For many companies, autumn means reporting season; in other words, a moment to gather insights from a year of activities, share results, and define the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead through transparent reporting. Although essential, these reports often lean heavily on data and targets. What’s often missing is a way to make those numbers feel concrete and relatable.
Sustainability reports have many audiences, from investors and regulators to customers and employees, and ultimately, people. Numbers alone rarely inspire; they gain meaning when paired with stories that show what those figures represent in practice. This is where Closing the Loop adds value: we bring you both. Measurable results you can include in KPIs, such as devices collected, materials recovered, or income generated for local communities—and the human stories that bring those results to life.
While our service is not yet part of a mandatory disclosure, companies are already using it to strengthen their reporting with a combination of numbers and stories. You’ll often find Closing the Loop in case studies, narrative sections, or SDG contributions: the parts of a report designed to make progress both tangible and relatable. In this blog, drawing on real-life client examples, we explore how companies have included our service in their reports and why combining data with narrative creates stronger communication.
Angle 1: One for One and the SDGs
One of the most common ways companies integrate Closing the Loop into their reports is by linking it to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unlike mandatory KPIs, these targets give companies the flexibility to demonstrate leadership and highlight how they are taking proactive responsibility for sustainability challenges that often go beyond compliance. Closing the Loop contributes to multiple SDGs through both social and environmental impact. By supporting collection networks in countries with high poverty rates, Closing the Loop not only prevents discarded phones from ending up in landfills but also creates additional income opportunities for waste collectors (SDG 1), supports decent work and local economic growth (SDG 8), and contributes to healthier, more sustainable communities (SDG 11).
At the same time, through the One for One service, Closing the Loop funds the safe handling of end-of-life devices that would otherwise be mismanaged (SDG 12). In doing so, the service not only supports a truly circular electronics industry but also provides an estimated CO₂ savings that companies can include under SDG 13 (Climate Action).
Angle 2: The People Behind the One for One Impact
Some companies choose to feature Closing the Loop through an interview or short story — for example, showing how phones are collected in practice, what the partnership means for local collectors, or what inspired Closing the Loop’s work. This adds a human face to reporting and helps businesses explain the “who,” “how,” and “why” behind their impact.
Ilionx did this, in their 2024 CSR report, by interviewing our CEO, Joost de Kluijver, about the realities of e-waste in Africa, the creation of the One-for-One model, and the vision for local recycling in the future. This kind of reporting illustrates that circularity is not only about measurable results, but also about leadership and innovation. By combining hard data with the human side of impact, companies can make their reports both credible and engaging, helping stakeholders understand not just what was achieved, but why it matters.
Angle 3: One for One as a First Step Toward Circularity
Companies can present their partnership with Closing the Loop as a milestone on the path to addressing e-waste; one of the world’s fastest-growing waste challenges. Positioning the partnership this way highlights that action is being taken on an issue that is often overlooked, and places it within the company’s broader ambitions around zero waste or circularity.
This is how KPMG featured Closing the Loop in their More Than Numbers report, framing the partnership as a launch point for e-waste action and even introducing the idea of “raw materials neutral” phones. By showing how every new phone purchase is balanced by the recovery of a discarded one, businesses can communicate how they are reducing the need for new mining of virgin materials and how they are helping turn waste from a liability into valuable resources.
Angle 4: One for One Across the Value Chain
A partnership with Closing the Loop allows companies to frame everyday procurement as part of a bigger circular story by showing responsibility from two angles: waste prevention and offsetting. Waste prevention comes from ensuring that discarded phones are collected and recycled safely, instead of being left to add to the growing e-waste problem. At the same time, the One for One service allows companies to offset the footprint of new devices by funding the collection and recycling in countries without proper infrastructure.
In their 2023 Sustainability Report, Athora positioned its partnership with Closing the Loop as part of a broader circular procurement strategy. During a company-wide laptop refresh, old laptops were refurbished and resold by their IT supplier, while Closing the Loop offset the footprint of every new laptop. This approach showed that responsibility doesn’t stop at the point of purchase and illustrated how everyday value-chain decisions can become measurable, reportable circular action.
Angle 5: Connecting Customers to Circularity with One for One
Many countries still lack safe recycling systems, and companies that use or sell electronic devices are in a position to help close that gap. In annual reporting, Closing the Loop can be highlighted as part of consumer or brand campaigns that connect sales directly to circular action.
Vodafone’s 2023 Annual Report notes the launch of its One for One partnership with Closing the Loop, promising that for every phone purchased directly in Germany, one end-of-life phone will be collected and recycled from a country without safe recycling infrastructure. This straightforward commitment can also be reported as measurable circular action — linking customer offers to devices diverted from landfill, valuable materials recovered, and living wages created— and illustrates how a market-facing initiative can become part of a company’s broader sustainability strategy.
Bonus Angle: Using One for One for Green Financing
Some companies go beyond reporting and use Closing the Loop to meet criteria for sustainable financing. For example, a major European IT reseller integrates our One for One service into the take-back metrics required for a green loan. The number of devices collected and safely recycled can count toward the environmental indicators lenders look for in sustainability-linked loans. This shows how our service can help companies meet green-financing requirements as well as strengthen their annual reporting.
Bringing It All Together
These case studies show that Closing the Loop can strengthen a report in multiple ways: linking activities to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, illustrating a first step toward circularity, and showing how everyday procurement and customer offers can generate measurable impact. By providing both hard data and the stories that bring those numbers to life, we help companies present progress that is both credible and engaging. As e-waste grows and expectations on sustainability reporting become stricter, integrating Closing the Loop gives companies a ready-made, proven way to demonstrate concrete circular action.
