Unraveling the environmental product design paradox

• Published in: Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. ISEE-1997 pp. 13 - 18
• Main Authors: Matthews, H.S., Chambers, G.C.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1997
• Subjects: Companies; Electronic equipment manufacture; Environmental management; Health and safety; Product design; Product safety; Pulp manufacturing; Space technology; Supply chains; Waste management
• ISBN: 0780338081; 9780780338081
• DOI: 10.1109/ISEE.1997.605203

As global mandates on end-of-life product disposition finally go in to effect, companies must begin to define appropriate end-of-life strategies. Business decision makers need to be more aware of the opportunities, issues, and liabilities which will face the company in the near future, and be able to sufficiently address them. Environmental Product Design (EPD) suggests considering the life cycle environmental, health, and safety impacts of a product early in development. EPD increases the end-of-life value of products, but seems to decrease the benefit to the company. This paradox serves as the launching point for a study in how to find benefits from EPD. This paper presents a case study for Quantum, a manufacturer of electronic commodities and defines the frameworks for analyzing product disposition alternatives. Alternatives studied include contractual agreements, total destruction, total disassembly, and reuse. One of the primary sources of data used is a composition analysis from an external recycler. The analysis shows the optimal strategies for each disposition option. Further illustrations show the implementation of a management information system to link disposition with design.