with a lot of electronics.
For example, according to ADEME 2020, the production of a smartphone requires :
- 70 kg of natural resources for a device weighing just 200 g.
- 80% of these resources are consumed during extraction and manufacture.
By increasing the lifespan of smartphones from 2 to 4 years, we can reduce by half the need for rare metals, thereby limiting the impact of mining (soil pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of habitats, etc.).
Circular economy and waste management
Durable, repairable products generate less waste in the long term.
- EEE represents 20% of hazardous waste in Europe, according to ADEME 2019.
- Extending the lifespan by 50% would proportionally reduce this waste, delaying its elimination (recycling, incineration, or landfill). Prolonger la durée de vie de 50 % permettrait de réduire proportionnellement ces déchets, retardant leur élimination (recyclage, incinération, ou mise en décharge).
Key data:
- Refrigerators: Manufacturing and disposal account for around 70% of their impacts. Extending their lifespan by 5 years reduces waste by 33% over 15 years.
- Washing machines: By increasing their lifespan by 10 to 15 years, we can avoid 4 kg of waste per year per appliance
Clarification of the scope, assumptions and limitations of the studies carried out
The studies carried out to assess the impact of extending the life of products are based on a methodical approach and well-defined assumptions. They aim to analyse the entire life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, from production to end-of-life, in order to understand the environmental and economic effects.
Scope: Life cycle analysis and environmental impacts
The environmental impact of a product is assessed over its entire life cycle (LCA), including the key steps:
- Production: extraction of raw materials, manufacturing and assembly.
- Use: energy consumption and other impacts associated with use.
- Disposal: waste management, recycling or landfill
ADEME’s scope of study focuses on a limited range of products that are very common in households and have a high environmental impact: multimedia (television, smartphone, computer, etc.) and household appliances (washing machine, hoover, etc.).
Principles used
The conclusions on the effect of lifespan extension are based on key assumptions taken from ADEME studies, in particular:
- 1. Current average lifespan: Most products have a lifespan limited by technical failures or perceived obsolescence practices.
– Smartphones: 2 to 3 years.
– Washing machines: 10 years.
– LED televisions: 7 years.
- 2. Realistic lifespan extension :
– Extension assumption: Increasing the lifespan by 50% (e.g. from 10 to 15 years for a washing machine) is realistic and achievable.
– This extension assumes that the product is designed to be durable and repairable (access to spare parts, solid design).
- Unchanged usage assumption: Users continue to use the product with the same energy performance, with no increase in energy consumption.
- Distribution of impacts over a longer period:
– Production and disposal impacts, initially concentrated over a shorter period, are spread out, reducing the average annual impact.
Data for different products
ADEME’s data illustrates the environmental benefits of extending the lifespan of products, for example:
Product |
Average lifespan (years) |
Lifespan extention |
Impact of reduction (% Kg eq CO2 global) |
savings for the consumer (€/year of extension) |
Smartphone |
2 |
4 |
28 |
35-96 |
Washing machines |
10 |
15 |
33 |
15-28 |
Refrigerator |
10 |
15 |
25 |
30-36 |
LED TV |
7 |
10 |
30 |
23-66 |
According to ADEME, extending the lifespan of each piece of multimedia equipment (television, laptop, smartphone, printer) and household electrical appliance (washing machine, fridge, dishwasher, tumble dryer, oven, hoover, microwave) in every French household by 3 years would save 15 million tonnes of CO2 eq, or around 8.3 million cars on the road for a full year.
In addition, the ADEME study, ÉVALUATION ÉCONOMIQUE DE
L’ALLONGATION DE LA DURÉE D’USAGE DE PRODUITS DE CONSOMMATION ET BIENS D’ÉQUIPEMENT states that, in the vast majority of cases, the work has demonstrated the economic benefits of extending the useful life of products, despite the cost of repairs.
Limitations of the calculations
The conclusions on the impact of longer life expectancy are valid in a specific context, but they have certain limitations:
- 1. Durability and reparability vary depending on the product and consumer behaviour:
- The durability of a product is highly dependent on the way it is maintained and used: smartphones, for example, can become obsolete due to unperformed or poorly performed software updates, regardless of their physical repairability. A poorly maintained washing machine is likely to fail early.
- Not all products benefit from the same opportunities to extend their lifespan. Reparability depends very much on consumer behaviour and their willingness to make their product last rather than replace it, and therefore on the awareness-raising initiatives involved.
- Changes in energy performance:
Environmental gains are maximised for products whose energy efficiency is stable over time, and are less for products whose energy efficiency is improved over time.
Example: Replacing an old energy-guzzling refrigerator with a new model can have a lower overall environmental impact in the long term.
- End-of-life issues:
If durable products are not properly recycled, the gains associated with their longevity may be partially offset by the accumulation of electrical waste.
Further study of limit cases and energy consumption
An ADEME study entitled ‘Évaluation économique de l’allongement de la durée d’usage de produits de consommation et biens d’équipement’ (Economic evaluation of extending the lifespan of consumer products and equipment) highlights that extending the lifespan of products is beneficial in almost 95% of cases. However, it points out that this strategy can be less advantageous when older appliances use significantly more energy than newer models.
However, it is important to note that for some appliances, particularly those whose energy efficiency has improved considerably in recent models, replacing an old appliance with a new one is more environmentally advantageous.
