Businesses must reduce environmental footprint
An
Envirowise product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 28, 2006
Businesses are being urged to consider the full environmental impact of their operations, following the July release of the Government's Energy Review.
Businesses are being urged to consider the full environmental impact of their operations, following the July release of the Government's Energy Review.
Envirowise - which offers companies free advice on resource efficiency - says voluntary action now to assess and reduce waste throughout the entire lifecycle of a product could help businesses meet future energy challenges.
This includes 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 could help companies identify long-term cost savings - as well as forge stronger alliances with suppliers and major clients", says Envirowise Programme Director, Dr Martin Gibson.
"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".
"The EU's Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive, for instance, seeks to improve the environmental performance of products throughout their entire life-cycle by making sure resource efficient measures are built in at design stage".
"This 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 the UK's biggest electrical manufacturers could have much to gain from quickly addressing potential changes in product specifications".
Dr Gibson continues: "We look forward to working closely with businesses to ensure they have the knowledge and capacity to grasp the commercial opportunities associated with cleaner design".
"For example, our recent Luxury to Landfill survey demonstrated that around a third of consumers questioned would favour an electrical or electronic product designed with either low environmental impact (34.4%), minimal packaging (35%) or recyclability (31.6%) in mind".
"So this isn't solely about compliance - it's about maintaining a competitive edge in a fast moving market, to ensure future success".
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