Circular IT and reuse of equipment
Vattenfall has a long-term partnership with IT recycling companies Inrego and AFB to optimise reuse and recycling of IT equipment.
Increasing the reuse and recycling of IT equipment has been a key focus for many years. Today, we collect all our mobile phones, laptops and desktops for reuse and refurbishment.
Previously, some laptops used in highly sensitive environments could not be sent for reuse or refurbishment. In 2025, focused work was carried out to develop and implement secure and compliant processes for handling these devices. As a result, laptops from highly sensitive environments are now included in reuse and refurbishment, marking an important step forward in our circular IT device management.
Since 2020, Vattenfall has collaborated with Inrego to optimise the reuse of IT equipment. During 2025, 7 434 units were sent to our partner for reuse from our offices in Sweden, Poland, Denmark, and the UK.
This has generated CO2e savings of approximately 765 tonnes, as calculated by the research centre IVL (the Swedish Environmental Institute) using its science-based model. In Germany, AFB is our partner taking back IT equipment and reusing it. In 2025, 1,618 items of IT and mobile equipment were processed, resulting in CO2e savings of 200 tonnes. These savings were calculated by TU Berlin, myclimate and Star Cooperation.
Reusing IT products reduces the need to extract primary natural resources. Following thorough data destruction, hardware testing, procurement of spare parts, repairs, upgrades and cleaning, AFB successfully reused 83% of the equipment in 2025, while Inrego reused 70%. Any remaining items were professionally recycled to ensure sustainable resource management.
More about circularity
The transition to a circular economy is an opportunity, and renewable energy is an important piece of the puzzle in driving the circular economy forward.
Transform to a more circular business
Circularity is essential to securing future resource needs, reducing costs, and achieving our sustainability targets.
See also
Reused bricks in new substation
Using reused bricks for substation buildings reduced the carbon footprint by over 90%, enhancing sustainability in a power grid project.
Pilot project: reusing substation buildings
As part of our efforts to reduce environmental impact, Vattenfall Eldistribution will test circular construction and reuse of existing substation buildings.
Vattenfall‘s circular approach for office renovations
Vattenfall maximised the reuse of existing materials when renovating the office in Arnhem.