Sustainability has become synonymous with the three‐fold act of balancing social, environmental and economic needs – now and in the future. Sustainability takes on many forms in the electrical and electronics industries, including energy efficiency, hazardous waste management and extended producer responsibility…just to name a few.
Everything that we produce and consume has both an economic and environmental cost. While we are accustomed to paying the production cost for products, what about its end‐of‐life costs?
Consider the materials and packaging used in common electrical products like compact fluorescent lamps, fixtures and batteries; or electronics such as television sets and computers; or portable appliances such as toaster ovens and blenders – all of which often end up in landfills.
With due‐cause concern for the effects of particular end‐of‐life products on the environment, there has never been a better time to reduce the environmental footprint of products by taking charge of a product’s entire lifecycle—from design and manufacturing, distribution and sale, to consumption and disposal.
Resources
- Sustainability: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Electrical Products in Canada
(source: Electro-Federation Canada) - The 5 Ls of Lighting (source: NEMA)
- Myths About the New Efficient Light Bulbs (source: Vancouver Sun)
- CFL Myths and Facts (source: BC Hydro)
- Mercury and the Environment (source: Environment Canada)
- Mercury: CFLs vs. Tuna (source: Illuminating Engineering Society)
- The Safety of CFLs (source: Health Canada)
- Energy Star® and CFLs
Industry Letters
- EEMAC Letter to the BC Government
- ProductCare Letter to Vancouver Sun
- BC Hydro Letter to Vancouver Sun
