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| A consideration of corporate activities in environmental protection may bring to mind energy conservation and reduction of trash or waste in factories and offices. Yet in manufacturing it is also necessary to make the products themselves environment-friendly. With consumer environmental awareness at an all-time high, one of the most important challenges facing businesses today lies in the provision of environmentally safe and friendly products. |
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In this context, manufacturers and other companies have recently been focusing on what is termed "green procurement. " Green procurement refers to preferential procurement of environment-friendly materials, parts, and other supplies required in business activities. With an eye on electrical and electronics equipment in particular, in July 2006 the EU will enforce the RoHS Directive to restrict the use of hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. To cope with these new regulations, companies need to understand and manage information on the chemicals contained in the materials and parts in their products as well as green procurement. Some environmentally conscious manufacturers have already made requests to suppliers to evaluate raw materials and parts for the presence of certain chemicals, and these activities are now spreading rapidly. |
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Mr. Atsushi Tajima of the JGPSSI commented on this trend as follows: |
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| "In the past, each company had its own chemical survey list and its own survey response format, and suppliers had to spend a considerable amount of time and labor conducting these examinations. This complicated the process of obtaining information on chemicals. So, in order to reduce the examination workload and to facilitate improved responses, we have been working to standardize chemical survey lists and survey response formats. " |
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| JGPSSI members include various companies and organizations-parts and material manufacturers as well as end-product manufacturers-that make up the supply chains in the electrical and electronics industries. Since its establishment in 2001, the JGPSSI has been conducting research on more effective survey lists and survey response formats. In July 2003, the JGPSSI released into operation its "Guidelines for Standardization of Material Declaration, " which specifies a set of survey response formats and a survey list of 29 chemicals ". |
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| "In addition to the six substances designated by the RoHS Directive, " explains Mr. Tajima, "our chemical survey list includes a number of substance categories: those that are banned, limited, or reportable domestically or internationally; other environmentally harmful substances that are not designated legally; and substances that are recyclable as valuable resources such as gold, silver, and copper. The total of 29 substances essentially form a complete list of the chemicals used in electrical and electronics equipment that have an effect on the environment. " |
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| The activities of the JGPSSI are receiving worldwide attention. In collaboration with industry groups in the US and the EU, the JGPSSI is now promoting international standardization of survey lists and survey response formats. |
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| "In the near future, when this process of standardization is complete, " comments Mr. Tajima, "you will be able to check for chemicals and conduct green procurement easily on a global scale. " |
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The Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronics equipment (RoHS) directive was issued by the EU to minimize environmental harm and health hazards by restricting the use of specific toxic chemicals traditionally contained in electrical and electronics equipment. The directive bans the use of six substances: mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). Starting in July 2006, sale of electrical or electronics equipment containing any of these substances will be prohibited in the EU market. |
The Japan Green Procurement Survey Standardization Initiative (JGPSSI) was founded in January 2001 with the aims of reducing the workload in green procurement verification and improving the quality of responses. At first, the association was run by various electrical and electronics manufacturers on a voluntary basis. However, to prepare for full-scale activities, in April 2002 the group established a secretariat within the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). Members as of August 2004 include 78 companies and four industry groups. |
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