Industrial panel PC without a fan.
Produced by B&R Industrial Automation
Semiconductor fabrication facility.
Texas Instruments
Long and narrow office building with ends facing east and west to reduce energy for cooling.
Large and straight pipes below the clean rooms to reduce energy for fans and pumps.
Photoluminescence signs.
Produced by Luna Technologies
Safe
Durable
Requires no electricity
(move mouse over image for effect)
Can you identify these relationships?
Environmental profile of a computer:
Source: National Research Council Staff (1999). Industrial environmental performance metrics: challenges and opportunities. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press.
Flow of materials:
Source: Hundal, M.(Ed), (2001). Mechanical life cycle handbook : good environmental design and manufacturing. New York, NY, USA: Marcel Dekker Inc.
Asset management:
Source: National Research Council Staff (1999). Industrial environmental performance metrics: challenges and opportunities. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press.
Metrics for semiconductor manufacturing:
Source: National Research Council Staff (1999). Industrial environmental performance metrics: challenges and opportunities. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press.
Product life cycle:
Source: Hundal, M.(Ed), (2001). Mechanical life cycle handbook : good environmental design and manufacturing. New York, NY, USA: Marcel Dekker Inc.
ISO 14000 is a general description for a series of standards that:
Prescribe good practice with regards to the voluntary implementation of an environmental management system (EMS).
Encourage implementation of EMS by companies to minimise damage to the environment caused by business operations.
ISO 14001 is the main standard that describes the requirements for an effective EMS.
The objective is to identify, measure, monitor and reduce all potential environmental effects from a company's activities.
May be applied to a wide range of industries, geographical areas, legal jurisdictions and social requirements.
These standards are maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Benefits of using an EMS and ISO 14001:
Identifies actual and potential risks due to environmental issues.
Indicates a concern about the environment to business partners and customers.
Reduces financial penalties from possible violations of environmental legislation.
Dangers of using ISO 14001:
Confusion about the use of ISO 14001 as a compliance tool versus a best practice tool.
Environmental issues are a subset of the larger sustainable development goals.
May require a large commitment of time, staff and money.
In the wider context of sustainable development, who is the primary beneficiary of ISO 14001?
The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (RoHS) came into force in the UK on 1 July 2006. According to the guidance provided by the UK DTI:
The RoHS Regulations implement the amended provisions of the European RoHS Directive.
The RoHS Regulations ban the putting on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) containing more than the permitted levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, exavalent chromium and both polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. There are a number of exempted applications for these substances.
Manufacturers will need to ensure that their products - and the components and subassemblies of such products - comply with the requirements of The RoHS Regulations.
European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). According to the UK DTI:
The WEEE Directive aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill.
It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.
The WEEE Directive was agreed on 13 February 2003 and the target date for implementing the UK WEEE Regulations is 1 July 2007.
Design for the environment
Technology design is critical to environmental impact:
Complete life cycle of product conception, prototyping, manufacturing, sales, consumption and end of use.
Wide range of possible input resources.
Concept of fit for purpose.
Price of products directly or indirectly reflect all of the difficulties and conflicts regarding the environment!
