Going Green

Globally, manufacturers are increasing efforts to ensure that their
products are less toxic, more energy efficient and environment-friendly. But in
India, the lack of awareness about the issue and low demand for green products
has drawn little or no response from channel partners

An increase in the amount of e-waste generated across the globe today,
paralleled with an increased awareness about the impact it has on the
environment, has prompted many manufacturers to redesign their processes so that
products that come out of their stable are more environment-friendly.

Helping them to do this is also the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous
Substances (RoHS) Directive, which means 'the restriction of the use of certain
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment'. This directive
bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment
containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent
chromium, poly­brominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
flame retardants.

The RoHS directive and the UK RoHS regulations came into force on July 1,
2006. The directive is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC, which sets collection, recycling and
recovery targets for electrical goods.

Since each EU member state will adopt its own enforcement and implementation
policies using the directive as a guide, there could be as many different
versions of the directive as there are states in the EU.

International scene

Apple Computers recently came under a lot of criticism for not conforming to
environmentally friendly processes. This is why the company decided to state its
green policies on its popular website as well as trade media. It talked about
the phasing out of CRT monitors in 2006, to eliminate lead, which is present in
these products.

A company statement said, “To eliminate mercury in our displays, we need to
transition from fluorescent lamps to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate
the displays. Fortunately, all iPod displays already use LEDs for illumination,
and therefore contain no mercury. We plan to introduce our first Macs with LED
backlight technology in 2007. Our ability to completely eliminate fluorescent
lamps in all of our displays depends on how fast the LCD industry can transition
to LED backlighting for larger displays.”

Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of arsenic in all of its displays
by the end of 2008. It is also targeting to completely eliminate the use of
polyvinyl chloride or PVC and brominated flame retardants or BFRs in its
products by the end of 2008. These moves obviously endeared it to the global
green brigade. IBM is another IT MNC, which has made it a policy to talk about
its pro-environment products and processes.

IBM, which is one of the largest operator of datacenters worldwide, announced
that it will be putting $1 billion a year into a scheme, which aims to see
computing capacity double without an increase in power consumption. Elements of
the program include new cooling systems, software, and

3D-modelling and thermal-engineering techniques to manage air flow more
efficiently.

Vendors such as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Cisco, Dell, EMC,
Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Sun Microsystems are also investing significant
resources in green initiatives such as energy-efficient servers, datacenter
power and cooling solutions, cleaner manufacturing and device recycling
programs.

"The channel community in India is not fully aware of RoHS compliance. Also, since the Indian government has not put in norms for  compliance, the channel is not keen on the need to comply"
Pradeep Biyani Suntronic Systems, Kolkata

Forrester Research released a report 'Tapping Buyers' Growing Interest In
Green IT,' that said that 85 percent of respondents from the US and 93 percent
of those from Europe said that environmental concerns are 'important' in
planning IT operations. However, just 15 percent of respondents said that they
have a high level of awareness of vendors' green initiatives.

“We heard two reasons why green matters: Efficiency and corporate
responsibility. Most IT decision-makers told us that a green purchase would only
happen in the context of cost reduction. These are hard-headed, RoI-driven
business decisions,” said Christopher Mines, Senior VP, Forrester Research and
the author of the report, in a statement. Mines pridicted that there will be
more marketing from vendors about their green IT products as well as more
scrutiny by environmental organizations and more discussion overall.

That the vendors will get into a marketing overdrive about their plans to go
green is not surprising, especially if enterprise customers start becoming picky
about buying only RoHS compliant machines. But are vendors doing enough to
ensure that their customers are aware of their environmentally correct stance?

Often, the public relations offices of vendor companies too get caught in the
trap of trying to differentiate between going green and saving green and making
this difference clear to their customers. Saying that your products go easy on
the environment can put you on the moral high ground. But to translate this into
business, vendors have to highlight how these green products will offer tangible
benefits to their customers.

