Get ready for cleaner design

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, according to 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.” Envirowise recommends 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. Call Envirowise on 0800 585 794 to find out more. 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.” A number of good practice guides are available free at www.envirowise.gov.uk/cleanerdesign which can help manufacturers across a range of industry sectors work towards cleaner design. For further information call the Envirowise Helpline on 0800 585 794 or visit www.envirowise.gov.uk.