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ICCM Weekly - August 24th, 2004
Environmental CRM: Toward a Corporate
"Recycling Mindset" for Retired Assets
By: Rani Averick
The piles of old PCs taking up precious space in company
storage rooms are occupying prominent slots on legislative
agendas as well. Out-of-use electronics such as PCs,
monitors, and telecommunications equipment pose an environmental
hazard due to their toxic components, and regulations
are on the rise to keep them out of landfills and out
of the municipal waste stream.
As old equipment accumulates, IT managers face a growing
need to adopt best end-of-life practices to protect
their companies from environmental liabilities, and
to avoid negative publicity. Recycling is an increasingly
important component of end-of-life asset management.
End of Lifecycle Issues: Poison, Politics, Penalties
& Privacy
End-of-life management decisions should take into account
various concerns related to electronic waste. Environmental,
political, legislative, and data privacy issues are
among the factors that shape best practices.
Environmental and health hazards
Hundreds of millions of pieces of electronic equipment
will reach the end of their useful life over the next
five years. Equipment that is land filled, crushed,
broken, shredded or incinerated can potentially release
toxins and carcinogens into the environment. For example,
an estimated 40% of lead in landfills comes from leaded
glass of CRT monitors, lead soldering on circuit boards,
and other discarded electronics. Among other toxins
are mercury in flat panel monitors, printed circuit
boards, mobile phones, batteries, relays, and switches;
cadmium in semiconductors, chip resistors, and infrared
detectors; and brominated flame retardants in circuit
boards and plastics.
Exporting the problem
Political and legal controversy has arisen over the
fifty to eighty percent of electronics collected for
'recycling' that are exported to Asia, where there are
limited resources to ensure proper handling consistent
with environmental protection and worker safety. This
controversy is highlighted in a revealing documentary
'Exporting Harm,' produced by the Basel Action Network
and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and is the
ongoing focus of political and environmental activist
organizations.
Legal liability
In the US, hazardous waste laws specify that an organization
that generates more than 100 kilograms a month (approximately
220 pounds) of hazardous waste must dispose of it in
a legally approved manner. And, in some cases, an organization
may be held liable for an indefinite period if it generates
hazardous waste that is subsequently mishandled by a
contractor.
New and pending legislation aims specifically at electronic
waste. The EU has already passed key e-waste measures,
and, according to the Gartner Group, 24 new laws are
currently under consideration by various US cities and
states. The clearly emergent trend is toward an increase
in regulations to protect against toxic e-waste, and
to prevent its export to Asia.
Data security and privacy
Security of corporate data and compliance with financial
and medical privacy laws - such as such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA)- have become key issues for
end-of-life asset management. Old PCs that are resold
or improperly discarded could have recoverable data
on their hard drives, and potential unauthorized data
disclosure and legal violations could result.
Storage costs
Many companies pay the cost of doing nothing by continuing
to store out of use equipment. Tying up valuable office
and warehouse space in this way is an expensive proposition
in terms of rent and real estate taxes.
Risk Mitigation and 'Green' Public Relations
It is important not to underestimate the potential
costs of mishandling electronic waste, such as penalties,
lawsuits, and negative publicity. According to the Gartner
Group's Frances O?Brien, "Many enterprises have paid
a high price in costs, regulatory fines, bad publicity
and even litigation, when their PCs turned up in landfills
or third-world countries, or when confidential data
was recovered from hard drives that had not been properly
sanitized."
As important are the benefits of risk mitigation and
goodwill generated among customers and employees when
end-of-lifecycle assets are handled in a 'green,' environmentally
responsible manner. Green-minded decision-making aligned
with overall corporate needs and objectives is good
business.
Recycling as a Best Practice
In the recycling process, out of use electronic equipment
is demanufactured (taken apart), and its base metals,
plastics, and chemical components become reusable materials
for smelters, refiners, and chemical companies. Instead
of entering the waste stream or contaminating the environment,
the equipment becomes feedstock for manufacturing new
products.
Electronics recycling is an emerging industry; both
its physical and legal infrastructure are in the process
of being built. The basic business model, however, is
straightforward. The recycler?s freight, storage and
labor costs are measured against the value of the base
components that they process, and clients are charged
accordingly. True electronics recycling does not usually
come free and the expense should be factored into total
cost of ownership.
Your goal in adopting recycling for end of life assets
is to be released from all liability. Be sure to estabWhen
selecting a recycler, do thorough due diligence by verifying
that the vendor:lish internal practices that support
that goal. Securely wipe the hard drives of PCs destined
for retirement. Designate an area to temporarily store
and track end of life equipment. Establish an audit
trail for each piece of equipment that you send out
for recycling, and get a Certificate of Recycling from
your vendor for all of your equipment that they process.
When selecting a recycler, do thorough due diligence
by verifying that the vendor:
- Works within an ISO 14001 Certified Environmental
Management System
- Uses refiners, smelters, and other business partners
who work within environmental guidelines
- Can give excellent client references
- Uses clean demanufacturing methods that do not
release toxins into the work environment
- Does not allow parts or equipment to be land filled
or exported to Asia
- Provides a Certificate of Recycling for all items
processed
- Has regular audits of their facility by a third
party
The expense of electronics recycling must be measured
against the potential costs of penalties, litigation,
negative publicity, or data security breaches resulting
from improper e-waste disposal. An environmentally sound
end-of-life strategy will pay off in risk mitigation
and company goodwill, not to mention the positive impact
on our global environment.
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