eWaste: Establishing an Environmental Program

In the past several posts of this eWaste series, we’ve looked at electronics recycling and end of life (EOL) management from the EMS company’s and recycler’s perspectives. Today, we’ll look at the idea from one OEM’s viewpoint, and follow this networking and security vendor's internal and external initiatives to construct and implement an environmental program. David Cox, senior VP of Blue Coat Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BCSI), describes how the BluePlanet program started, their method for laying out an environmental roadmap, and other steps that any company can take to shape their reduce/reuse/recycle program for sustainability and profitability.

The BluePlanet environmental program, designed in partnership with consultants from TFI (see Pam Gordon’s Do’s and Don’ts in the first eWaste post), operates on a company-wide level, interconnected between different departments. For example, the company implemented a take-back program when customers upgraded to new models, recycling the legacy products into their spare parts program. This required coordination between account managers in the field, channel partners, the rework and repair team, and shipping, as well as a marketing push to get the word out to customers. A simple “swap mentality” didn’t yield many returns, and since upgrades occur on the customer’s schedule, not coordinated across the customer base, distribution was highly fragmented. Logistics were difficult at first, Cox admits, but incentives for success included reduced cost of replacement/refurbished units for customers, reduced excesses in component build, and satisfying the many green info requests that come through in a request for quote (RFQ). “This program pushed us to really study our installed base, and there are additional benefits reaped from that,” Cox adds.

As much as the environmental program is global in scale and a company-wide project, it also is reliant on the individual employee. Blue Coat created an E-Heroes program, wherein employees submit ideas for how Blue Coat can become more green. This includes anything from designing products for ease of rework (reducing scrap and waste), considering the impact of raw materials used, designing for the environment (DfE) in new product introductions (NPIs), carbon footprint in travel and shipping, and more — even the kind of ink used on packaging. Since the company’s products enable increased application response times in consolidated server environments, it was only natural to execute a server consolidation internally, going from 85 servers to 3 and conserving energy as a result. Cox said these internal suggestions led to a solid program from the start, with a comprehensive approach and clear goal. As with the take-back program, secondary benefits like boosted employee morale and a recruitment edge were realized.

Blue Coat, like many EMS providers we interviewed for previous posts, chose to partner with a dedicated recycler for some of its EOL needs. “We found that 98% of some products were recyclable or recoverable,” Cox notes. Blue Coat’s hardware, manufacturing, and process engineers took a workshop on design for recyclability (DfR), which can boost this materials reuse even higher in the next product generation. Cox suggests performing due diligence on a potential recycling partner and looking for specs like a global footprint, commitment to correct practices, and satisfied clients. Read more about choosing a recycling program in the eWaste post, “Which Electronics Recycling Model Fits Your Business?”

Blue Coat is over the first few hurdles in establishing an environmental program. The company is now at a point where it can see and understand all of the future opportunities available, and can leverage the steps it's already taken. With the unifying and company-building power of the BluePlanet implementation, Cox now looks forward to determining longer-term goals for the company’s environmental strategy.

Meredith Courtemanche, executive editor

eWaste: Turning the EOL Burden into Profitable Revenue Streams

What does a garden pot have to do with your electronics assembly operations? In fact, you may have manufactured it, or parts of it. This pot, created by TerraCycle Inc., is a composite of 100% electronics waste (e-waste) like circuit boards and computer parts. Directives like RoHS and WEEE were implemented with the idea that less-toxic electronics would be more easily recycled into the consumer and industrial cultures. Recyclable electronics are the focus of many new product introductions (NPIs), primarily in the consumer electronics segment.

In several upcoming segments, I’ll explore the OEM demand for end of life (EOL) management, how suppliers are meeting this demand, what the “reverse supply chain” looks like, pitfalls of bad recycling strategies, and different electronics recycling business models, with the help of top EMS providers like Elcoteq and Celestica, electronics recyclers like Li Tong, and others involved in this growing industry. Let’s start with top 10 do’s and don’ts of electronics recycling, provided by Pamela J. Gordon, president, Technology Forecasters Inc. and TFI Environment. Pam contributes regularly to TFI’s blog, which often has an environment-conscious take on electronics manufacturing. Here are her Do’s and Don’ts for electronics recycling.

EOL Do
1. Before you even think about recycling, design solutions for your customers with minimal hardware — substantially (e.g., 50%+ by weight) or even completely (e.g., software on existing hardware platforms) reduce hardware. After all, your customers are buying “hardware,” they’re buying a means to meet their needs. (The EMS providers interviewed for this series on eWaste agree — the first step in EOL management is designing for it.)

2. “Postpone recycling” by designing products and your business model for reuse. Your products can live useful lives again and again with upgrades (especially via net-based software) and efficient refurbishing. Consider a leasing model.

3. Collect products that your customers are no longer using, and mine them for hard-to-find and/or valuable parts for refurbished units. Reap hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars savings. (Look for more on this Do in our recycling models segment.)

4. Design your products also for high-value recycling. Train engineers in design-for-environment (DfE) principles, including easy-to-disassemble modules for reuse and materials that are worth something.

5. Minimize the cost and environmental burden of product collection; design “reverse logistics” according to minimal distance traveled and lowest carbon emissions.

EOL Don’t
1. Don’t assume that the photos you’ve seen of unsafe “casual” recycling in under-regulated regions are exaggerated; this practice really is as bad for human and environmental health as it looks.

2. Don’t use a recycler that does not offer proof of where and how your products were recycled; the product has your name on it and publicity is given to brands whose companies irresponsibly recycle products. (Those interviewed all agree — no matter who is at fault, when photos show up of dumped electronics, only your brand is visible.)

3. Don’t wait until the end of your product’s design/manufacturing cycle before creating a reverse-logistics and recycling plan; design products for high-value recycling. (This is where the expertise of EMS providers can really make a difference, as they have done this before.)

4. Don’t think that no one wants products at the end of their first use; second- and third-hand sales are multimillion-dollar businesses for someone; it may as well be for your company than a broker.

5. Don’t choose a recycler that outsources the recycling to some unknown-to-you entity. See the first “don’t” above.

In coming weeks, you’ll see more interviews, with information on allocating resources to provide recycling as a service, how to promote this service with clients, how to select a recycling partner or run the program in-house, and the impact of EOL management.

Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor