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Reverse Logistics Association Sustainability and Environmental Management Committee
by Jade Lee
Reverse Logistics Magazine, Edition 14
Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship has become an issue that is generating substantial attention around the world. The significance of its impact was succinctly captured by Mr. Paul Laudicina, Chairman of the Board of the world renowned consulting firm A.T. Kearney: "This is an absolute shift in the paradigm for doing business today and in the future. We have not seen a shift in the norms of business as pronounced as this since the dawn of the information age."
Definitely, corporations, businesses and governmental institutions are all forced to behave differently in today's world. CEOs are now measuring their business success by encompassing their companies' sustainability footprint and environmental performance. On the other hand, more and more consumers and business entities are demanding evidence of sustainable business practices when they choose prospective business partners. In other words, sound environmental stewardship will translate to solid business practices that contribute to company's bottom line as well as the long-term business growth. The Green Electronics Council has reported that sales of EPEAT-registered products worldwide in 2007 totaled more than 109 million units. The market share has grown to 22% compared to 10% in 2006.
In addition, U.S. EPA is drafting a mandatory greenhouse gas reporting plan for emissions above certain thresholds for all sectors of the economy in line with a mandate from Congress. This development further demonstrates that sustainable environmental management is not only something nice to have, it is one key area that businesses must have nowadays.
When addressing sustainability and carbon footprints, the focal points are usually centered around product design, manufacturing and energy saving in the forward supply chain arena. This is evidenced in the majority of the environmental criteria (23 mandatory, 28 optional criteria) of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) developed by the Green Electronics Council partners including environmental organizations, government agencies, manufacturers and other interested stakeholders. However, EPEAT also begins to address the end of product life management issues. Although simple at the present time, it nevertheless includes the "Take-Back and Recycling Service" as a mandatory criteria and "Auditing of recycling vendors" as an optional criteria.
In fact, Reverse Logistics begins to play an increasingly key role in contributing to the sustainability footprint. It has gained attention at the CEO level as a cornerstone to reposition the company in the marketplace.
It is also utilized by the Sales and Marketing executives as an effective competitive tool. Several leading technology companies such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard differentiate themselves from peers by offering end-of-life electronics recycling services. Manny large corporations as well as government agencies now only buy from companies that have solid programs for managing end-of-life equipment.
Yet, being sustainable and environmentally responsible at the Reverse Supply Chain arena is a complex issue. In the international and domestic marketplaces, laws and regulations have been implemented to regulate how manufacturers, collectors, recyclers, refurbishers and material processors should behave in an environmentally responsible manner. The WEEE in Europe and the 16 State E-waste laws passed in the United States have sent strong messages that this issue is a serious one that can not be ignored. U.S. EPA, working with a small group of stakeholders, which the author is one of the group members, from Federal and State agencies, OEMs, recyclers, industry associations and NGOs, is also in the process of finalizing a Best Management Practices Standards (titled Responsible Recycling, R2) for the Electronics Recycling industry. The R2 standards demand stringent EHS management systems, responsible management of focus materials (CRT glass, circuit board, battery, and mercury containing items), downstream due diligence, export control management, data security management and facility security among recyclers, refurbishers/remarketers and processors.
The Reverse Logistics Association's Sustainability and Environmental Management Committee (SEMC) was created to address these two crucial issues facing today's business environment. It is intended to provide a platform for OEMs, corporations, recycling service providers, repair/refurbish service providers and remarketers to collaborate, exchange information and strive to identify and develop effective approaches, frameworks and guidelines to achieve the highest sustainable and environmental accomplishments possible and ultimately lead to the enhancement of company's bottom line.
The target focus areas of the committee are:
- To define the true meaning of Sustainability and Environmental Management Control applicable in the reverse logistic arena
- To explore the areas where reverse logistics (repair, refurbish, recycling, remarketing, etc.) can contribute to the sustainability
- To establish criteria that the contributions could be measured
- To gain in-depth understanding of environmental laws and regulations applicable to the reverse logistics arena
- To gain in-depth understanding of the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for sustainability and environmental management
- To collaborate with other RLA committees, such as the Standard Committee to formalize documents developed by SEMC
For more information about the RLA Sustainability and Environmental Management Committee, please contact Jade Lee at jadelee@supply-chainservices.com.
Jade Lee is the President of Supply-Chain Services, Inc. (SSI), a leader in Electronics Recycling and Reverse Logistics Services.
Under Jade's leadership, SSI has transformed from a single electronics recycling service provider to a corporate customer's value chain partner capable of delivering integrated solutions in the entire Reverse Supply Chain arena. SSI's services include Reverse Logistics Planning, RMA Management, Product Return Management, Refurbish, Parts Harvest, Re-Kitting, Redeployment, Remarketing, Design for Environment (DfE), Consulting and Electronics Recycling. Jade Lee is chair of the Sustainability and Environmental Management Committee. For more information on the committee, please contact Jade at jadelee@supply-chainservices.com
