CSRD and Scope 3: how refurbished concretely reduces your carbon footprint

Since January 2025, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) applies to companies with more than 250 employees in Europe. Among the most impactful requirements: the measurement and reduction of Scope 3 emissions, which cover the entire value chain — including procurement.

Scope 3: the most underestimated emission category

For most service-sector companies, Scope 3 emissions represent 70-90% of their total carbon footprint. IT equipment purchases (smartphones, tablets, laptops) are among the most carbon-intensive items, due to mining, manufacturing, and intercontinental shipping.

• A new smartphone generates an average of 70 kg of CO₂ over its lifecycle
• 80% of these emissions occur during manufacturing
• A refurbished smartphone generates only 8-10 kg of CO₂ — an 87% reduction

The measurable impact of refurbished

Data from ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition) confirms the scale of savings achievable by substituting new with refurbished:

• Smartphone: 50 kg CO₂ avoided, 12,000 liters of water saved
• Tablet: 65 kg CO₂ avoided, 18,000 liters of water saved
• Laptop: 300 kg CO₂ avoided, 40,000 liters of water saved

Switching 20% of your IT fleet to refurbished reduces your Scope 3 procurement emissions by 15-18% — an immediate, measurable lever for your CSRD reporting.

ESRS E5: the circular economy standard to master

The ESRS E5 standard, specific to the circular economy, requires companies to document their practices in reuse, refurbishment, and product lifespan extension. Refurbished checks every box of this standard.

Audit-ready data

At QBP.Solutions, each order automatically generates an impact certificate detailing CO₂ savings, water preserved, and raw materials not extracted. This data is formatted for direct integration into CSRD reports, without reprocessing.

For CSR directors, this saves considerable time: no need to reconstruct impact data after the fact. Refurbished via QBP.Solutions provides auditable metrics from the order stage, compatible with CSRD double materiality requirements.