1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap - Civil and ...

Executive Summary
Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap
This Roadmap addresses a wide-ranging set of critical issues relating to strategic environmental
management within the electronics and computer industry. The intent is to characterize the
current state of environmental management, identify challenges and opportunities for
improvement, and present specific needs or conclusions for taking significant steps forward.
The Roadmap addresses technical and non-technical issues, spanning the enterprise from seniormost
management through product design, assembly, and distribution. This broad focus is necessary
given the enterprise-wide nature of environmental management. Traditional industrial
strategies of remediation and compliance-based management are giving way to waste reduction,
pollution prevention, and beyond-compliance programs. As a consequence, an effective roadmap
for environmental management in any industry requires that several priorities be recognized:
The importance of integrating environmental goals into corporate culture and strategic
plans must be recognized by top management, thereby implementing the necessary steps
to ensure that environmental issues are given due consideration in all key functions.
The importance of a broadened view of environmental management must be recognized,
reaching from the research laboratory, where environmental considerations should be part
of initial product concept and experimentation, through design, manufacturing, distribution,
and end-of-life disposition.
Environmental information must be generated, captured, recovered, and analyzed, then
integrated into larger corporate decision-making processes.
Environmental impacts of emerging technology must be understood, establishing
environmentally focused goals for technology development.
Each of these priorities is addressed in detail in this document, along with a variety of supporting
materials presented in attachments intended to further illustrate or clarify key findings.
Chapter 1: Introduction
The introduction sets forth an overall mission for the document, including recognition of complementary
roadmapping efforts of other industry associations and organizations. The
environmental roadmap draws upon these other documents to create a focused agenda for
environmental management across the electronics and computer industry. This industry-wide,
cross-disciplinary approach is consistent with MCC’s mission to serve as a source of research
and development that spans the full breadth of the information technology industry and places a
priority on system development and integration.
Constructive involvement in environmental management has been a priority for MCC for several
years, and the specific topics addressed in the 1996 Roadmap emerge as a result of the earlier
1994 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap and other supporting documents that have
emerged from MCC’s efforts.
Chapter 2: Strategic Business Opportunities
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