Where India stands

Among the many companies operating in India that have chosen to become
environment-friendly is Gigabyte Technology India, which now provides 'green
computing solutions' to its partners. The company has ensured that its
motherboards comply with the RoHS directive.

Currently Gigabyte is providing GA-945GZM-S2,GA-VM800PMC, GA-8I865GME-775-RH
on Intel Platform and GA-M61VME-S2, GA-M61PM-S2, GA-MA69AVM-S2 for AMD solution,
which are RoHS compliant motherboards. From components and material selection to
production processes, makeup of accessories, packaging and color boxes the
company has designed products to be 100 percent RoHS compliant.

Joining this league of environmental friendly vendors is HCL Infosystems,
which has introduced a lineup of eco-efficient consumer and business notebooks
that are compliant with the RoHS directive. The new range of notebooks includes
HCL laptop Z and U series based on Intel Core 2 Duo processors; HCL laptop X and
D series based on Intel Centrino Duo technology and Dual Core HCL notebook K and
P series based on Intel Pentium Dual Core; and HCL notebook S and L series based
on Intel Celeron processors.

India has produced about 1,50,000 tonnes of e-waste till date. The worst culprit is Mumbai

Another green hound in the pack is Bangalore-based Wipro Infotech. First in
India to introduce RoHS compliant products in the domestic market, Wipro has
launched a new range of laptops and desktops, called Greenware, which adhere to
the RoHS directives. The company plans to eliminate polyvinyl chloride and
brominated flame-retardants by 2009 and to ensure that all desktops and laptops
from Wipro personal computing would be free of hazardous substances over the
next six months.

Doing things a bit differently is LG Electronics, which has put in place an
environment and safety vision and policy. In particular, they have a regular
air, water monitoring, noise control, and ensure storage of hazardous waste in
proper manner so as to avoid land, air and water contamination. LG also
manufactures environment-friendly and energy efficient products and has been
endeavoring to minimize environmental pollution and accidents in the workplace
and keep the environment clean and protect people's health.

Green gestures

For Apple, the four areas of attention are product and packaging design,
responsible manufacturing, energy efficiency and recycling. Its restricted
substances program limits the use of heavy metals and ozone depleting substances
in products and manufacturing processes.

Apple is also trying to optimize the energy efficiency of their hardware and
created tools, such as the energy saver feature in Mac OS X, that allow
consumers to manage the power consumption of their computers.

As far as recycling goes, Apple includes take-back programs that enable
consumers and businesses to dispose off used Apple equipment in an
environmentally sound manner. Since their first take-back initiative, which
began in Germany in 1994, they have launched programs in the US, Canada, Japan,
and throughout Europe, diverting over 34 million pounds of electronic equipment
from landfills worldwide.

At Samsung they have had made it mandatory for all their component vendors to
supply components certified by SGS, Gurgaon as per RoHS guidelines from July 1,
2005 itself. Said R Zutshi, Deputy MD, Samsung India, “All Samsung vendor
facilities too need to be 1SO 14000 compliant. The company's audit team audits
the vendor facilities for environmental compliance.”

Way back in 2005, Samsung's launched its MagicGreen Monitor, which features a
17-inch screen. It is a health-friendly green monitor with a two-layer coating
which emits FIR (Far Infrared Rays) and Anion rich radiation that the company
claims improves the general sense of well-being and makes the environment
bacteria free.

HP's company-wide RoHS team manages all aspects of compliance to the RoHS
directive, as well as other similar global legislations. HP works with industry
partners through several consortia, including iNEMI (International Electronics
Manufacturing Initiative) and HDPUG (High Density Packaging User Group) and is
involved with international industry standards efforts that support the
implementation of the RoHS directive via development of part specifica­tions,
testing standards, material declaration protocols and other activities.

All materials restrictions are communicated to HP design teams and suppliers
through the General Specification for Environment (GSE), which is integrated
into product development process and into supplier contracts as part of Supplier
Code of Conduct. Suppliers are accountable for shipping materials, components,
parts and products to HP that comply with the GSE as specified in contracts,
hardware drawings, and RoHS.

