Legislative update on WEEE, RoHS2, REACH, etc

Event Date: 10 Jul 2009

Electronics Yorkshire event, supported by Electronics KTN 



Agenda:
REACH - brief overview and what it means
Reach is one of the significant pieces of environmental regulation ever spawned by the EU. It extends the concept of producer responsibility from whole product to chemical feedstocks; it has significant impacts upon importers and manufacturers of chemicals. But of potentially greater significance are the downstream impacts of the regulations: some commentators estimate that up to 50 percent of all chemicals will fall out of use due to the regulations.
Have you checked your supply-chain to see if registration is in place for the chemical upon which you rely?
Also: Industry has faced a significant challenge in gathering the obligatory information and safe use data. Many suppliers have refused to reply to the hundreds of ad-hoc requests they are receiving, preferring to use links to websites or central databases, which may or may not happen and, if they do, will simply not be populated quickly enough. With the next batch of SVHCs expected early 2010, industry needs to pick up the pace.

Batteries - outcome from the BERR consultation; Battery compliance schemes
Hot on the heels of WEEE comes more of the same . . . but for batteries and accumulators. If you import, manufacture or sell batteries you will have some kind of obligation under these regulations. Furthermore the regulations will see the phase-out of some types of battery. This presentation will outline the regulations, their implications and what you need to do to comply.

WEEE - outcome of recent EC consultation
WEEE has recently been reviewed: there are a number of important changes and clarifications; furthermore, there are many other countries that now have their own version of this legislation. This presentation will review the recent EU consultation, outline the changes and recommendations and interpret what they will mean to you. It will also recap the state of play in other countries.

‘RoHS2’ - brief overview and what it means
The ‘RoHS2’ proposals may have a sting in the tail! While the two new product categories 8 & 9 were widely expected to fall within scope and there are some potential new substance restrictions in the pipeline, the proposed CE mark regime could well add resource and cost implications for industry. As a separate study, all the current exemptions have been reviewed. This simple-to-follow summary will pick out the key features of the ‘RoHS2’ proposals.

EuP - Implementation of numerous measures
The Eco-design of EuP (Energy-using Products) Directive requires the effective environmental impact-design of products that use energy. Manufacturers/importers need to meet the requirements of the regulations as published in each Implementing Measure. In essence you need to ensure that you understand the greatest environmental impact of the product across its life-cycle and meet key performance requirements. This presentation outlines the regulations and details what you need to do to comply.

Resource Efficiency Yorkshire - WEEE/Electronics Sector Development Programme
Electronics Yorkshire has begun work on a project with Resource Efficiency Yorkshire (REY) to provide the electronics sector with the ability to increase efficiency and profitability while reducing environmental and social impacts. This presentation will introduce REY and provide an overview of the programme.

Energy management - towards carbon footprint reduction
The carbon footprinting of process and manufacturing facilities is increasingly important in the light of the impending legislation on Carbon Reduction Commitment. This presentation outlines the benefits of energy management and carbon footprinting, the requirements of CRC, the principles of carbon-footprinting and the standard approaches to carbon footprinting such as PAS2050, and the benefits of widening the scope of carbon-footprinting to look at products.

Design Efficiency: Delivered with humour and aplomb
Design is central to reducing environment impact, increasing production efficiency and making better products. More time and energy spent at the design stage can yield significant cost and environmental savings as well as easing legal compliance. This presentation outlines the key drivers for efficient design, gives five strategies to improve design and gives costed examples of efficient design.

Presentations