Français Every day, we use our smartphones to work, communicate, navigate, and relax. They’ve become central to our lives—practically an extension of ourselves. But behind their sleek screens lies a massive environmental footprint, one we rarely see.
In The Hidden Impact of Our Smartphones on the Environment, Léwis Verdun investigates the true cost of our devices. Published by Five Minutes, in the Planète Avenir collection, this concise book relies on recent data (2024–2025) to explain the ecological impact of smartphones. Inspired by the book, this article explores a related topic: how we can make our digital consumption more sustainable.
The True Environmental Cost of a Smartphone
Each smartphone contains over 70 different materials, including rare earths like tantalum, cobalt, lithium, and others. Most are extracted from ecologically and socially fragile regions: artisanal mines in the Congo, water-intensive mining in South America, or deforestation-linked sites in Southeast Asia.
What’s more, the majority of the device’s CO₂ emissions come before you even turn it on. According to recent studies cited in the book, 80% of a smartphone’s carbon footprint occurs during manufacturing—not use.
And once the phone is in our hands, the impact continues: frequent upgrades, energy-heavy apps like streaming or cloud storage, and poor recycling rates all worsen the situation.
A Global Supply Chain with Hidden Human Costs
Your phone’s components travel across continents and involve thousands of workers. Verdun highlights troubling aspects of this supply chain:
Child labor in mines, especially in cobalt extraction
Dangerous working conditions in assembly factories, with high pressure and poor oversight
Lack of accountability due to subcontracting layers
Brands rarely mention these realities, focusing instead on innovation and performance. But as consumers grow more informed, transparency is becoming essential.
Disposable Tech: A Broken Model
The average smartphone lifespan is just 2 to 3 years—not because the devices fail, but due to software obsolescence and planned hardware limitations (non-removable batteries, non-repairable parts, etc.).
This drives electronic waste: in 2024, over 5 billion unused phones were sitting in drawers worldwide. E-waste is growing by 4% annually, and most of it isn’t properly recycled.
The good news? A more sustainable path is possible—through repairability, reuse, and circular design.
What Can We Do as Users?
Verdun’s book doesn’t just point fingers—it offers practical, actionable solutions:
Extend your phone’s lifespan: use a protective case, delay unnecessary upgrades, repair instead of replace
Choose eco-responsible brands: like Fairphone or Teracube
Recycle correctly: donate or return phones to certified e-waste channels
Limit your digital load: lower streaming quality, reduce app clutter, use Wi-Fi when possible
Support public policies: such as right to repair laws, transparency in product materials, and tax incentives for sustainable products
While no single action is enough on its own, collective efforts can shift the system.
Toward Tech That Respects the Planet
The Hidden Impact of Our Smartphones on the Environment doesn't advocate unplugging completely. Instead, it argues for conscious, ethical, and low-impact tech use.
Understanding our digital habits and supporting alternative models helps us align our values with our behaviors—even in our pockets.
Discover The Hidden Impact of Our Smartphones on the Environment now on the Five Minutes website!
