Case Study on Principle # 8 - Environment Principles Number 3
Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility

Name of Company: Nokia
Background & situational context 

This example, submitted by Nokia in 2002, describes a programme at Nokia to 
reduce waste during the manufacturing stage of the product life cycle. 
The activities address Principle 8 of the Global Compact. 

Nokia is one of the largest mobile communications companies in the world, 
with net sales in 2002 reaching over US$30 Billion. 
Worldwide the company employs 52 thousand people and has 17 production centres 
in 9 different countries. 
Nokia comprises two business groups: Nokia Mobile Phones and Nokia Networks. 
In addition, the company includes a separate Nokia Ventures Organization and 
the corporate research unit, Nokia Research Center. 

The Problem 

Nokia points out that the driving force for materials recycling is – 

. the rise in the number of mobile phones being produced, which has put pressure both on the 
   cost of waste disposal and the space available to store waste, 
. stakeholder expectation for better environmental management, 
. anticipated changes in legislation on recycling, and 
. an initiative of the employees. 
The simple but effective solution that Nokia came up with was to place containers where the 
waste originated, to instruct production staff on how to sort the waste, and to identify (or create) suppliers and recycling companies 
that would collect the waste. 

Addressing the problem: 
The basic process was as follows – 
1.   Nokia analysed the kind of waste that was being produced at each production site, 
2.   It discussed with its suppliers and manufacturing departments about the possibilities to minimise waste or improve materials, and 
     then evaluated different reuse / recycling solutions, 
3.   The company then evaluated any remaining potential for material recycling, 
4.   It set up the sorting bins, created sets of instructions and carried out training, and 
5.   Finally it followed up, for example by carrying out "purity checks" of the landfill fraction, to make sure that nothing could still be "used". 

Results 
Some of the results are that Nokia’s factories have been able to reduce appreciably the amount of 
waste generated throughout the manufacturing process. 

For example, in the Salo mobile phone factory in Finland, more than 80% of incoming materials now 
end up inside the telephones. 
Through simple waste management measures, 16% of the remaining materials are reused or recycled and 
landfill waste now represents only 0.2%. 
In China it was found that most of the waste at Nokia’s Beijing factory was from packaging materials that came with 
the components. 
The packaging material was largely recyclable and could be sent back to the suppliers for re-use. 
Electronics components make up only a small part of the waste volume. 
However, they also have a metal value when recycled. 

Nokia mentions that the programme has tapped into the creativity of Nokia’s employees, as it 
has required them to identify new uses for the separated waste streams. 
It also points out that, as a result of ISO 14001 certification, the standardised environmental 
training in the Nokia factories has facilitated the sharing of “best practices” between different 
business units and factories. 

Co-operation with industry bodies, such as Finland's State Technology Research Centre and the European 
Information and Communications Technology Association (EICTA) was also important. 
They observe that the fact that both the company and society have benefited has made it easier to encourage the 
development of the recycling programmes within Nokia’s factories around the world. 

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UN Global Compact Resource Package