CREATE: Centre for Responsible Electronics and circulAr TEchnologies

Context and challenge: Electronics underpins the digital transformation that affects all businesses, industries, and value chains while playing a critical role in delivering the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the central belt of Scotland, the electronics industry is vital to the regional economy, driving economic growth, environmental commitments, and national security. With over 130 companies and 10,300 employees contributing to an annual £2.8bn+ turnover, this sector is instrumental in fostering productivity and growth, and is built into the products of many vertical sectors (e.g., health, aerospace and retail)[1]. Over the past two decades, remarkable progress has been made resulting in electronics products that offer affordability, superior performance, and compactness. As a result, electronics have become ubiquitous and have revolutionised many socioeconomic sectors such as health, agriculture, and the internet and form the backbone of emerging areas such as automation, smart cities, and 5G/6G communication. However, the electronics industry is driven by technical and economic considerations, often neglecting sustainability principles. This has led to significant challenges, including the large amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste/WEEE), high emissions across the supply chain, and widespread usage of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). Scaling up sustainable manufacturing solutions requires a transformational shift and needs to foster a collective recognition among manufacturers and consumers of the value of public and planetary health, and for the technical supply chain to provide education and knowledge to ensure electronics products are durable, repairable, recyclable, and made from earth-abundant materials. The Net Zero Strategy recognises that a share of the UK’s 3.5 MT CO2 could be decarbonised annually through consumer behaviour, specifically around electronics and digital technologies[2]. Vision: The Centre for Responsible Electronics and circulAr TEchnologies (CREATE) will set the standard for sustainable electronics manufacturing and design, through an exemplary system-level demonstrator across Scotland's Central Belt. By leading a national effort, CREATE will foster interdisciplinary collaboration among stakeholders and spearhead technological innovations. CREATE will position the UK at the forefront of adapting to and shaping future trends in sustainable manufacturing and reconfigurable electronics. Aims and objectives: CREATE unites world-leading researchers across the Central Belt of Scotland to address the challenges, capitalise on opportunities, and to scale up the research capabilities in net-zero electronic manufacturing. This will accelerate the industry's transition- in the context of the move to a Net Zero economy, and partner with the policy community to maximise these gains. Our centre, initially drawn from 12 prominent research groups at the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and the CSA catapult, will deliver a proactive approach to meet the sustainability challenges of future generations of electronics. Potential applications and benefits: Measurable reductions in e-waste, decline in the use of CRMs, cost, carbon footprint, and energy use/renewable energy will be achieved through more environmentally friendly processes and products. Crucial to this is the formation of public-private partnerships which will leverage private sector expertise and infrastructure to promote the adoption of sustainable technologies for global public goods. Through co-creation, conferences, workshops, outreach, and advocacy CREATE will work on applied research projects with industry to help transform the regional electronics industry.