HP uses recycled polye­thylene (RPET), recovered from inkjet cartridges and
drinking bottles, as a replacement for polycarbonate in the carriage cover of
some scanner products. HP has investigated the use of bioplastics-made from
polylactic acid derived from vegetables and developed a prototype printer in
2001 made with a 100 percent bioplastic shell.

Going green matters

Said Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Product Manager-Storage Works Division, HP, “We
are part of the ecosystem which is putting in efforts to bring products which
are less toxic, recyclable and energy efficient. The tangible benefits for the
customer are that energy efficient devices cost less in terms of running the
infrastructure.”

Agreeing with him was Ashutosh Vaidya, VP-Personal Computing Division, Wipro
Infotech who said, “The trend to produce environment friendly products has
gained momentum over the last few years. For vendors, it is about their
responsibility towards the environment and society at large. Rather than a rule,
it is a matter of consciousness and willingness to act. Various environment
activist groups also have a key role to play in creating awareness about global
warming and increasing e-waste.”

Wipro decided go green about two years back and has revamped the
manufacturing process and made the entire process from designing, procurement to
production RoHS compliant. Various controls and measures at every stage of the
product manufacturing cycle ensure 100 percent compliance with the RoHS
directive.

No legislation has been passed by the Indian parliament pertaining to RoHS. Currently there is only legislation on the disposal of products like batteries that have high lead content

Sharing his thoughts, Vijay Rane, VP-Manufacturing, Active, D-Link India,
feels that in the interest of minimizing hazardous waste, all countries are
planning directives like RoHS, to be implemented in near future. “India needs to
bring in a similar directive, else there is a risk of our country becoming a
dump yard of global electronic waste, given that e-waste generation is estimated
to grow two to three times faster than other wastes,” Rane said. As the
component base is very weak in India, manufacturers are dependent on components
from China and other countries that have started large scale manufacture of RoHS
compliant components, shared Rane.

In addition to setting up an environment friendly manufacturing unit, D-Link
would convert existing product lines to become RoHS compliant over the next one
year. The company has an ISO 14001 EMS system in place already.

Giving his comments Anil Philip, Director-Transactional Business, Lenovo
India said, “As regulatory and customer interest increase, the RoHS restrictions
provide a standard for vendors with worldwide distribution. Lenovo is committed
to the environment and has a number of programs that address a product
throughout its life cycle, from design and development to disposal and
recycling.”

Lenovo is continually evaluating opportunities to increase and expand its
environmental efforts. The EU RoHS requirement is one measure of environmentally
responsible practices. “Our environmentally conscious products program focuses
on using recycled materials in product development and designing products for
easy disassembly and recyclability.We offer a number of recycling options with
many programs being free, and we're also focused on increasing the energy
efficiency of our products,” Philip added.

Emerson India also has a slew of products that are imported from their
factory in China. The mid and high-level products (rack-based products) are RoHS
compliant. This is primarily because same products are exported to European
countries where RoHS has been implemented. By virtue of this, their Indian
counterparts also get the benefit of RoHS compliant products. According to
Pratik Chube, Country Manager-Product Management, Channel, Emerson Network Power
(India), “In China, the lead time to make changes for manufacturing RoHS
compliant is minimal. Yes, there is some incremental cost but you can camouflage
that cost. As of now there are no immediate plans to make all other products
RoHS compliant. Once a legislation is in place we will have to comply.”

RoHS in India

Not many people in the IT fraternity or the user base are aware of RoHS-compliance
in India. Adhering to this directive implies an upgradation in the manufacturing
process and substitution of alternative materials, all of which add to the cost
for the vendor. There is no full-fledged legislation passed by the Indian
parliament pertaining to RoHS. Currently there is only legislation on the
disposal of products like batteries that have a very high lead content.

