Greenpeace Releases its 13th Guide to Greener Electronics Ranking. The Guide to Greener Electronics is a ranking compiled by Greenpeace based on the global policies and implementation of 18 electronics brands regarding hazardous chemicals in their products, as well as their environmental performance in terms of social responsibility regarding e-waste. The total score is 10 points, with higher scores indicating better environmental performance. The scoring data primarily comes from publicly available information from the companies and information obtained through communication with them. Since August 2006, Greenpeace has been publishing the Guide to Greener Electronics, scoring 18 major electronics brands on their policies in the following three categories: 1. Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction: Energy policy standards, such as commitments to reduce the company's own greenhouse gas emissions. 2. Toxic Substances: Ceasing the use of toxic substances in the production process. 3. ...

California's RoHS requirements for lighting fixtures will take effect on January 1, 2010. California's RoHS requirements for hazardous substances in lighting fixtures will take effect in 2010. According to the regulations, from January 1, 2010, no one may manufacture, sell, or supply designated general-purpose lighting fixtures in California with hazardous substance content exceeding the limits set by the EU RoHS Directive. This requirement is part of the California Lighting Power and Toxicity Reduction Act, signed and passed in October 2007. The specific requirements are as follows: (1) Manufacturers of general-purpose lighting fixtures sold or supplied to California must, within 28 days of receiving notification from the Toxic Substances Management Division (DTSC), submit relevant technical documents or other information demonstrating that their general-purpose lighting fixtures sold or supplied in California comply with the EU RoHS Directive. (2) Where required, manufacturers of general-purpose lighting fixtures sold or supplied to California must provide documentation to businesses or individuals selling or supplying their general-purpose lighting fixtures demonstrating that the content of hazardous substances in their products will not result in these products being prohibited from sale or supply in California. Manufacturers may also affix relevant certificates to a prominent location on the shipping, packing, or lamp packaging. "Hazardous substances" include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). "General-purpose lamps" refer to electric lights, light bulbs, and fluorescent tubes, or lamps used in residential or commercial buildings for indoor or outdoor lighting.

The Canadian government has released a list of potentially restricted chemical substances, including five flux ingredients: 1. Resin acids and Rosin acids, hydrogenated, esters with pentaerythritol (CAS# 64365-17-9); 2. Rosin, hydrogenated (CAS# 65997-06-0); 3. Resin acids and Rosin acids, hydrogenated, esters with glycerol (CAS# 65997-13-9); 4. ...

The United States has introduced the Environmental Design for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EDEE) Act. Since 2006, U.S. electrical appliance manufacturers, through the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), launched a voluntary action (called Call to Action) pledging to reduce the levels of six restricted substances (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, and PBDE) in their products by 2010. This action primarily responded to the EU's RoHS Directive, but extended its scope to include all products sold in the market, requiring them to reduce the use of restricted substances. Following the voluntary action initiated by the manufacturers, U.S. Representative Michael Burgess of Texas introduced the H.R. 2420: Environmental Design for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EDEE Act) on May 14, 2009. The aim is to ensure nationwide regulations on hazardous substances used in electrical equipment in all states and in foreign trade. The EDEE Act will provide a unified federal standard for all electrical and electronic equipment restrictions in the United States. H.R. 2420 requires that electrical and electronic products manufactured after July 1, 2010, contain no lead (Pb), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), mercury (Hg), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), or polybrominated polyphenylene oxides (PPBs) in their homogeneous materials.

China Announces Draft First Batch of Key Management Catalogue for "Administrative Measures for Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products" In accordance with the provisions of China's "Administrative Measures for Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products" and the requirements of the "Procedures for Formulating the Key Management Catalogue for Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products," the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China announced the "Key Management Catalogue for Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products (First Batch)" on October 9, 2009, and publicly solicited opinions from enterprises in the industry. The opinion solicitation period will end on November 9, 2009. Three types of products are included in the key management catalogue: 1. Telephones 2. Mobile phones 3. Printers connected to computers. The restricted substances and limits for these three products can be referenced to Chinese standard SJ/T 11363-2006. The six restricted substances and concentration limits are the same as those in the EU RoHS Directive. Ten exclusion clauses of the EU RoHS Directive also apply to mobile phones. In the future, once the key management catalog is approved and officially published, 10 months after its effective date, manufacturers and importers of these three categories of products will be required to test their products and pass inspections by qualified Chinese laboratories. The complete draft of the key management catalog can be downloaded from the attachment. – Reference source: Attachment to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China: China RoHS Key Management Catalog 20091015

