Lenovo’s approach to sustainability demonstrates how mature data systems, disciplined governance and targeted AI adoption can turn circularity from a niche initiative into a scaled global model. Rather than treating sustainability as a set of isolated projects, the company embeds circular principles across design, manufacturing, logistics and after-market services showing how structure and technology together can make sustainability operational, not aspirational.

Designing Circularity into the Product, Not Adding It Later

For Lenovo, circular supply chains do not begin at the point of collection or recycling, they begin long before, during the earliest design decisions. The company integrates circular design principles into material selection, packaging, engineering and future serviceability. This reduces lifecycle impacts and creates products that are easier to repair, disassemble and refurbish. Lenovo has introduced recycled materials across hundreds of product lines and has shifted significant volumes of packaging to plant-based fibres such as bamboo and sugarcane. This early design intent is deliberate: it prepares devices for a longer useful life through refurbishing and reassignment, while reducing waste generated at end-of-life.

Jammi Tu, Senior Vice President and Group Operations Officer at Lenovo, described this philosophy clearly: “We build circularity in from the very beginning: starting with product design, selecting sustainable materials, reducing the carbon footprint during manufacturing, selling through our channels, and then taking back and refurbishing products for resale through SSG.”

This full-loop structure allows Lenovo to manage its circular model internally. Returned devices are collected, sanitised, repaired and resold through the company’s Solutions and Services Group, a model that attaches commercial value to sustainability while reducing dependency on virgin materials.

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Scaling Circular Programs Across Dozens of Markets

Circular supply chains are easiest to run in controlled environments; extending them across multiple regions is far more complex. Lenovo’s Asset Recovery Services now operate in 43 markets, with planned expansion to nearly 50. These programs manage approximately one million devices per year, each requiring collection, traceability, secure data wiping, and compliance with diverse regulatory frameworks.

The challenge, Tu said, is not simply scaling the physical logistics but sustaining a connected system that supports growth without compromising oversight: “The real challenge is ensuring that this business continues to grow while still meeting our mission to reduce our global carbon footprint. That’s where end-to-end connectivity becomes critical.”

Lenovo’s response is to treat circularity as a data-driven operation. Through the Lenovo Intelligent Sustainability Solutions Advisor (LISSA), the company uses AI to calculate the carbon footprint of every PC it manufactures. This gives enterprise customers granular visibility into lifecycle emissions and informs their sustainability procurement decisions, turning transparency into a differentiator.

AI as a Tool for Oversight, Not a Replacement for Governance

AI plays a growing role in Lenovo’s supply chain operations, but the company is intentional about how it is deployed. Rather than jumping directly to fully autonomous systems, Lenovo has built AI capacity steadily over the last seven to eight years. Two years ago, it evolved from conventional machine learning to agentic AI systems capable of offering more autonomous insights yet always under human governance.

Tu emphasised that effective AI adoption requires cross-functional governance: “To adopt AI capabilities effectively, we work very closely with our Chief Security Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Information Officer. Together, we ensure full visibility, meet security requirements, choose the right architecture, and minimise risks.”

Accuracy monitoring, security protocols, and validation checkpoints across manufacturing and logistics ensure that AI-driven decisions remain reliable. Lenovo’s philosophy makes clear that AI can scale sustainability only when embedded within a disciplined governance structure.

Why Many AI Supply Chain Pilots Fail And Lenovo’s Don’t?

Tu identified three core ingredients that determine whether AI efforts advance beyond pilot projects:

Structured knowledge and high-quality data
AI depends not only on large datasets but on preserved institutional knowledge. If expertise is not captured systematically, insights disappear when employees leave.
Clear organisational ownership and governance
Lenovo’s CIO and CTO ensure that architecture, cybersecurity, and data integrity standards are fully met before AI tools scale across operations.
Robust digital infrastructure
During COVID-19 disruptions, Lenovo’s visibility across tier-one and tier-two suppliers enabled it to keep shipments moving despite global bottlenecks, something many companies were unable to achieve due to weak or fragmented systems.

This foundation allowed Lenovo to expand its circular programs while maintaining operational resilience, a combination that many organisations struggle to achieve.

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Circularity, Data Systems and AI: A Connected Model

What Lenovo demonstrates is that circular supply chains are not standalone sustainability projects—they are systems-level transformations. Circular design requires product visibility. Product visibility comes from strong data systems. And data systems reach full potential when enhanced with AI. Governance binds these components together, ensuring they scale reliably across global operations. By aligning these elements, Lenovo has created a circular supply chain model that is both commercially scalable and operationally controlled.

A Blueprint for Companies Seeking Practical Sustainability

For most organisations, circularity, AI projects and sustainability programs remain fragmented experiments, often confined to pilot teams. Lenovo’s example suggests that true scale comes from embedding sustainability at the design stage, reinforcing it with disciplined governance, and enabling it with maturing AI capabilities. The lesson is clear: sustainability becomes practical only when it is engineered into products, supported by infrastructure, and monitored through integrated technology. Circular supply chains are no longer theoretical, Lenovo shows they can operate, grow and deliver measurable value across global markets when the right systems are in place.

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