Now in its second year, the ReThink Awards highlight organizations rethinking how the electronics system works.
We all use electronics in every facet of our lives, and right now, how the world handles them isn’t sustainable. Devices get replaced before they’re done, materials get lost at end-of-life, the volume of e-waste keeps growing, and the systems supporting modern life are buckling under the weight of what gets thrown away.
The future of electronics sustainability depends on devices that last longer and materials that get fully reused, and getting there will take radical new thinking at every stage of the lifecycle. That thinking is already happening, in organizations that aren’t waiting for the rules to change before they start changing them. What’s needed now is to put that work in front of the rest of the industry, so it can learn and join in.
The ReThink Awards exist to find that work, and nominations are now open for year two.
The ReThink Awards recognize organizations developing new approaches that go beyond standard practice in electronics sustainability. The program is open to organizations across the full electronics lifecycle, including manufacturers, designers, refurbishers, recyclers, ITAD providers, technology innovators, and circular-economy initiatives.
Rethinking the Electronics Lifecycle
Progress in electronics sustainability requires questioning long-standing assumptions at every stage, from design and manufacturing through use, repair, reuse, and end-of-life. New thinking shows up in different forms: designing for repair, extending lifecycles, improving materials recovery, choosing different materials, and finding new uses for recovered ones. The ReThink Awards exist to elevate that work so the broader industry can learn from it.
Year Two of the ReThink Awards
The inaugural ReThink Awards in 2025 generated a strong response across the industry, with nominations spanning multiple parts of the electronics lifecycle. Three organizations were ultimately recognized: Framework for repairable modular laptops, HP Renew Solutions for their enterprise refurbished device operations, and In2tec for scalable component reuse. Together, they represent the range of approaches the program is built to highlight.
Year two opens that field again, with new nominations welcome from organizations of all types and stages of the electronics lifecycle.
What Nominees Should Demonstrate
The ReThink Awards are open to any organization whose work meets three criteria:
- An approach or initiative that goes beyond standard business operations and regulatory requirements
- A new way of thinking about some aspect of the electronics lifecycle
- Systems-level impact within their organization or across the industry
Selection is based on three questions:
- What actions were taken that demonstrate thinking differently?
- What was the impact within that organization or the industry?
- How does this positively impact the sustainability of electronics?
“The most interesting thinking in electronics sustainability is happening across the lifecycle, in places the industry hasn’t always considered or paid attention to. The ReThink Awards are how we make sure that work gets seen, and how we get closer to SERI’s 10/35 Vision of 10-year device lifespans and full materials reuse by 2035.” – Jeff Seibert, Chief Development Officer, SERI
Throughout the electronics industry, there are a handful of organizations quietly doing the work that gets us closer to a more sustainable future for electronics. Nominate your own organization or another at: https://sustainableelectronics.org/rethink/
