2023-09-01 11:16:37
Berlin For visitors to the electronics trade fair IFA, it is likely to be an unexpected encounter: in Hall 2.2, a giant made of computers, keyboards, a cable reel and a vacuum cleaner stretches its head towards the ceiling. The artist HA Schult wants to use the figure made of electronic scrap to illustrate unreflective consumption. The message is written on a sign next to it: “Don’t throw away what you still need.”
The exhibit attracts attention, not only because of its size. Consumer criticism is not normally on the agenda at the world’s largest trade fair for home appliances and entertainment electronics. The IFA, which has been running since Friday on the extensive grounds under the Berlin radio tower, is intended to get the public and retailers in the mood for the Christmas business.
And it does: companies like Grundig, Jura, Loewe, Miele, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Sony are presenting their latest devices, from small portable TVs to luminous ceiling speakers, refrigerators with transparent doors and washing machines equipped with artificial intelligence.
And yet the “value giant” hits the nerve of the times. For many consumers, sustainability has now become an important decision-making criterion, especially when it comes to household appliances that run often or even permanently. Dishwashers, ovens and televisions should use little energy, be made from recycled materials and be easy to repair.
“The products are being used for longer and longer. That’s why sustainability is gradually becoming the most important selling point,” said Sara Warnecke, Managing Director of IFA co-organizer GFU. This is currently important because many consumers are keeping their money together after the special boom caused by the corona pandemic. And in the future, because the manufacturers have to let their brands green in a credible way – so that the consumer thinks of them the next time they make a purchase.
IFA 2023: Sales in the electronics industry are declining
Although the IFA is now celebrating a growing number of exhibitors again, companies are feeling the reluctance of customers in view of high inflation and economic uncertainty. While 9.3 billion euros were still sold with consumer electronics in Germany in 2020, the Bitkom industry association expects the third decline in a row to only around 8.1 billion euros this year.
“Value giant” in front of the Berlin exhibition halls
The scrap sculpture is an unusual example of consumer criticism for the world’s largest electronics fair.
(Photo: note)
“Consumers want to reduce their CO2 footprint,” says Bitkom expert Sebastian Klöß, describing the attitude of many. “It doesn’t always have to be a new device.”
Several studies by the market researcher GfK show how much of a decision-making criterion sustainability has become: When buying a refrigerator, for example, energy efficiency is a decisive factor for 64 percent of consumers. Service life, repairability and the guarantee are also important factors. That’s no coincidence: In surveys, many people name climate change after inflation as one of their biggest concerns.
Regulation also moves the market, reports Alexander Dehmel, industry expert at GfK – such as the energy efficiency label of the European Union (EU). Since the introduction of a new classification, more and more large appliances such as ovens, refrigerators and washing machines have reached category A. “The manufacturers are happy to accept the specifications because they can use them to differentiate themselves,” says Dehmel.
Bosch, Miele and Co.: Electrical appliances should pay off for customers
This applies, for example, to Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte (BSH), Europe’s largest manufacturer of household appliances. “We want to do things that are relevant for the customer,” says Rudolf Klötscher, member of the management board. “And that’s the topic of sustainability.” That’s why BSH is now expanding its rental offer called Bluemovement.
In addition, the company advertises at its stand for “sustainable laundry care” and devices with lower water and electricity consumption – many of them “made in Germany”. The group also emphasizes that it is using green steel in more and more devices. The CO2 balance of the products should thus be significantly better. Even if BSH is far from climate-neutral.
Exhibition stand of Bosch Siemens household appliances
The manufacturer advertises devices with lower water and power consumption.
(Foto: Bloomberg)
Digital technology helps increase efficiency. LG Electronics is showing a refrigerator at the trade fair that registers usage behavior and, for example, pre-cools in the morning to limit energy loss. According to the Korean company, artificial intelligence is working in the background. Miele, in turn, has developed a “Consumption Dashboard” that shows the power consumption of the devices and calculates energy saving options.
The Dutch start-up Fairphone presents its latest smartphone, in which at least 70 percent of the most important materials are recycled or obtained fairly. There is a five-year guarantee for every device and the announcement that a lot can be repaired by yourself.
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Anyone who walks through the 26 individual IFA halls realizes how important the presentation is. At the network technician AVM, moss hangs on the walls, at the Turkish electronics group Vestel, ivy dangles from the gray ceiling. And LG Electronics has had an entire village built from sustainable materials, in which even the individual stands can be recycled. Sustainability wherever you look.
Construction of the “Sustainability Village”
Trade fair visitors can have electronic devices such as lamps, hair dryers and cameras repaired here.
(Photo: dpa)
The trade fair itself also sets accents. For the first time there is a “Sustainability Village” in which the “value giant” can also be found. Visitors can have electronic devices such as lamps, hair dryers and cameras repaired in a workshop. A “House of Smart Living” shows how building automation saves energy. And at the stand of the Treedom platform you can see where the trade fair in Cameroon planted a forest with 5000 trees.
Despite all the promises: the IFA cannot resolve the contradiction between the Christmas business and sustainability. Because of course the industry also presents its innovations at the IFA, which are intended to entice consumers to buy.
In view of the constant flow of new products and product categories, the mountain of e-waste keeps growing. The special insurer Wertgarantie has determined that around 377,000 tons of electronic waste accumulate in Germany every year because households dispose of defective devices. Every one and a half minutes, as much is produced as the scrap statue in Hall 2.2 weighs.
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