Long View of Electronic Product Sustainability

Copyright © 2014 Technology Forecasters Inc., all rights reserved
Presented by Pamela J. Gordon,
President
During a panel hosted by the IPC
and ITI, at
Critical and Emerging
Environmental Product
Requirements Seminar
Santa Clara, May 8, 2014
A Long View of Electronic-Product
Sustainability
A Long View
Three Challenges
Three Areas of Success
Where to Start

Agenda
A Long View
Three Challenges
Where to Start
2

3
Quote from Stewart Brand
A Long View
“The shocks of this Age are the shocks
of pace. Change accelerates around us
so rapidly that we are strangers to our
own pasts and even more to our
futures.
Gregory Bateson comments,
‘I think we could have handled the
industrial revolution, given 500 years.’
Stewart Brand
Founder of the
Global Business
Network,
and The WELL
In 100 years we have assuredly not
handled it…”

1984: Researched electronic components and contract mfg.
1987: Started
2001: Lean and Green: Profit for
Your Workplace and the Environment
2005: Conducted 1st TFI Design-for-Environment
Workshop, for engineers at Microsoft
2008: Wrote Consumer Electronics Assoc.
first Sustainability Report
2012: Released
2014: Recognized for linking Lean Six Sigma with
Sustainability. Benchmarked sustainability practices in
electronics hardware
4
TFI’s Long View
A Long View

5
Global Changes Driving Environmental Requirements
A Long View
1700:
Start of the Industrial Revolution
Seemingly unlimited
natural resources
Abundant Land
<1B people
Few sources of pollution
Minimal gaseous, liquid,
and solid waste
Today
Forests, fisheries, water
supplies depleted
Limited Land
>7B people
Multiple sources of
pollution
Land, sea, and air
saturated with waste

6
Global Changes Driving Environmental Requirements
A Long View
6
Land, sea and air

7
Key Strategy: “Design for Environment” (DfE)
A Long View
Designing products to
minimize their detrimental
impacts on the world:
 Minimize chemicals that
damage land, sea, and
air
 Minimize use of Earth’s
non-renewable
resources
 Maximize re-use of
materials and parts
Design for
Environment
Process
>Function
/ <Mass
Product
Longevity
Packaging
& Shipping
Substances
Energy
Efficiency
% Reuse /
Recycling

 How does your product compare with competitors
in energy efficiency (Life Cycle Assessments)?
 What is the total cost of ownership (power,
cooling, end of life?)
 Will you take my products back for
reuse/recycling?
 Where are your products made? Conditions there?
 What are your company’s CO2-reduction goals?
 Are you on a Zero-Waste path?
Compliance is a prerequisite for doing business
DfE reduces Cost of Goods Sold by 1% to >5%
Engineers and managers are attracted, retained
Customers make the best business case
Business Case for Design for Environment
A Long View
 Smaller bill of materials
 Shorter mfg. time
 Fewer obsolescent parts,
shortages
 Lighter, smaller transport
packaging
 Fewer warranty
replacements
 80% overlap with reliability

Design for Environment;
Sustainability
*Lean and Six Sigma
Green Belt Training
 Identify wastes for
projects
 Develop project plan with
metrics for quality, cost,
and delivery
 Oversee facilitators
 Understand and apply
LSS* tools and statistics
 Complete successful
process improvement
project
DfE* Training
 Reduce material
resources
 Maximize energy-efficient
with high-value ‘afterlife’
 Have suppliers reduce
environmental impacts
 Use tools to measure CO2
and monetary ROI
 Create and execute DfE
roadmap
Lean and Green Synergy
A Long View
Award-winning paper

10
Electronic Products Shift Toward DfE
A Long View
Decade OEMs’ Expectations Suppliers’ Progression
1990s
EU confers w/ OEMs re:
substance restrictions and
recycling.
Reduce factory pollution to reduce costly
reporting, transportation, & treatment.
Product focus: SMT, further miniaturization,
global manufacturing.
2000s
Green Partner: OEMs’
beyond-regulations demands.
OEMs publicize sustainability KPIs;
require suppliers to report materials.
2nd-half: Address compliance to WEEE,
RoHS, and (some) REACH.
React to other
global regs (China, S. Korea,
Brazil, etc.).
2010s Deliver Conflict-free FMD, meet CO2-
reduction &
recycling goals,
validate ethical labor practices.
Leaders want LCAs and
cost reductions through
DfE innovation.
Most reactively comply
with new regs, including
Conflict Minerals.
Leaders create DfE
competitive differentiation
usiness yielding business benefits.
Safer
Consumer
Products,
Anti-
Slavery

11
3 “Buckets” of Product Requirements
A Long View
• Safe for humans and
environment during
extraction
• Non-toxic during mfg.,
use, and end of life
• Fewer and lighter:
“Dematerialization”
• Minimal energy &
water used during
extraction and
production
• Short, efficient transit
• Highly energy efficient
during use
• Design for long-life
• Easy to upgrade,
refurbish, repurpose
• Fast disassembly into
resalable parts
• High-value end of life
encouraging recycling
Future… Future… Future…

12
TFI’s 10-year Sustainability Forecast for Tech Industry
A Long View
2015
• Tightening supply of Rare-
Earth minerals
• Increased use of
alternative materials
2017
• Co’s reclaim product for reuse
• California Safer Consumer
Products applied to electronics
• Geographic alignment between
manufacturing and sales
2019
• Dematerialization: HW ½ weight since 2000.
OEMs flee HW. Modular designs reduce
product variation.
• Renewable energy widely used and generated
• SAICM goal next year
2021:
• OEMs aims products/services at
repairing environmental health
• Consumers demand disclosure at
the level of food industry.
• Abundant use of alternative
materials
2023:
• Consumer/Corp. customers buy
according to LCAs
• Further dematerialization (1/4 weight
since 2000)
• Shortages escalate substance restrictions
2025:
• Carbon fees force further,
creative reduction of
resources for delivering
desired functionality
• Simplicity culture:
streamlined and reclaimed
materials that perform
necessary functions
Lifecycle Analysis

13
Consumers demand electronics disclosures
A Long View
Petroleum-Free packaging?No hazardous or non-recyclable
materials?
Electronics by 2021?

Agenda
A Long View
Three Challenges
Where to Start
14

15
Based on TFI Research and Clients’ Experiences
Three Challenges
Challenges Successes
“All we should
focus on is
being
minimally
compliant to
stay out of jail.”

Agenda
A Long View
Three Challenges
Where to Start
16

17
Based on TFI Research and Clients’ Experiences
“TFI identified
more than
US$35M in
cost savings
opportunities
over 5 years
through a
strategic
environmental
roadmap.”
–David Cox, Former
SVP Global
Operations, Blue
Coat Systems Inc.
Challenges Successes

Agenda
A Long View
Three Challenges
Where to Start
18

19
Free Resources
Where to Start
READ…
• Lean and
Green books
available
• Tech
Forecasters
Blog sign-up
TRAIN…
• Overview of
DfE Online
Training
• Videos on
Lean and
Green
BRAINSTORM…
• Challenge
associations
and
colleagues
to go
further
• Welcome to
discuss
roadmaps
with me

Thank you
Pamela J. Gordon
PGordon@TechForecasters.com
Oakland, California
20
Best of Success!
Where to Start
A Long View
Three Challenges
Where to Start

Long View of Electronic Product Sustainability

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