The early bird
August 1st 2006 The Government's Energy Review, released in July , should prompt businesses to consider the full environmental impact of their operations, argues Envirowise's programme director, Dr Martin Gibson
Taking voluntary action to assess and reduce waste throughout the entire lifecycle of a product could help manufacturers meet future energy challenges.
This should include recognising how everything from the energy used to extract raw materials from the ground at the outset, to the resources involved in a product's design, manufacture and eventual disposal, all contribute to an 'embedded environmental footprint.'
And with compulsory standards relating to the design of energy using products on the horizon, taking early action to innovate in the field of product design could help companies identify long-term cost savings - as well as forge stronger alliances with suppliers and major clients.
A willingness to innovate in the field of 'cleaner' design will become a real business benefit for manufacturers and retailers, particularly in view of forthcoming legislation.
For example,The EU's Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive, will seek to improve the environmental performance of products throughout their entire life-cycle,by ensuring that resource efficient measures are built in at the earliest stages of design.
The legislation is likely to affect all energy-using product types that sell more than 200 000 units a year, in a range of categories including lighting, office equipment, consumer electronics and domestic appliances.
Therefore, suppliers to major electrical manufacturers could have much to gain from quickly addressing potential changes in product specifications.
Envirowise offers free guidance to businesses to help equip them with the knowledge needed to grasp the commercial opportunities associated with cleaner design.
For example, recent research from Envirowise has shown that a new generation of environmentally-savvy consumers are also now putting environmental concerns high on their priority list.
The 'Luxury to Landfill' research found that more than a third of those polled would favour an electronic or electrical product which has been designed with either a low environmental impact (34.4%), or minimal packaging (35%), or recyclability (31.6%) in mind.
Clearly, investing in sustainable product design isn't solely about compliance, it's about maintaining a competitive edge in a fast-moving market.
We recommend that producers of energy using products and components consider the following:
Visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/cleanerdesign to access advice and tools for assessing your product design.You may be eligible for a free, confidential DesignTrack visit from a specialist adviser, who will help you develop a targeted action plan.
Talk to customers and suppliers now and find out how they plan to address their environmental impact. Is there an opportunity to work together to identify mutually beneficial solutions?
Consider how an Environmental Management System could help you implement a practical framework for achieving best practice.Visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/ems for more details.
Larger companies with numerous suppliers may consider working with Envirowise to establish a Partnership Programme, allowing them to work towards cleaner design and compliance throughout their supply chain.
Envirowise has also published a number of good practice guides - available free at www.envirowise.gov.uk which can help manufacturers across a range of industry sectors work towards cleaner design.
A useful resource is GG427: Sustainable Design of Electrical and Electronic Products to Control Costs and Comply with Legislation which summarises business opportunities and explains how to manage sustainable product design within companies and across supply chains.
In addition,GG296:Cleaner Product Design: a Practical Approach, also provides an introduction to principles of design for disassembly and redesign.This includes a dismantling exercise using standard energy-using items such as a kettle or iron.
For more information on cleaner design, businesses can visit www.envirowise.gov.uk or call the helpline number listed below.
"For example,The EU's Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive,will seek to improve the environmental performance of products throughout their entire life-cycle, by ensuring that resource efficient measures are built in at the earliest stages of design." More articles from Water Technology List: | 