"Vendors are trying to educate partners about RoHS. In fact, some corporate customers are aware of such products and sometimes ask for them as well. But there is no major demand from end-users for these products"
Mohit Hegde Creative Infotech, Bangalore

Product life cycle in India is much longer than it in the western countries.
People contemplate a lot before buying a new product and the association with
the product is much longer. Buying second­hand IT products further elongates the
life cycle of the product. Thus significance of RoHS becomes more relevant in
those countries where the life cycle of the products is longer.

According to Rishi Sahai, Board Director, IndusView Advisors, an India
focused cross border advisory firm, “There is, however a growing realization
that this is not a marketing or brand exercise. It will be observed over time
that customers will want to know whether they can opt for eco-friendly PCs
without any implication on performance, reliability, quality and price.”

The immediate impact of such compliance is the increased acceptability of
these products globally and increased competitive scenario vis-à-vis other
countries such as Taiwan, China, Korea etc. Companies have a committed 'Socially
Responsible Corporate Citizen' initiative. Compliance of

these kinds in manufacturing processes gives force to the steps that initially
were considered as jargons.

“Besides the brand enhance­ment, many vendors are cognizant of impending
overseas environmental regulations and growing consumer demand for a new
generation of environment friendly products, and are beginning to formulate
their response,” noted Sahai. As Indian products increasingly find a place in
the global markets, it becomes essential that components sourced from vendors
meet the RoHS norms and do not contain hazardous chemicals.

In the not-too-distant future, environmentally benign manu­facturing will
become one of the industry's greatest challenges, not only from an engineering
perspective, but from a business and marketing perspective as well.

RoHS and the channel

Most vendors that are manufacturing RoHS compliant products are also the
ones that work along with their channel partners to deliver these goods to their
customer. “Since channel partners represent the face of the vendor as far as the
customers go, any policies adopted by the vendor would have some impact on the
corporate sales, especially those that put emphasis on safe and healthy working
environment for employees. However it appears that in case of retail sales it
will take time, as the awareness has to percolate to the general user group
where costs play an important part in decision making,” said Sahai.

However, it appears that by and large the channel community in India is not
very aware of RoHS compliancy and its advantages or the disadvantages of RoHS.
Said Pradeep Biyani, Director of Kolkata-based Suntronic Systems, “The channel
community in India is not fully aware of RoHS compliance. They do not know about
the advantages or the disadvantages of RoHS either. Also, since the Indian
government has not put in norms for compliance, the channel is not keen on the
need to comply. Besides, selling compliant or non-compliant products does not
derive extra margins. It is not sales tool either.”

Agreeing with him was Chetan Shah, MD of Mumbai-based Xpress Computers, who
said, “As a system builder, I do not have much say. I might use a motherboard
that is RoHS compliant, but some other components may not be RoHS compliant, as
we use products from different vendors. Even if all the components of a PC that
I assemble are RoHS compliant, yet there is no certification system or law that
says that my products need to be RoHS compliant.”

According to one Bangalore retailer Mohit Hegde of Creative Infotech,
“Vendors are trying to educate partners about RoHS. In fact some corporate
customers are aware of such products and sometimes ask for them as well. But
customer awareness still has a long way to go, and there is no major demand from
end-users for these products.”

In cases where partners have been briefed about RoHS compliance, especially
those working with the likes of Wipro and D-Link, partners have passed on the
information to their customers, especially the home and SOHO users. This means
that in the future, partners could be more involved in active discussions on the
issue and hopefully would get involved at the policy making level as well. Right
now, most system integrators do not have much say. They usually use products
that the vendor sends them, and if they are RoHS compliant, it is a value-add
that they give their customers.

As it stands, functionally there appears to be no difference between a RoHS
compliant product and one that does not comply with RoHS. The vendor seems to
incur a cost as far as compliance is concerned. However, given the lack of
awareness of the need for RoHS compliance the customer is not yet ready to pay
more for an RoHS compliant product.

