Environmental standards are evolving and gaining importance across the globe. Given the numerous environmental standards and regulations, you might wonder what regulations, in particular, apply to your product. There are two key questions about product environmental compliance to think about:
1. What are your target markets? Depending on the markets you are planning on entering, you will be required to follow the mandatory environmental regulations of the state/country. These regulations include but are not limited to the European Union WEEE, the China RoHS and the California Proposition 65. Products that fail to respect specific regulations may be subject to a recall, ultimately hurting your company’s image.
2. Is environmental compliance part of your marketing plan? As we saw previously, some regulations are an obligation. However, there are voluntary regulations that you can choose to follow. Compliance with these regulations can help position your products better and market them from an eco-friendly standpoint.
Before designing your new products, you must consider the two questions above. These will help you gain a clear understanding of your environmental compliance needs.
Referring to our earlier point, RoHS, REACH, and CA Prop. 65 are mandatory regulations that may be applicable to your products. How do you assess which regulations apply to your products specifically?
Here are summary tables, which will help you understand the implications of these regulations.
| Scope/Application | Electrical and electronic equipment are in the scope of RoHS. |
| Out-of-scope | Aerospace, military, automotive products (ELV applicable), batteries obligation and packaging requirements are out-of-scope. |
| Compliance across the world | EU RoHS is similar to many RoHS regulations worldwide (Russia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, California and etc.). Note: Taiwan and China RoHS follow different RoHS guidelines. |
| Concentration limit/restriction on hazardous substances | Heavy metals, additives in plastic and phthalates have a concentration limit of 1000 pm (100 ppm for cadmium). |
| Scope/Application | Substances in pure form, preparations & mixtures, most products and packaging are in the scope of REACH. |
| Out-of-scope | Drugs, food, petroleum, nuclear industries are out-of-scope. |
| Compliance across the world | EU REACH is applicable in Europe. Korea and Turkey follow similar REACH regulations. Canada and USA also regulate the use of toxic substances through certain acts. |
| Concentration limit/restriction on hazardous substances | Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) have a concentration limit of 0.1% (w/w). The REACH annex XVII restricts the presence of specific chemicals, depending on the application. |
| Scope/Application | 65 is applicable for Californian consumer products and for companies with 10+ employees. |
| Out-of-scope | Products that are not exposed to Californians are out-of-scope. |
| Compliance across the world | Prop. 65 is applicable to consumer products present in California. |
| Concentration limit/restriction on hazardous substances | Certain substances on the Prop. 65 list have no significant risk level or maximum allowable dose levels; toxicology reports should show the chemicals are below the limit. If chemicals from the Prop. 65 list are present, an exposure warning is required. |
After identifying the regulations in scope, you might have a few questions.
What exact regulations should your products comply with? What should you ask your supply chain? How should you assess the environment-related documents provided by your suppliers?
These questions can make you feel overwhelmed. With Enviropass Expertise, verifying the environmental compliance of your products has never been easier. You can leave this aspect of your project to our team trained by a certified environmental auditor.
We will get in touch with your supply chain, validate their environmental compliance documents and conduct risk assessments. Subcontracting your environmental projects to us can help you focus on the essence of your business.
At this point, you might consider subcontracting your environmental compliance projects. You may ask yourself: why choose Enviropass Expertise?
At Enviropass Expertise, we take pride in our work. Here are some of the reasons why we would be the best fit for your compliance projects:
At Enviropass Expertise, we use a robust documentary approach. We contact your supply chain and collect certificates of compliance provided by your suppliers. Our approach offers numerous benefits:
Coming back to our question: what do you need to get started? All you need is the bill of materials for your product! Enviropass Expertise will take care of the rest. If you are interested in a preview of our services, request your Enviropass free online consultation!
At Enviropass Expertise, we promote the design of eco-friendly and socially responsible products. We make this vision come to life through our product assessment services and our online courses. Learning the skills to assess your own products can be a valuable option to your company in the long-run. You can select from one of our three Enviropass course options to learn more about environmental compliance:
Enviropass Expertise also offers courses on specific regulations such as RoHS. Our unique and customizable courses can help you achieve your environmental compliance goals.
You may contact Enviropass for all your inquiries, we will be happy to assist you about product environmental compliance!
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