Modern technology relies on rare earth elements, from smartphones and laptops to electric vehicles and wind turbines – yet sourcing these critical materials sustainably has become a pressing challenge. Rare earth mining and processing are often associated with significant environmental damage and concentrated geopolitical supply risks. In Europe, and notably in Ireland, the UK, and France, both public and private sector procurement are increasingly focusing on securing rare earth supplies in an environmentally responsible way. This article explores how tech sector procurement is addressing the environmental ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) challenge of sustainable rare earth sourcing, backed by data and initiatives that illustrate a shift toward greener supply chains.
Rare Earths in Tech: Critical and Environmentally Costly
Rare earth elements (such as neodymium, dysprosium, and others) are the backbone of many high-tech products, enabling essential components like permanent magnets in hard drives and electric motors. However, their supply chain is dominated by a single region and entails heavy environmental costs. China currently accounts for over 69% of global rare earth mining and about 90% of rare earth processing as of 2023, giving it an outsized influence on supply and prices. This concentration has raised concerns: not only can export restrictions or political friction disrupt supplies, but production practices have often led to pollution and toxic waste. For example, unregulated rare earth mining in Myanmar (Burma), now the world’s third-largest producer, has been linked to armed militias and operations that disregard environmental regulations and remediation.
Communities near rare earth processing sites have suffered from contaminated water and soil, illustrating the hidden ecological toll behind our gadgets. Demand for rare earths is also skyrocketing as the clean energy and tech sectors grow. The EU projects its demand for rare earth metals will increase six-fold by 2030 (and seven-fold by 2050). Such exponential growth, coupled with Europe’s heavy reliance on imports, underscores an urgent need for more sustainable and resilient sourcing. Without intervention, Europe’s climate and digital ambitions could be at risk. In short, tech procurement faces a dual challenge: ensuring reliable access to rare earth materials while minimising environmental harm, a balance that requires proactive ESG-focused strategies.
Policy Initiatives in Ireland, the UK, and France
Recognising these risks, governments in Ireland, France, and the UK (often in concert with EU policy), are taking steps to green their critical materials supply chains. The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) is a cornerstone effort, aiming to secure a sustainable supply of essential minerals (including rare earths) for the bloc. The regulation sets ambitious benchmarks for 2030: at least 10% of the EU’s rare earth demand to be mined domestically, 40% to be processed domestically, and 25% to come from recycling, with no more than 65% sourced from any single country. This diversification and circularity mandate is coupled with streamlined permits for new projects, provided they uphold high environmental and social standards, and support for recycling innovations. In essence, the EU is weaving ESG criteria into its strategy for raw material security, promoting local projects that meet strict sustainability requirements and boosting recycling of e-waste to reclaim rare metals.
France took a more sweeping approach with its Duty of Vigilance Law (2017). This law compels large French companies (employing 5,000+ domestically or 10,000+ globally) to establish a “plan de vigilance” – a vigilance plan – to identify and prevent human rights and environmental violations throughout their supply chains. The vigilance plan must include a risk mapping of operations, procedures to regularly assess subsidiaries and suppliers, actions to mitigate risks, and mechanisms for whistleblowing and monitoring.
France, for its part, has moved to bolster European production capacity in alignment with ESG goals. In March 2025 it was announced that France will host Europe’s first integrated rare earth separation and recycling plant, a €216 million project by Caremag in Lacq, southwestern France.
This facility will combine refining of rare earth oxides with recycling of magnet scrap, reducing dependence on imports and the need for fresh mining. The investment is a “pivotal move in Europe’s quest for critical materials independence,” directly addressing the reality that China currently maintains near-complete control over the production of heavy rare earth oxides needed for green technologies. By localising processing and incorporating recycled feedstock, the plant aims to secure a more sustainable supply chain for European tech manufacturers. These national efforts are reinforced by France’s legal framework: under the 2021 Climate and Resilience Law, French public procurement is explicitly tasked with furthering sustainable development goals (environmental, social, and economic). In fact, from 2026 onward, every French public tender must include environmental criteria in its award decision, ending the practice of awarding solely on lowest price.
This legal mandate ensures that public procurement in France cannot ignore environmental impact, effectively embedding ESG considerations into governance of tech purchases as well.