Greenpeace's take

Statistics reveal that India has produced about 1,50,000 tonnes of e-waste
till date, which is annually growing at 300 percent and is likely to reach nine
million tonnes by 2012, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
A CPCB report claims that India's production of

high-tech waste is far higher than anticipated earlier and has generated around
1,46,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) till 2006,
including computers, TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines.

In order to check this rapidly growing menace, Greenpeace is sensitizing
computer manu­facturers and the government, to prevent a likely environmental
and health emergency.

It appears that the worst culprit in India is Mumbai, although much of its
WEEE is shipped to Delhi, which has become India's main recycling base. A Toxic
Link's research showed Mumbai was discarding much more electronic waste than had
been estimated.

Commenting on the scenario, Rampathi Kumar, Team Leader, Toxics from
Greenpeace said, “India is a dumping ground for e-waste. Despite being an
alarming issue, no legislation or regulation exists in India so far to check
this. Except for a few who have shifted to manufacturing green computers, all
the others are from the gray markets of China and Taiwan. Manufacturers need to
take the responsibility and the initiative to provide environment friendly
products. They should also take-back products, which have come to the end of
their lifecycle and ensure proper recycling of the same. Most vendors comply
with RoHS regulations today as they believe that it is the first step to 'going
green.'

Rather than wait for a regulatory policy to be in place, manufacturers must
themselves take the responsibility of providing safe products for use said Kumar
who felt that the only way to deal with the growing problem of e-waste is for
companies to design clean electronics with longer life spans, that are safe and
easy to recycle and will not expose workers and the environment to hazardous
chemicals.

“Yes, we would call upon the government also to issue a legislation,” he
added. It is not that these companies alone can get the Indian government to
affect an environmental compliance policy. Organizations like The Telecom
Equipments Manufacturers Association (TEMA) of India have announced a voluntary
RoHS labeling and compliance plan way back in December 2004. The Material
Testing Laboratory at TCR Engineering Services in India, now offers
manufacturers wishing to comply with the new RoHS directive a useful resource in
the form of testing services.

Initiatives by such groups are also expected to take the attention of the
Indian government to adopt regulations on handling e-waste which are notoriously
lax and do not measure up to the RoHS directive.

"I might use a  mother-board that is RoHS compliant, but some other components may not be compliant. Even if all the components of a PC that I assemble are RoHS compliant, there is no law that says my products need to comply"
Chetan Shah Xpress Computers, Mumbai

Challenges and road ahead

While the initiative to get environmental friendly is a welcome one,
manufacturers have their fair share of challenges while getting into compliance.
Identifying alternative materials in place of PVC from all products is an issue
of concern because acceptable alternatives are not yet available.

Driving materials sub­stitution throughout the supply chain is also difficult
and vendors need to communicate that need to their suppliers. A lack of
awareness of the hazardous nature of certain materials used in electronic
assemblies; marginal higher cost which could increase if the total manufacturing
set-up is to be revamped or replaced and a lack of clear guidelines/directive
from policymakers are some stumbling blocks that come in the way of going green
for most vendors.

On its part, the government must devise a waste disposal policy for India
besides supporting the components industry to go green, indicated most vendors.
Offer of low-cost test and development facilities at government labs is a good
alternative they feel.

Lowering product weight and size would decrease resource use and thus reduce
environmental impacts thro­ughout the product life cycle, while using innovative
and recycled materials would be a big plus. Also the pollution norms need to be
changed (with minimum pollutants) so that environment pollution can be
significantly reduced.

Given that the environ­mental sensitivity of businesses and consumers is
increasing, channel partners can benefit by promoting the environmental
attributes of the products they sell. What this means is that RoHS compliance
could in the long run become one such regulation that will reverse the trend of
enforcement.

Normally, governments enforce a regulation, but as far as the environment
goes, the regulating agencies will have to learn from the corporate and define a
framework of compliance.

Subbalakshmi BM


subbalakshmibm@cybermedia.co.in

(With inputs from Amrita Tejasvi in Delhi and Piyali Guha in Kolkata)