As sustainability moves to the forefront of technology innovation, companies are rethinking how products are designed, manufactured, and managed throughout their lifecycle. Logitech has positioned sustainability as a core design principle, embedding environmental responsibility into every stage of product development while advancing circularity, carbon transparency, and low-impact innovation. In this exclusive interaction with Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal, Senami Akle, Head of Design for Sustainability, Advocacy & Engagement at Logitech, shares how design-led thinking is driving the company’s sustainability strategy, the challenges of scaling recycled materials, the importance of product-level carbon labeling, and the role of circular design in building a more sustainable future for the technology industry.
Rajeev: Could you share a broader look at Logitech’s overall approach to sustainability? What is the company’s ultimate ambition?
Senami: Our ultimate ambition is to design a positive future by drastically reducing our carbon footprint and driving systemic change across our entire business. While boundary-pushing innovation in product design is a massive engine for this effort, our sustainability strategy extends far beyond individual devices. We take a full lifecycle approach that looks at our entire value chain—from how we source raw materials and transition to 100% renewable energy across our operations, to how we advocate for industry-wide accountability through initiatives like carbon impact labeling. For us, sustainability isn't a single corporate initiative; it is an active filter for how we rethink operations, empower consumers, and scale low-impact solutions across our global portfolio.
Rajeev: How does design-led thinking shape sustainability decisions across product development, packaging, and operations at scale?
Senami: At Logitech, sustainability is built into the design process from the very beginning rather than being treated as a separate initiative. Through our Design for Sustainability approach, teams evaluate environmental impact alongside performance, user experience, and business requirements when making decisions about materials, manufacturing, packaging, and product longevity. This allows us to reimagine our approach to design holistically, delivering fantastic user experiences while innovatively lowering our environmental footprint. Finally, we scale these low-impact solutions across our portfolio to amplify our positive impact at scale.
This approach has helped us scale the use of recycled materials across our portfolio, with 78% of products now incorporating recycled plastics. We have also transitioned largely to paper-based packaging, reducing plastic use and lowering associated carbon emissions. A good example is the MX Master 4, where the team innovated across materials, packaging, finishes, and even end-of-life to reduce environmental impact. With this approach, the team pushed the recycled content materials boundaries, leveraging a minimum of 48% certified post-consumer recycled plastic, a low-carbon aluminum thumbwheel, and a battery featuring 100% recycled cobalt to minimize resource use and carbon emissions.
Furthermore, in this product, traditional approaches to paint and finishes were challenged: the team innovated with a micro-texture finishing of the plastic parts, removing the need for a carbon-intensive and recycling-limiting painting process. Finally, our Design for Sustainability thinking expands all the way to end-of-life: in this product, new approaches to design were introduced to ease consumer repair and simplify disassembly and recycling.
Rajeev: What are the key challenges in scaling recycled and sustainable materials across hardware products without compromising performance, durability, or cost efficiency?
Senami: One of the biggest challenges is ensuring recycled materials meet the same standards for strength, durability, and aesthetics as virgin materials. This is particularly important for categories such as gaming and productivity devices, where users expect high performance and reliability.
Addressing this requires significant investment in material innovation and close collaboration with suppliers. Another distinct challenge is color choice; here again, we did not want our consumers to have to trade off between a product that meets their aesthetic preferences and one with a lower carbon impact. Therefore, we worked hand-in-hand with our resin suppliers to innovate and bring recycled plastic to the market in a wide variety of color options. Today, we have an exciting range of over 20 colors available in recycled plastic. Our approach remains simple: sustainability should never come at the expense of product quality or design. Every material choice is rigorously tested to ensure products meet or exceed performance expectations while delivering a lower environmental footprint.
Rajeev: How can companies effectively decarbonise complex global supply chains while continuing to maintain growth and operational scale?
Senami: Decarbonising global supply chains requires collaboration across the entire value chain—from material suppliers and manufacturers to logistics partners. No single intervention can deliver meaningful impact at scale. At Logitech, we focus on setting measurable targets, improving supply-chain visibility, and integrating sustainability into product and operational decisions from the outset. Our climate goals are aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C pathway.
Progress is already visible. We have reduced Scope 3 emissions by 33% against our 2021 baseline while continuing to grow the business. We are also working with suppliers to increase renewable energy adoption and identify lower-carbon materials and manufacturing processes. The key is to make sustainability a core business priority rather than a standalone programme.
Rajeev: What role does product-level carbon transparency and labeling play in influencing enterprise procurement decisions and end-user awareness?
Senami: Carbon transparency plays an important role in helping consumers and enterprise customers make more informed purchasing decisions. We are pioneering carbon transparency as the first consumer electronics company to provide detailed carbon impact labeling on product packaging across its portfolio through its Carbon Clarity initiative. As of April 2025, 84% of Logitech products are carbon labelled. We believe “carbon is the new calorie.” The goal is to empower consumers with more information on their purchasing choices while also helping galvanize an industry-wide shift toward lower-carbon products and greater transparency.
For enterprise customers, product-level carbon transparency supports broader sustainability and ESG goals by providing greater visibility into environmental impact across procurement decisions and supply chains. At the consumer level, carbon labeling also helps build awareness around product lifecycle impact and encourages more informed technology purchasing decisions.
Rajeev: How important are repairability, refurbishment, and circular design in extending product lifecycles, and what does it take to implement these models globally?
Senami: Repairability, refurbishment, and circular design are important components of extending product lifecycles and reducing waste across the electronics industry. At Logitech, Design for Sustainability Principles include keeping circularity in mind from the earliest stages of product development. This includes designing products that are easier to repair, easier to disassemble, and simpler to recycle at end-of-life.
Repair and replacement parts programs help divert products from landfill, while trade-in and refurbishment programs help keep products in use longer. Logitech has expanded repair programs to more than 60 countries in partnership with iFixit, supporting circular product lifecycles globally.
We are also driving circular innovation through refurbished products, recycling programs, and material recovery initiatives to help keep materials in circulation and reduce demand for virgin resources. Implementing these models globally requires strong collaboration across supply chains, repair ecosystems, manufacturing partners, and regional markets to ensure repairability and circularity can scale effectively.
Rajeev: How can sustainability be embedded early in the product innovation cycle, and what trade-offs need to be managed between performance, user experience, and environmental impact?
Senami: At Logitech, sustainability is embedded early in the innovation cycle through our Design for Sustainability approach, where environmental and social impacts are considered alongside technical performance, user experience, and business viability from the earliest stages of product development. Established DfS Principles help teams identify carbon hotspots and make informed design decisions across materials, packaging, manufacturing, battery efficiency, repairability, and recyclability.
As a design-led company, user experience remains central to innovation. Sustainability opportunities are evaluated alongside performance, ergonomics, aesthetics, durability, cost efficiency, and schedule considerations. Our engineers work closely with suppliers to develop recycled materials that meet stringent technical requirements, ensuring sustainability advancements do not compromise product quality or performance. This includes innovations in recycled plastics, lower-carbon aluminum, and improved packaging materials.
Ultimately, the goal is to unlock innovation that is relevant to consumers while delivering a lower environmental footprint across the product lifecycle.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 WhatsApp Channel now! 👈📲
𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝐬 👉 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
