Intertek and California Host Green Electronics Symposium
04 Mar 2009
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and Intertek, the leading international provider of quality and safety services, are pleased to announce a successful “Greening of Electronics in a Global Economy” symposium which took place February 19th at the California EPA Headquarters in Sacramento. The event brought together industry, regulators, and various global enforcement agencies to demonstrate good compliance practices for regulated and restricted hazardous chemicals used in consumer electronics. It also addressed the ‘greening’ of the electronics industry, their products and supply chains, and presented the latest industry initiatives.
Brian Krzanich, Vice President and General Manager of Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Intel Corporation, provided a keynote addressing eco-technology through efficiency and innovation. He shared the approach of facilitating business growth while reducing the environmental footprint through innovation, global harmonization, and collaboration. The approach extends beyond products achieving reduced power consumption and carbon footprint, and includes environmental initiatives in all of Intel’s global manufacturing facilities.
Expanding on some of the ideas raised by Mr. Krzanich, the other speakers provided additional insight into environmental compliance and the future of “going green”. Dr. Ruud Overbeek, Global Director of Intertek Health and Environmental Services, continued the discussion with a review of Good Practices in Global Compliance. He emphasized that being an environmentally responsible company enables new business opportunities, such as a consumer marketing opportunities and increased brand value. Another key message of how to manage non-compliance risks throughout the supply chain was shared with attendees.
Other invited speakers, such as Judy Glazer, Director, Global Social and Environmental Responsibility Operations at Hewlett Packard, discussed HP’s Design for the Environment, responsible manufacturing and supply chain processes, with emphasis on efficient energy usage, and product reuse and recycling. Joe Johnson, Senior Manager, Environmental Affairs at Cisco shared, Cisco’s commitment to partnering with global organizations to obtain 25% reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2012.
Göran Gabling, Senior Technical Officer of the Swedish Chemicals Agency, provided an in-depth review on the joint Nordic initiatives on RoHS enforcement and enforcement in the EU. He also revealed the plans to enforce legislation including REACH, RoHS, and EuP. Henrik Hagen Olesen, Senior Advisor with the Danish Ministry of the Environment, discussed Denmark’s results, objectives and strategy in enforcing green legislation. He discussed three recent RoHS enforcement campaigns in Denmark that have shown 20% non-compliance in general product categories, 12% non compliance for toys, and full compliance for Christmas light chains.
Claudia Polsky, Deputy Director of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Green Technology at DTSC, said: “Events such as this green symposium allows for an open forum to discuss harmonized strategies. This will help countries, states, and businesses meet the joint objective – protecting human health and the environment.”
Joel Pekay, Global Marketing and Business Development Director of Intertek’s Health and Environmental Services, said: “Our customers and regulators gained invaluable insight into each others’ needs, objectives and strategies. This enables the industry to comply with a myriad of current and emerging legislation and continue to sell their products.”
Presentations and speaker biographies are available on the Intertek website for download at www.intertek.com/green.
Contacts
For further information, please contact
Joel Pekay
Global Marketing and Business Development Director
Telephone: +1 630.481.3126
E-Mail: joel.pekay@intertek.com
green@intertek.com
www.intertek.com/green
About Intertek Health & Environmental Services (www.intertek.com/green)
Intertek Health & Environmental Services offers the complete solution for health and environmental compliance for global, regional or local compliance, providing sound traceability systems and strict enforcement of due diligence policies. Intertek does more than simply help our clients comply, we give them the competitive advantage they desire. Our services offers comprehensive services for RoHS, Restricted substances, CPSIA, REACH, California Proposition 65, Carbon Management, and Greenhouse Gas reduction, including on-call consulting, product testing and analysis, legal representation, certification and corporate education appropriate for all types and levels of business. Intertek Health & Environmental Services is a leader in global environmental compliance, technology services and product stewardship
About Intertek (www.intertek.com)
Intertek (ITRK.L) is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 23,000 people in 110 countries around the world.