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NETWRK
for Electronic Product Design
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CfSD Conferences and Networks page | NEPD Homepage | Online conference

Workshop 2: Environmental issues in the electronics industry


Dr Jonathan Williams, Group For Environmental Manufacturing
Martin Houghton, The Planning Exchange

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Group discussions focussed on three key areas:

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Examples were drawn primarily from computer and photocopier manufacture, with discussions covering issues such as initial design, marketing strategies, consumer behaviour and the provision of life-long maintenance support. The ability and desirability of re-manufacture were raised, together with some arguments for and against it. It appeared, for instance, that some refilling of toner cartridges is undertaken by specialist contractors but that original equipment manufacturers have yet to be convinced of its merit.


The conclusions reached were:

Designers need to be suitably educated if they are fully to incorporate environmental effects into their designs. It was difficult, in the absence of marketing personnel, to draw conclusions on how to maximise environmental considerations when marketing electronic products. It seemed likely that positive environmental features could only provide commercial advantage on the basis of all other features being equal; product design and marketing are controlled by economic drivers, with environmental considerations ranking only as second and third tier issues.

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NEPD Homepage

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