[ad_1]
In October 2021, Microsoft agreed to start making its Surface devices more repairable and promised it would fund an independent study to find out how the environment could benefit from the right to repair movement.
The company has since partnered with iFixit, giving more users access to self-repair tools and information, releasing a Surface repair video, and enabling third-party locations to repair specific hardware products. Microsoft also said it would share the results of that Right to Repair study in May 2022, and as promised, we now have the results.
While we all know that the right to repair our own smartphones, laptops, tablets, tractors, and more makes sense to consumers, a big talking point is about the effects on the environment. This week, Microsoft delivered the results of its independently funded remediation study in a press release and to sites like Windows Centraland so far, the results are very promising.
Throughout the comprehensive 11-page document, it is clear that the right to remedy has a massive positive impact on the environment. He stated that repairing a device is much better than replacing it and that reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste is better in all aspects of the repair process. This includes physical materials and shipping products to be repaired.
The report mentions several obvious areas where repairs are more beneficial than device replacement.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- For the seven devices studied, the study showed that repairing the product rather than replacing the device can produce up to a 92% reduction in potential waste generation and GHG emissions.
- More than 20% of the net sustainability benefits of repair are determined by the method of transportation and logistics to deliver devices to repair facilities.
- Mail-in repair services offer the lowest GHG emissions, even over long distances, compared to other transportation methods, such as consumers driving their own vehicles to repair facilities.
I don’t know about you, but that first one is a pretty significant number. Suggesting that repairing popular devices like a PC, Surface Laptop, or Xbox instead of replacing them can lead to over a 92% reduction in waste.
Mail-in devices to Authorized Service Providers (ASPs) appear to have the lowest overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact. Hopefully, that means the company will make an effort in the future.
Microsoft will continue to improve its efforts in this area. It will balance the fine line between cutting-edge new products and launching sleek designs, while still making products that users can quickly repair.
In closing, Microsoft said that all future products are being designed with repairability in mind and that there will be “zero regression” between generations. This means that all future products should offer better repairability than previous models. We’ll have to wait and see what this means for future product designs and its partnership with iFixit, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
via Windows Central
[ad_2]
