France has established itself as a global pioneer in the legislative transition towards a circular economy, specifically within the digital sector.
The interplay between the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy law – loi Anti-Gaspillage pour une Économie Circulaire (AGEC), and the Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Digital Technology law – loi Réduire l’Empreinte Environnementale Du Numérique (REEN) provides a robust structural framework that not only mandates environmental responsibility but also creates significant economic opportunities for companies like Rhamtech Global, specialising in hardware refurbishment, asset management, and energy-efficient infrastructure.
The convergence of these regulations represents a paradigm shift in how corporate and public entities manage their technology stacks, transforming decommissioned hardware from a logistical liability into high-performance capital.
The AGEC Law
Declared on 10 February 2020, the AGEC law (Loi n° 2020-105) serves as the primary regulatory engine for France’s transition away from a linear economic model.
The AGEC law is structured around five strategic axes, which are:
- Eliminating single-use plastics.
- Enhancing consumer transparency.
- Combating waste through reuse.
- Fighting programmed obsolescence.
- Optimising production.
The law provides direct support for companies active in the secondary market for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).
For Rhamtech Global, which addresses corporate Dead Stock and logistical bottlenecks associated with decommissioned servers, routers, switches, laptops and desktops, the AGEC law acts as a market-making instrument that de-risks the circular business model.
One of the most critical mechanisms within the AGEC framework is Article 58, which mobilises public procurement representing approximately 10% of the French GDP to serve the ecological transition.
This article mandates that state services, local authorities, and their groupings must ensure that a minimum proportion of their annual procurement consists of goods originating from reuse, re-utilisation, or those incorporating recycled materials.
The technical implementation of this obligation was significantly updated by Decree n° 2024-134 on 21 February 2024. This decree established progressive quotas that provide a predictable demand roadmap for sustainable IT providers.
By setting these targets, the French government has effectively guaranteed a market for enterprise-grade, second-life hardware, allowing circular IT companies to scale their operations with confidence.
A core challenge in the refurbished IT market is the trust gap regarding the reliability and longevity of second-life devices. The AGEC law addresses this by introducing mandatory labelling of the Repairability Index (Indice de Réparabilité) and its successor, the Durability Index (Indice de Durabilité).
The Repairability Index, active since 2021 for laptops and smartphones, requires manufacturers to display a score out of 10 based on five criteria:
- Documentation.
- Ease of disassembly.
- Spare parts availability.
- Price of parts.
- Specific product criteria.
Starting in 2025, the Durability Index replaces this for certain categories, incorporating not only repairability but also reliability and robustness.
For a company like Rhamtech Global, these indices provide a data-driven verification of our value proposition.
By refurbishing devices that possess high durability scores, we can offer official warranties that compete with new equipment, supported by the legal requirement for manufacturers to make parts available for at least five to ten years.
The REEN Law
While the AGEC law addresses circularity across all industrial sectors, the REEN law (Loi n° 2021-1485), introduced on 15 November 2021, is specifically tailored to the digital ecosystem.
Its primary goal is to reduce the environmental footprint of digital technology in France, which already accounts for approximately 4.4% of national greenhouse gas emissions, a figure projected to triple by 2050 if left unaddressed.
The REEN law supports sustainable IT activities through three main pillars:
- Extending device lifespans.
- Promoting energy-efficient infrastructure.
- Mandating territorial digital strategies.
The REEN law significantly strengthens the anti-obsolescence provisions of the AGEC law, particularly regarding software.
It prohibits practices that restrict the refurbishing or repair of a device through software updates that degrade performance or lock functionality.
Manufacturers are now obligated to inform users about the impact of updates on device storage and speed, and they must guarantee access to functional updates for a minimum period.
The law requires that professional reconditioners be granted access to the same software tools and security components as authorised repairers.
This legal parity ensures that circular IT firms can fully restore enterprise-grade servers and networking equipment without being blocked by OEM parts pairing or proprietary software locks.
By preventing functional hardware from being rendered obsolete by software, the REEN law protects the inventory value of companies specialising in hardware lifecycles.
A landmark provision of the REEN law is Article 35, which requires all municipalities and inter-municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to develop and implement a Responsible Digital Strategy by 1 January 2025.
These strategies must include specific targets for:
- Sustainable public procurement focused on reuse and repair.
- Localised management of IT lifecycles to minimise transport-related emissions.
- Awareness campaigns for citizens and public agents regarding digital sobriety.
Public entities are increasingly seeking partners who can audit their existing fleets, identify ‘dead stock’ for repurposing, and provide the ESG reporting required to demonstrate compliance with their territorial goals.
The requirement for local authorities to prioritise equipment less than 10 years old for reuse rather than recycling further aligns with the business model of providing enterprise-grade, second-life technology.
Conclusion
The AGEC and REEN laws have created a unique economic sanctuary in France for companies dedicated to sustainable IT. By mandating public purchases, incentivising private R&D, and imposing rigorous transparency on energy and material consumption, the state has de-risked the circular business model and transformed it into a cornerstone of national digital sovereignty.
For Rhamtech Global recognised as an innovative economic actor, these laws provide the legal teeth to our value proposition, allowing us to clear corporate logistical bottlenecks, restore dead capital to high performance, and provide the verified ESG reporting that is now mandatory in the European market.
In this environment, environmental responsibility is no longer a peripheral concern, it is the fundamental requirement for participating in the future of the French digital economy.