The UK, after exiting the EU, launched its own critical minerals strategy. In 2022, the UK government released “Resilience for the Future: The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy,” highlighting the importance of materials like rare earths to the British economy. This was followed in 2023 by a £15 million fund (via UK Research and Innovation) dedicated to strengthening rare earth supply chains and recycling within the UK. The UK’s approach underlines securing supply through both developing domestic and allied sources and investing in recycling technologies, all while acknowledging the need for responsible mining practices. As one expert involved in the strategy noted, companies and governments “have a responsibility to behave well and help with sustainable development wherever we’re getting our materials from,” even though many supply chains today remain opaque.
The strategy thus not only funds new projects but also stresses transparency and ethical sourcing as core principles.
Industry Responses: Recycling and Circular Procurement
The private sector is also responding through innovation in materials and procurement practices. Leading tech companies have started to close the loop on rare earth metals by turning to recycled sources. A prime example is Apple: the company announced that by 2025 all magnets in Apple devices will use 100% recycled rare earth elements. As of 2022, Apple was already sourcing 73% of the rare earths in its products from recycled material, a remarkable shift achieved in just a few years. This move not only reduces the need for new mining (avoiding the associated pollution) but also demonstrates to the industry that high-performance tech components can be made reliably with secondary materials. Other tech firms are investing in similar recycling initiatives or redesigning products to use fewer rare earths. For instance, manufacturers are exploring magnet designs that use less dysprosium and neodymium or can be more easily recovered at end-of-life.
By demanding recycled content and designing for circularity, large purchasers in the tech sector are sending a strong market signal that sustainability is a key criterion, effectively using procurement power to drive greener innovation in the supply chain. On the public procurement front, Ireland has pioneered a circular economy approach that directly reduces rare earth demand. In 2024, the Irish government signed a groundbreaking four-year, €30 million framework agreement to purchase remanufactured laptops for the public sector.
But instead of buying only brand-new computers, Irish public bodies can now buy remanufactured ones – devices that have been professionally disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt to as-new performance. This is the first arrangement of its kind by an EU member state, and its scale is significant: around 60,000 laptops (about 12% of Ireland’s annual laptop market) will be procured as remanufactured rather than new. The environmental benefits are impressive. Choosing remanufactured over new is estimated to save 19 million kg of CO₂ emissions, preserve 72 million kg of mined resources, and avoid 11 billion litres of water use over the contract’s duration.
These savings include reductions in the extraction of raw materials like rare earths and other metals that would have been needed for new laptops. In addition, the initiative aligns with EU Green Deal objectives and proves that incorporating circular principles in procurement can yield both sustainability gains and cost savings (the remanufactured units cost roughly 30% less than new). By “avoiding waste and saving money,” as Ireland’s Minister of State Ossian Smyth put it, this procurement strategy demonstrates a practical ESG win-win: it lowers environmental impact (including the upstream mining footprint) and meets tech needs affordably. Private-sector buyers are taking note of such successes.
Companies concerned with ESG goals are increasingly looking at product longevity and reuse as part of procurement. Extending the life of IT equipment – by refurbishing or buying certified remanufactured devices, not only cuts e-waste but also shrinks the demand for freshly mined rare materials. Some corporations and even UK public agencies have begun similar partnerships; for example, the British Standards Institution (BSI) recently procured carbon-neutral remanufactured laptops for its staff as part of its sustainability drive.
These choices in procurement send a powerful message down the supply chain: suppliers are encouraged to offer greener product options, and the overall market begins to shift toward more sustainable practices.
Sustainable sourcing of rare earth materials has rapidly moved from niche concern to mainstream priority in tech procurement. Ireland, the UK, and France are at the forefront of integrating environmental considerations into both policy and practice, whether through laws that mandate circularity and transparency or through contracts that deliver tangible carbon and resource savings. The tech sector’s heavy reliance on rare earths no longer means ignoring the environmental externalities; instead, procurement is becoming a lever for positive change, promoting recycling, innovative materials, and ethical sourcing. By diversifying suppliers, investing in recycling facilities, and leveraging their purchasing power to demand higher ESG standards, European governments and tech companies are together greening the supply chain. These efforts not only mitigate environmental damage and supply risks but also set a precedent globally: that technology’s raw ingredients can be sourced in a way that respects the planet’s limits. The path is clear, sustainable procurement of rare earths is not just possible, it’s already underway, marrying high-tech progress with environmental stewardship in a truly circular economy approach.
Sources:
Remanufacturing: a scalable solution for circular economy success- Business News
Strengthening the consideration of environmental and social aspects in French public procurement law – Bird & Bird
Caremag’s €216 Million Investment in French Rare Earths Plant – Discovery Alert
Critical Raw Materials Act European Commission – European Commission
China currently controls over 69% of global rare earth production – Mining Technology
