Electronics have a variety of economic, environmental, and social impacts throughout their product life cycles, and thus provide opportunities to consider the three pillars of sustainability as they relate to everyday objects. The fact sheet also points out that the number and breadth of issues surrounding electronics make sustainable electronics discussions relevant to a multitude of subjects, beyond industrial design, computer science, and engineering. Three examples of SEI education projects are also provided.

This document is geared toward formal educators at both the K-12 and university levels, as well as nonformal and informal educators interested in education for sustainability. The goal is to inspire novel approaches to introducing sustainability to students.

Educators who would like advice on how to use sustainable electronics concepts in their curricula or programs should Joy Scrogum (jscrogum@illinois.edu), SEI’s co-coordinator. For more information on the Sustainable Electronics Initiative, visit https://sustainelectronics.illinois.edu.