Lifecycle assessment of the environmental benefits of remanufactured telecommunications product within a “green” supply chain

The telecom industry is moving towards a “greener” supply chain for manufacturing. As part of this greening, more emphasis is being placed on logistics management, remanufacturing and recycling of e-waste. There has been much publicity concerning the environmental benefits of remanufacturing electronic equipment and reselling it to customers in lieu of manufacturing new like-kind equipment. This paper will provide an assessment of the environmental benefits associated with remanufacturing network telecommunications equipment by employing lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodology and commercially available LCA software / database information on these products. The results will demonstrate the significant environmental benefits of remanufacturing network telecommunications equipment as an “eco-sustainable” alternative to manufacturing new equipment.