Casper Boks

Theory and practice of environmental benchmarking in a major consumer electronics company

Environmental benchmarking has, since 1997, been the basis of many ecodesign‐related activities at both Delft University of Technology and Philips Consumer Electronics in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Cooperative efforts have led to a robust, reproducible and practical environmental benchmark method. The method is based on the assessment of the five focal areas: energy, material and weight, packaging, potentially toxic substances, and recyclability. The generation and prioritisation of green improvement options is done by addressing consumer and societal feasibility as well as technical and financial feasibility. Ongoing research continuously stimulates the methodology and practical implementation. This has created a tremendous awareness in the Philips Consumer Electronics organisation regarding product‐related environmental matters, because the method is embedded in an overall strategy that considers the interests of all internal and external stakeholders.

Disassembly modeling: two applications to a Philips 21" television set

Disassembly modeling is an important issue in environmentally conscious design. Two approaches to disassembly modeling are described in this paper. The first estimates disassembly times by applying work-measurement analyses to disassembly tasks. The second approach uses measurements of actual dismantling processes to predict the disassembly time of similar products. Both approaches are applied to a Philips television set. It is shown that, although substantial differences exist between both approaches, similar results can be derived from both models for the case study. The paper concludes by discussing the applicability of both models.

Combining economical and environmental considerations in cellular phone design

At Delft University of Technology a research project has been initiated to study a wide range of issues in the life cycle of cellular phones. The main focus in the first stages of this study has been on the end-of-life stage of cellular phones. Particularly the relation between several environmental and economical parameters has been investigated. Special attention has been paid to phone parts having a significant impact on the environmental performance as well as on the financial results in the end-of-life stage, such as printed wiring boards (PWBs). It is shown how scenario analyses can be used to investigate the environmental and financial consequences of technical developments for example related to PWBs.

The role of success factors and obstacles in design for environment: a survey among Asian electronics companies

Taking an exhaustive list of success factors and obstacles, mentioned in the literature in the context of both (i) dissemination of ecodesign information throughout companies, and (ii) successfully bringing ecodesigned products to the market, it was found, based upon a survey among Asian electronics multinationals, that some success factors and obstacles can be confirmed as issues alive in the industry, but some were falsified as being of relatively little importance. The general perception is that in these companies, the ecodesign process is systemized as much as possible, as it is mainly seen as a compliance rather than a creativity issue. This evidently creates a number of obstacles whenever sophistication of the process requires the need for bilateral communication and cooperation between internal stakeholders within the company.

European end-of-life systems for electrical and electronic equipment

This paper provides an overview of current end-of-life systems in three Western European countries: Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. It is described how brown and white goods are collected and processed once they have reached the end of their life-cycle. Tables with qualitative information on collection and processing scenarios are provided, as well as with quantitative data on costs involved. Furthermore, the most recent developments in European and national legislation on producer responsibility and take-back obligation are addressed. The paper concludes with an outlook on the way that product end-of-life scenarios are likely to develop in the future.

Multiple Environmental Benchmarking Data Analysis and its implications for design: a case study on packaging

For almost a decade Philips Consumer Electronics has been performing environmental benchmarking as a way of evaluating and improving the environmental performance of its products. This benchmarking is performed on product-only level and aims at five focal areas; energy, weight, packaging & transportation, potentially hazardous substances, and recyclability. It is believed that by combining the results from individual benchmark studies more general business performance conclusions may be drawn. In the past some preliminary studies have been done in this field. This paper reports on a more extensive study concerning the focal area of packaging & transportation. This analysis has yielded insights that could not have been obtained from product-level reports. It has been found that there are two distinct groups of products in the Philips CE portfolio, both asking for their own specific design and management approach. A second study is performed to determine what distinguishes these two groups. Finally, a case study on Philishave packaging was performed to verify the findings.

Ranking ecodesign priorities from quantitative uncertainty assessment for end-of-life scenarios

To support quantitative foundations for assessing priorities for ecodesign, a structured methodology is presented to analyse uncertainties from issues affecting end-of-life routes. A range of end-of-life scenarios reflecting likely developments such as in technology, economy and legislation are drawn. By translating scenarios into model parameters of a calculation module, effects from various developments can be assessed and ranked in order to gain insight in those issues that should receive priority and those that should not.

The Evolution of Design for Sustainability Courses

The goal of this paper is to point out the challenges of integrating sustainability issues in a regular industrial design curriculum, and to provide insights how this is addressed at Delft University of Technology. It also aims at stimulating the discussion on the issue of offering sustainability education separately from or integrated in regular courses. Special attention will be given to ways in which the reality of industry and business - anywhere in the world - can be (and is) brought into academic courses

A review of environmental accounting practices in the Asian electronics industry

It has been widely claimed by academia and practitioners that companies can obtain tangible economic benefits from implementing ecodesign practices. Also, understanding how to express the effects of environmentally related investments is perceived to be limited. Nevertheless, environmental accounting is becoming an increasingly important issue for measuring, managing, and interpreting environmentally related investments. This paper explores how Asian electronic companies currently do environmental accounting and discusses the perceived difficulty of calculating the economic effects of environmental activities.

EcoBenchmarking for All

In the new UNEP ecodesign manual (called D4S manual, which is soon to be released), environmental benchmarking of products is propagated as an important tool for generation and prioritization of environmental product improvement options. The new methodology called EcoBenchmarking was developed by Delft University of Technology, and extends current knowledge about environmental benchmarking to include aspects that serve the interests and opportunities of in principle all product manufacturing industries of all sizes, in all regions of the worlds, in particular developing countries