In fact, for appliances such as fridges or washing machines, where new models are often much more energy-efficient, replacing the old appliance may be more beneficial in terms of environmental impact.
It is therefore essential to assess the environmental impact of extending the lifespan of products on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the technological advances and energy efficiency gains of new models.
The LONGTIME® label teams systematically assess the energy performance of the product family and its potential development over time to ensure that extending its life will be an effective strategy for reducing its environmental impact, and raise awareness of this issue among stakeholders.
Publication of results and transparency
The ADEME studies mentioned are publicly available, as is the list of related sources/references.
Transparency at the heart of the LONGTIME® label
Transparency is an essential lever for encouraging consumers to make sustainable choices.
- This includes :
Providing information on the environmental impact of products: in particular the benefits of reparability, reliability and extended life. - Educating on the measurable environmental benefits of these choices, using scientific data.
The LONGTIME® label stands out for its commitment to making its assessment criteria and results accessible via dedicated tools:
- 1. Transparency’ page on the LONGTIME® website:
- Introduction to the sustainability criteria: repairability, reliability, robustness.
- Introduction to the methodologies used to assess the sustainability of products and the associated environmental gains, in line with LCA and scientific studies such as those carried out by ADEME.
- QR codes on the labels of labelled products:
- Consumers can scan the QR codes to access specific product information directly, including:
- The durability criteria assessed
- The transparency page, which brings together all the relevant data for understanding the label’s environmental claim.
- 3. Third-party audit :
- The data used to prove the reliability and repairability of LONGTIME® labelled products are verified by an independent third-party auditing body with the appropriate expertise and certifications.
Initiatives such as the transparency page and QR codes on products:
- Boost consumer confidence by providing verifiable data on environmental impacts.
- Encourage manufacturers to design products that meet strict durability criteria.
- Encourage informed consumer choices, favouring durable over low-cost, high-impact products.
This ensures full transparency of the methodologies used to improve and evaluate environmental performance, in line with the transparency requirement in Article 5 (c) of the Green Claims Directive.
Estimation of environmental and economic benefits using a practical tool
As part of the MEERp methodology, the Join Research Center, JRC, has developed an open-access tool for accurately assessing the environmental effects of extending product life through reliability, reparability and upgradeability, based on a series of input data:
- Product selling price
- Average market selling price
- Average life on the market
- Average repair time
- Average repair cost
- Average cost of a spare part
- Weibull shape parameter (b)
- Number of priority parts for repair and upgrade
- Weibull shape parameter
- Elasticity of demand
- Elasticity of demand [unités]
- EU annual sales and trade [units] [unités]
- LCA impact indicators
- Repairability and reliability indicators: Evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4 and initially calculated out of 100 by LONGTIME® tools.
These elements make it possible to identify the basic assumptions and data sources used to assess the lifespan and environmental impacts. The methodology is transparent, because it explains the basis for the calculations, their scope and their limits.
The case example provided by the JRC is for a television. Certain complex data such as the Weibull Shape Parameter (b) have therefore been evaluated specifically for this product. It is important to be as precise as possible about each of the inputs in order to obtain consistent results.
However, given the limited resources of the LONGTIME® label teams, it may prove complex to refine these data for each product family.
Furthermore, the methodology defined in the Excel file does not explain how to calculate the input indicators from 1 to 4 for reparability and reliability.
Nevertheless, the expertise of the LONGTIME® label teams and the robustness of their tools enable them to make a robust and verifiable link between the Excel input indicators and their own tools.
Coherent estimations are therefore made and, as the aim of LONGTIME® is to obtain a positive or negative trend in the environmental benefit of extending the life of the product studied, this tool is relevant in order to strengthen the evidence of the positive consequences of the life extension strategy.
By having robust input data provided by the manufacturer for example, this tool can also provide relevant results that are more accurate than a simple global indicator of environmental relevance:
- Estimated lifetime (in years)
- Estimated life extension
- Probability of repairability
- Impacts avoided Kg CO2
- Savings for a consumer
These results demonstrate the product’s environmental and economic performance, supporting claims based on measurable data. Assumptions are documented (like the ADEME data mentioned). This tool can be used to estimate the environmental added value of extending the lifespan of a product that is not already included in a specific study such as those carried out by ADEME.
Would you like to estimate the environmental and financial benefits of your products being more sustainable than the market average? We offer you a dedicated tool with concrete results.
Your input data :
– Product selling price
– Average life on the market
– Average repair time
– Average repair cost
– Average cost of a spare part
– LCA impact indicators for the product specifically or generically for your product type
– Repairability and reliability indicators: Evaluated on a scale of 1 to 4 and initially calculated out
A brief summary
By combining transparent communication tools (dedicated page, QR codes, evaluation results) and rigorous methodologies and impact studies based on ADEME and JRC/MEERp studies, the LONGTIME® label :
– Strengthens consumer confidence by enabling them to understand the positive impact of their choices.
– Actively contributes to reducing environmental impact by promoting long-life products.
In this way, it fully meets the transparency requirements of the Green Claims Directive, while raising stakeholder awareness of the importance of sustainability in the fight against climate change.
Sources
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/7e5bedf2-eb32-11ee-bf53-01aa75ed71a1/