Popular phone company offers eco-friendly rewards for keeping devices for longer

Nokia has a new sustainability subscription service alongside its latest phones which incentivises people to keep their phones and tablets for longer by offering them eco-friendly-based rewards for doing so.

Called Circular, the service will also recycle, refurbish and re-subscribe devices returned to the firm, or donate them to charitable causes in order to keep them out of landfill, the tech firm said.

The scheme awards users more “seeds” the longer they keep a device, with these seeds then able to be used towards supporting sustainability or charitable efforts around the world – including planting trees or reducing carbon, backing a firm removing plastic from rivers, or providing connectivity to those in need.

The subscription service includes a £30 set-up fee, with phones and tablets then available for a range of prices starting at £10 a month.

Florian Seiche, chief executive of HMD Global, the firm which makes Nokia phones and tablets, said: “The desire to create a way to enable people to keep their phones for longer is how Circular was born. Most people have a drawer full of old phones at home.

“This is something we hope to change by providing a way for people and businesses to get the most from Nokia devices while leaving the smallest possible footprint on the planet.

“To do that, and to be truly circular, we are taking full responsibility for the entire lifecycle of our phones – not just making sure they last longer in the hands of our fans, which has always been a core part of our product design process, but also through manufacture, reuse and recycling.”

Tech expert and industry analyst Ben Wood, from CCS Insight, said: “Sustainability is important to customers when it comes to connected electronics devices.

“CCS Insight’s research shows that roughly half of consumers in key European markets believe that creating products that last longer is helpful and positive for the environment. HMD continues to encourage consumers to keep their device for longer and with Circular, it also means devices stay out of landfill.

“Electronic waste is an issue the whole industry must address and services like Circular are a positive step towards creating change.”