Orange Belgium enlarges its refurbishment offer

On this 18th of March - World Recycling Day - Orange Belgium is launching a new webshop for refurbished smartphones operated with the support of partner Recommerce©.  By means of this new platform, Orange Belgium will strengthen its range of refurbished devices to provide over 8,500 refurbished smartphones references.

As a resilient, modern and responsible operator with strong human and ESG values, a third key pillar of its "Lead the Future" strategy, Orange Belgium is pursuing its ambition to reduce its CO2 emissions and help bridge the digital divide by offering quality refurbished smartphones with a 2-year warranty. Today Orange Belgium continues to grow in the refurbishment sector with the logistical support of its partner Recommerce©. With the launch of a new webshop, Orange Belgium furthers its development and commitment towards a circular economy by becoming the operator with the widest range of refurbished smartphones in Belgium.

The new initiative is an addition to the “Re program” Orange Belgium launched in 2022, based on 4 simple “Re’s” to help the planet and save money : Repair (every Orange shop offers a repair service to help customers keep their device longer), Refurbish (devices are reconditioned and given a second life), Recycle (collecting valuable raw materials recovered from non-reusable mobile phones) and Return (customers can hand in their old devices at an Orange shop in return for a voucher).  

In Belgium, more than 3 million smartphones remain unused (1), which is why Orange Belgium is working to develop a more sustainable mobile market. In 2023, Orange Belgium collected 37,000 mobile devices and sold 13,500 refurbished phones as part of the Re program. Beyond budget saving considerations, buying a refurbished smartphone helps reducing our environmental footprint by avoiding the manufacturing of a new device: on average, a refurbished smartphone avoids the emission of 50kg of CO2 (2). A win-win for your budget and the planet. Moreover, for each device collected, Orange Belgium donates €2 to the Natagora/Natuurpunt environmental protection program, which plants trees and hedges in Belgium.

Lars Christensen, Managing Director Benelux & Eastern Europe at Recommerce©: “We are proud to support Orange Belgium in its ESG Strategy by offering Quality certified Refurbished smartphones. For 15 years, our mission has always been to be an enabler of Circular Economy and partner with committed stakeholders such as Orange, with whom we share the same goals and values to reduce our environmental footprint together. We truly believe that this new partnership will demonstrate that technology and sustainability, with diverse actors should go hand in hand.”   Isabelle Vanden Eede, Chief Communication, Brand and CSR Officer at Orange Belgium: “At Orange Belgium and in our Lead the Future strategy, we have clear and precise environmental objectives to which we are committed. Our goal is to decrease our CO2 emissions substantially and to achieve a Net Zero Carbon status by 2040. We care deeply about our customers and the planet and try to be a company that is as responsible as possible by reducing our environmental footprint and that of our customers' phones as much as possible.”

(1) https://www.recupel.be/en/blog/belgium-mobile-phone-recycling-champion/

(2) Source: ADEME. p.65 https://librairie.ademe.fr/dechets-economie-circulaire/5833-assessment-of-the-environmental-impact-of-a-set-of-refurbished-products.html

About RECOMMERCE GROUP RECOMMERCE© GROUP is the European pioneer in the buy back and refurbishment of high-tech products. Founded in 2009, Recommerce© buys used equipments, offers software and application buy back solutions to retailers, individuals and companies, and refurbishes and resells refurbished devices. The company distributes its refurbished products under the registered trademark "Recommerce©" and on www.recommerce.com as well as in many European countries via retailers and telecom operators. As a Circular Economy enabler, the company promotes the buy-back and reuse of devices through the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies applied to the industrial sector. Recommerce™ is ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified by DNV, has been awarded the RecQ - Quality Refurbishment - label, the first European label certifying the quality of the refurbishment process by DEKRA Certifications, as well as a Gold rating by Ecovadis for its CSR policy.