Laptops in Espoo upper secondary schools to be given to next generation of users

Student-specific laptops were introduced in Espoo’s upper secondary schools in 2021 when compulsory education expanded nationally and upper secondary education became free of charge. The students who were the first to use the computers provided by Espoo are now finishing their studies. Laptops returned by graduating students will be inspected, emptied and registered in a device system. The serviced computers will return to action in the autumn when new upper secondary school students start their studies.

The city guarantees that every student will have a functioning computer so that nobody’s studies are delayed or interrupted. And if there is a problem with a computer, a functional replacement will be immediately available. The average life cycle of a laptop is 5 years, and there is a continuous service process for upper secondary schools that is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of the computers. The same practice covers all computers used by the City of Espoo.

Up to 2,500 students start their upper secondary school studies in Espoo each year, which means that the reuse of laptops is economically and ecologically important due to the large number of students. Extending the useful life of computers will affect the need to manufacture new equipment, thus reducing the use of natural resources and production of greenhouse gas emissions. The average Finn consumes about a hundred tonnes of natural resources in a year, which is more than anywhere else in Europe. A large part of the consumed natural resources are raw materials contained in imported goods, such as electronic devices.

The Growth and Learning Sector takes socially, ecologically, culturally and economically sustainable development into account in education and teaching in accordance with the students’ age level. In this way, we ensure that all children and young people have equal access to digitalisation and that they can learn from activities in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Recycling is included in teaching from early childhood education onwards, and things such as the recycling of school books are implemented in basic education.

The city’s strategy, the Espoo Story, includes the goals of actively contributing to the fight against climate change, achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and enhancing biodiversity. Espoo signed in 2020 the Europe-wide circular economy commitment Circular Cities Declaration, the ten goals of which promote the implementation of the city’s circular economy and sustainable development. A sustainable Espoo is built together with contributions from the entire Espoo community: companies, education and research organisations, associations and residents.

Click here to read how sustainability is part of growth and learning.

Click here to learn more about Espoo and sustainable development.

In the EU, more than 20 kg of electronics per resident are placed on the market each year. Of this, about 60% (11.8 kg) is manufactured in the EU and 40% (8.8 kg) is imported from outside the EU (Eurostat, 2019).

In the EU, electronics are used for an average of about 2.3 years less than their intended or desired useful life (EEA 2020a).