Nokia Launches Take-back in India*

Abstract:

The world's leading mobile phone company, Nokia Corporation (Nokia), launched its 'Take-back' campaign in early 2009. The initiative, aimed at educating mobile phone users about the importance of recycling e-waste, had been launched in a number of countries since 2005.

Issues: » Sustainability. » Recycling. » Awareness campaigns. Introduction On January 1, 2009, Nokia India, the Indian arm of the world’s leading mobile phone company, Nokia Corporation (Nokia), announced its 'Take-back' campaign, aimed at educating mobile phone users about the importance of recycling e-waste . On the occasion of the launch of the initiative, D. Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India, said, "If every Nokia user recycled just one unused phone, the discarded phone will live on in something new, as the material is used to make items like park benches, utensils etc." Nokia first launched Take-back campaign in 2005 in Finland before which it ran pilot projects in the UK and Sweden during the late 1990s. It supported the concept of Individual...

Questions for Discussion:

1. Critically analyze Nokia's Take-back initiative.
2. Do you think Nokia's Take-back initiative will receive a good response in India? What should Nokia’s strategy be to create awareness about recycling e-waste among Indian consumers?

Key words:
Recycling, 'Take-back' campaign, e-waste, Design for Environment, Individual Producer Responsibility, Product Life Cycle, Eco-Patent Commons, Manufacturing, maximum energy efficiency, Environment, Nokia, mobile phone, India

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