1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap - Civil and ...

Information and Knowledge Systems
manufacturer. The software manufacturer could then offer a finished product through the
environmental mall, and the user could execute the transaction of purchasing the equipment or
software from the supplier in a fully electronic system. The advantage of this kind of process is
providing the opportunity for vendors to present the full range of products and services available,
and for industrial users to be able to search easily through the variety of tools and suppliers until
they find the specific functionality they require.
The establishment of an environmental information mall is timely, because most of the needed
technology components are now in place:
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The communication infrastructure has been fostered by the National Information Infrastructure
Program and reflected in the increased use of the Internet and World Wide Web;
Environmental data collected by many government agencies, commercial organizations,
and consortia; and
Environmental analysis and simulation tools are currently being developed by many commercial
organizations.
3.5 Initial Steps to Building the Information Infrastructure
Regardless of the approach, some initial steps must be taken:
Issuance of Invitation to Participate: The organizers of a collaborative effort could issue
an industry-wide invitation to participate in establishing the environmental data system.
This would involve a company making available its non-proprietary environmental
databases or process data in a manner that is accessible through the architecture adopted.
Development of a National Environmental Data Registry: The Environmental Protection
Agency has called for development of a national environmental data registry, providing a
central index and source list of data available to assist in environmental decision making.
Resources currently available on the Web, as well as inventoried resources elsewhere provide
a starting point for the national data registry.
However, an aggressive effort must be launched to identify sources that are not immediately
obvious or apparent. Databases maintained by OEMs, for example, can provide a
rich source of information about processes, materials, performance, and challenges facing
end-of-life management. Many OEMs will be reluctant to make this data widely
available, due to the concern that some of the data may represent proprietary information
about products and processes. Nevertheless, a focused effort to identify these sorts of
data sources, and to work with corporate managers to “sanitize” the information in a way
that does not compromise company-confidential material, is an important activity.
Development of an Electronics Industry Environmental Ontology: The purpose of the ontology
was discussed previously. As a consensus model of the data to be made available,
and the structure of that data, the ontology serves as a central point against which other
data sources can be mapped. This mapping allows automated query systems to execute
searches across multiple databases and retrieve information concerning particular topics
or of a similar nature. This facilitates navigation and access as well as provides a