Van smartphones tot mijnrampen: Wat is de sociale impact van elektronica nu eigenlijk?
Zou jij meer betalen voor een smartphone als je wist dat er zeker geen kinderarbeid voor gebruikt werd? Om die vraag te beantwoorden, moet je eerst kunnen weten of er kinderarbeid, of andere negatieve gevolgen, gekoppeld zijn aan je nieuwste elektronica. Daarvoor is de ‘sociale impact score’ ontworpen.
Wat heb je nodig om elektronische chips te maken? Een beetje zand, veel precisie, en… zeldzame mineralen. Waar je in het begin genoeg had met gebruikelijke materialen zoals koper en aluminium, heb je vandaag steeds meer zeldzame materialen, zoals platinum en tantaal, nodig.
Dat komt door de razendsnelle technologische vooruitgang. Enerzijds leidt die tot nieuwe toepassingen, bijvoorbeeld vouwbare schermen, elektrische wagens,... Anderzijds worden bestaande toepassingen steeds slimmer en sneller, zonder veel groter te worden: vergelijk de dikte van een oude Nokia maar eens met de dikte van de nieuwste iPhone. Deze ontwikkelingen hebben allemaal steeds meer zeldzame materialen nodig.
Duurzaamheid
Wat maakt het gebruik van een materiaal nu duurzaam? Wel, daar kan je op verschillende manieren naar kijken: kost het delven en verwerken van de materialen veel energie? Of laat het schadelijke stoffen achter in de natuur? Blijft er nog genoeg van dit materiaal over op aarde? Dit zijn de vragen waar men een redelijk goed antwoord op heeft. Voor veel materialen zijn deze aspecten al uitgebreid onderzocht. Daaruit weten we dat bijvoorbeeld de metalen uit de platinagroep (platinum, palladium, iridium,...) erg vervuilende stoffen zijn om te delven: de processen stoten veel broeikasgassen uit, gebruiken veel water en zijn giftig voor de omgeving.
Maar wat met kinderarbeid? Of slechte werkomstandigheden? Tot voor kort bestond er geen algemene methode om de menselijke duurzaamheid, de sociale impact, van materialen in kaart te brengen. Toch is die sociale impact er wel degelijk. Zo kwamen er begin dit jaar nog honderden mensen om toen een mijn in de Democratische Republiek Congo instortte, waar 15% van de wereldproductie van coltan plaatsvindt. Coltan is een belangrijk mineraal voor smartphones: het bevat tantaal, een essentieel element in de productie van kleinere en snellere chips.
Natuurlijk kiezen mensen er niet bewust voor om bij te dragen aan dit soort drama’s. Het is dus belangrijk dat ontwikkelaars en consumenten van smartphones en andere elektronica eerlijke en duidelijke informatie ter beschikking hebben om hen te ondersteunen om duurzame keuzes te maken.
Waarom nu pas?
Sociale impact meten is veel moeilijker dan bijvoorbeeld energieverbruik of CO2-uitstoot. Enerzijds is het moeilijk om een sluitende definitie te geven van wat sociale impact is en wat mee moet worden genomen in deze beoordeling. Anderzijds is de sociale impact vaak zeer verschillend van plek tot plek. Dat maakt het moeilijk om twee situaties op een eerlijke manier met elkaar te vergelijken.
Een eerste stap om de analyse van sociale impact van materialen mogelijk te maken, is de beslissing om enkel de sociale impact van de ontginning van de materialen te analyseren. Dit maakt het mogelijk om in analyses op lokaal niveau (bijvoorbeeld in één specifieke mijn) te zoeken naar vaak voorkomende risicofactoren. Die kan je opdelen in de volgende categorieën: kinderarbeid, gewapend conflict, corruptie, rechtsstaat, informele mijnbouw, en menselijke ontwikkeling. Op deze manier wordt een definitie geformuleerd van sociale impact.
Zelfs met die definitie is het moeilijk om zomaar mijnbouw op verschillende plekken met elkaar te vergelijken: gebruiken onderzoekers en inspecteurs in elke mijn dezelfde definities en standaarden? Om die vergelijking te maken, moeten we uitzoomen. Informatie over bijvoorbeeld kinderarbeid en corruptie is vaak beschikbaar per land. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan bevragingen door de OESO of UNICEF. Dit soort bevragingen onderzoekt één onderwerp in de verschillende landen op een consistente manier. Ze maken het dus mogelijk om per productieland op een eerlijke manier een score toe te kennen voor elke categorie en die achteraf met elkaar te vergelijken.
De resultaten
Een systematische analyse van de meest gebruikte materialen binnen de elektronica-industrie toont dat niet alle materialen dezelfde sociale impact hebben. De materialen met de hoogste sociale impact zijn kobalt, belangrijk voor de batterijen van elektrische wagens, en tantaal, belangrijk in smartphones. Dat komt doordat een groot deel van deze materialen geproduceerd wordt in de Democratische Republiek Congo. Daar is al jarenlang een groot gewapend conflict aan de gang, onder andere om controle over de verschillende waardevolle mineralen. Ook maken de hoge corruptie en de zwakke toestand van de rechtsstaat het er moeilijk om problemen rond arbeidsveiligheid en kinderarbeid onder controle te krijgen.
Andere materialen, zoals ijzer, gebruikt in de omhulling van elektronica, en lithium, gebruikt in smartphone-batterijen, hebben een relatief lage impact. Opvallend is dat bepaalde materialen met een hoge ecologische impact, bijvoorbeeld de metalen uit de platinagroep, gebruikt in geheugenchips en andere elektronische componenten, een eerder lage sociale impact hebben. Dit toont hoe complex het is om een juiste keuze te maken.
Wat nu?
Hoewel deze metriek een kader geeft om rekening mee te houden bij het ontwerpen van elektronica, is het niet zo gemakkelijk om daar zomaar iets mee te doen. De meeste elektronicatoepassing zijn namelijk al zo nauwkeurig ontworpen dat materialen niet zomaar vervangen kunnen worden. Neem bijvoorbeeld tantaal: door de gevaarlijke werkomstandigheden is dit een materiaal met een hoge sociale impact. Tantaal wordt echter gebruikt om kleinere, snellere componenten mogelijk te maken. De alternatieve materialen, zoals aluminium, hebben misschien wel een lagere sociale impact, maar zouden leiden tot grotere, tragere elektronica. Er bestaat dus geen ideaal materiaal. Ingenieurs moeten telkens een evenwicht zoeken tussen prestaties, milieu-impact, sociale impact en… kostprijs, want sommige alternatieven zijn ook een pak duurder.
De hoofdvraag blijft dus: hoeveel meer zou jij als consument willen betalen voor een smartphone die op een meer verantwoorde manier geproduceerd werd?
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