By Pratima Desai

LONDON, (Reuters) – What started as an awareness campaign back in 2010, has become Fairphone in just over a decade. Last year Fairphone sold thousands of phones that were made responsibly sourced or recycled material.

Reuters was told by Eva Gouwens, Chief Executive of the Netherlands-based company, that although 99% are sold to individual customers, corporates have begun to express interest in the phone.

Companies, governments, and individuals all look for ways to reduce their carbon footprints while meeting stringent emission targets. Recycling is an essential part of the energy transition.

Responsible sourcing is a theme that has been prominent for many years, especially in the auto and technology sectors. In these areas, the spotlight was on child labor at the artisanal mining sites in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gouwens explained that after years of lobbying for an alternative, he realized that there is no such thing. He said this in an interview at the Reuters Next conference. Our goal is to have 70% of all our materials fairly sourced by 2023.

Fairphone sold 95,000 phones in the last year.

Fairphone is a cobalt supplier from multiple countries. Gouwens stated that they have a DRC programme where they work together with the Fair Cobalt Alliance.

Fair Cobalt Alliance’s goal is to improve safety and environmental impact of artisanal mining sites and provide safe working conditions for those who work at them.

Gouwens stated that there was a complex supply chain and that it was impossible to trace the source of the cobalt used in the phones’ rechargeable batteries.

“Keeping the cobalt separated throughout the entire supply chain would make it extremely expensive and (artisanal) miners won’t get any benefit.”

Fairphone began in 2013. Its goal was to reach the “darker-green” audience. These people were prepared to sacrifice the function and support sustainability.

The company is now looking to grow into the so-called “lighter green”, which Gouwens refers to as consumers who are more concerned about sustainability and fairness but less interested in functionality.

Gouwens claimed that Fairphone had sold more than 300,000.

Fairphone earned a profit last year of 2,000,000 euros (or $2.27 million).

To watch the Reuters  Next conference please register at https://reutersevents.com/events/next

($1 = 0.8797 euros)