California Holds Green Electronics Symposium
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and Intertek, the leading international provider of quality and safety services, will hold a symposium between industry, regulators, and enforcement agencies to demonstrate best health and environmental compliance practices regarding regulated hazardous materials in consumer electronics and the "greening" of products and supply chains into the future.
The symposium, entitled "The Greening of Electronics in a Global Economy," will be held on Feb. 19, at the California Environmental Protection Agency's headquarters in Sacramento. It will address the need and opportunities for reducing hazardous substances in consumer electronics, current U.S. and international best practices in health and environmental compliance practices, measures open to electronics manufacturers for ensuring compliance, and global prospects and trends in greener electronics supply chains and new regulation.
California is one of the leading international jurisdictions in the regulation and enforcement of harmful substances in consumer electronic products. A number of international jurisdictions and governments have hazardous substances laws in place, including the EU, China, Japan, Canada and Australia, and delegates from agencies in these countries are invited to the forum.
As regulatory terms and enforcement in each jurisdiction varies, the symposium will allow industry and regulators to discuss together the challenges in ensuring compliance with varying laws and standards across global manufacturing and supply-chains. California is the first U.S. state to actively promote legislation in this area and the symposium, is the first of its kind in North America.
The symposium will also be attended by some of the world's leading electrical manufacturers. Brian Krzanich, vice president and general manager of Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Intel Corp., will deliver the symposium's key note speech. Speakers include Judy Glazer, director of Global Operations Social and Environmental Responsibility at Hewlett Packard, Tim McGrady, environmental manager at LG Electronics, Henrick Hagen Olesen of the Danish EPA, Göran Gabling of KEMI -- the Swedish Chemicals Agency, and a speaker from the China MII.
Claudia Polsky, deputy director of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Green Technology at DTSC, said: "Integral to California's Green Chemistry Initiative is the identification of product manufacturers that have robust environmental compliances systems, and those that are going beyond compliance to find ways to eliminate harmful, as-yet-unregulated chemicals in their products. This symposium will be an opportunity to share best practices with some of the leading electrical manufacturers in the world, and to identify opportunities for global cooperation among government agencies with responsibility over toxics in electronics."