Casa Casi 41: Smartphones and sustainability – do they go together?

We have arrived at Casa Casi number 41 and today we are again dealing with the topic of sustainability. As is sometimes the case, we got pretty stuck talking about smartphones in the podcast, although of course the topic encompasses so much more. So in today’s episode we’re essentially discussing how that goes together in the first place – smartphones and sustainability.

Sustainable smartphones: how does it work?

As with many topics, we come to the conclusion that there are basically three fundamental levers when it comes to change: politics, industry – and us consumers. So it’s not enough for us to point the finger at politicians or demand that Samsung or Apple suddenly build fair, green smartphones. We ourselves must act by using the smartphones longer, then passing them on or disposing of them properly.

And yes, of course, politics must create incentives and frameworks for more sustainable smartphone production and manufacturers must implement it. Currently there are relatively few and niche manufacturers with the Dutch from Fairphone or Shiftphone from Germany who really focus on sustainability. Changes are needed here! These smartphones are often just not sexy enough at the moment – and the big names like Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi don’t offer anything comparable yet.

But as I said: It’s not just about politics and industry, it’s about each and every one of us. Doesn’t accept phrases like “what can I do as an individual”. In the podcast, Palle mentions a music festival where a single man is dancing crazy in a meadow. Little by little, people join them until at some point everyone is dancing. That’s the spirit, friends!

Feel free to take a look at the video that went viral at the time and dates back to the YouTube Stone Age. It also demonstrates something else very nicely that we will talk about in the podcast: How incredible have smartphone cameras and digital photography improved in just a few years! In any case, neither optical image stabilization nor a higher resolution would have harmed this clip:

I don’t want to tell you much more about today’s podcast episode. We hope that you will enjoy listening again this time. We are very happy about positive reviews, as well as when you share our podcast and tell your people about us. Feel free to comment here under the article, on social media and be sure to send us your feedback via our accounts on WhatsApp, Signal and Threema.

You can read how it works and what we will talk about in the next few episodes in the show notes below, which I will also attach to this post every time from now on.

Casa Casi 41: Show Notes

We want your feedback! You can participate with voice messages (and of course text comments) on WhatsApp, Signal and Threema. We look forward to your reactions, to praise, criticism and suggestions for improvement and, of course, to your opinions on our upcoming topics. Until Sunday you can still join our upcoming January review report, the following week we raise the question: “Does the smartphone have a future?” – Here is our phone number and our Threema ID for your feedback:

• Telephone number: +49 160 98090008
• Threema ID: EB6YBNSE

We’ve thrown a lot of links around as a result. Here we list them for you:

• Mobile phones for the environment – here you can find out how to get rid of your old mobile phones, where you can send them to, or initiate your own collection campaigns.
• Mobile phone collection center – also a collection initiative (initiator: Deutsche Telekom), where you can start collection campaigns, find drop-off points, or hand in mobile phones by post.
• ZOXS – platform where you can easily sell your used technology.
• Casa Casi 12: where to put the smartphones? – Listen to our old episode again, in which we discuss a mobile phone deposit.
• Too Good To Go – This is also sustainability: You can use the app to purchase discounted food that would otherwise be thrown away by restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets.
• Donate money & save food: Apps for world improvers – In this article Ben introduces “Too Good To Go” and other apps that make the world a little better.
• Code Check – Another very handy app. You can use it to decode the ingredients in food and find out, for example, whether a product uses palm oil. The app is available for both Android and iOS.
• Coltan: Almost all of our smartphones have blood on them – an article that Casi once wrote for Mobile Geeks and which explains the conditions under which some of the raw materials for smartphones are obtained.
• Telekom and Samsung cooperate for a greener future – Deutsche Telekom press release announcing a green 5G smartphone from Telekom and Samsung for 2022.