EU Battery Manufacturers and Importers Must Register. The European Commission's Decision 2009/603/EC, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8 August 2009, stipulates the registration requirements for battery and accumulator manufacturers. While Decision 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators already required manufacturers of such products to register, the Commission deemed it necessary to establish procedures applicable throughout the EU to avoid placing an unnecessary burden on manufacturers. Disclosure requirements should be clearly defined and should not overlap with other registration procedures that manufacturers may also be required to follow. According to the Battery Directive, a "manufacturer" is anyone in a Member State who, for the first time, professionally introduces a battery or accumulator (including batteries or accumulators installed in electrical appliances or automobiles) into the market of that Member State. Therefore, "manufacturer" also includes battery importers within each Member State. Decision 2009/603/EC lists the following key provisions: • Registration shall be conducted in paper or electronic form with the authorities of the Member State or an authorized registration body and may be part of another registration procedure;

The U.S. Department of Energy (DGE) recently released minimum energy consumption standards for bottled/canned beverage vending machines. Manufacturers of vending machines manufactured or imported into the U.S. after August 31, 2012, must comply with these standards. The DGE believes these standards will significantly reduce energy consumption and are economically and technically feasible. Furthermore, the DGE estimates that these standards will save more than 830,000 U.S. households' annual electricity consumption over the next 30 years. The cost of installing a new vending machine that meets the new energy consumption standards will increase from approximately $2,625 to $2,864, but this additional cost can be offset by the $69 annual electricity savings. – Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) – Translated by Plastics Industry Technology Development Centre – For reference only, please refer to the original text. 

California is considering energy efficiency standards for televisions. On September 25, 2009, the California Energy Commission (CEC) released a draft standard for television energy efficiency. The draft standard would significantly reduce electricity consumption compared to televisions currently purchased by consumers. This draft standard requires dealers to reduce the energy consumption of televisions sold starting in 2011 by 33%, and to comply with even stricter energy consumption requirements starting in 2013. If implemented, this measure is expected to save California approximately $8.1 billion in electricity bills. However, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) did not support the release of this draft standard, arguing that consumers should decide on energy efficiency development, rather than relying on regulations. Prior to televisions, the CEA had already established energy consumption standards for refrigerators, regulating their energy consumption requirements. The CEA website also publishes a FAQ answering consumer questions about the draft television energy efficiency standards; details can be found at http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/tv_faqs.html. – Reference source: California Energy Commission website – Translated by Plastics Industry Technology Development Center For reference only, please refer to the original text.

Chinese exporters are focused on the EU's new toy directive. Recently, due to the EU Trade Commissioner's visit to Beijing and reports indicating that toys remain one of China's largest exports to the EU, the issue of Chinese toy exports to the EU continues to receive attention. A recent report by Global Sources indicates that the Chinese toy and game industry has been severely impacted by weak overseas demand, and increasingly stringent product standards will lead more companies to reduce production lines or cease operations. According to the Global Sources report, the main trends for Chinese toy and game suppliers next year are as follows: * Despite the EU implementing stricter regulations and creating technical barriers, it remains one of the largest overseas markets for the Chinese industry. * Toy and game manufacturers will further expand their market by targeting a wider age group, including collectors and hobbyists (since the new Toy Safety Directive does not define collectible and hobby products as toys, these products are not subject to stricter standards). * While complying with stricter regulations increases costs, efforts will be made to maintain product price stability. * Investment in product research and development. With the peak season for toy exports approaching, Chinese traders and manufacturers will inevitably be affected by technical barriers, and countries will increasingly adopt this approach during the global economic crisis. In fact, a recent report by Global Sources indicates that 47% of toy and game manufacturers believe that stricter overseas standards are a major challenge in the next 12 months. According to the EU's 2009...

The U.S. Federal RoHS Act (EDEE) Proposal Introduced: On May 14, 2009, U.S. Representative Michael Burgess of Texas introduced H.R. 2420: The Environmentally Friendly Design for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EDEE) Act. This bill aims to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, ensuring uniform federal regulations for the control of certain hazardous substances used in electrical equipment across U.S. states and in foreign trade. The EDEE Act will standardize electrical and electronic equipment restrictions at the federal level across all states. H.R. 2420 requires that electrical and electronic products manufactured after July 1, 2010, must not contain more than 0.1% lead (Pb), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), mercury (Hg), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) by weight in their homogeneous materials, and no more than 0.01% cadmium (Cd) by weight. The bill also exempts certain electrical and electronic products and lists the relevant product categories. For example, products falling into the following categories will not be subject to the above restrictions: products or equipment with a rated voltage greater than 300 volts, products used on fixed equipment (excluding lighting equipment), medical communication and emergency call systems, medical diagnostic imaging and treatment equipment and instruments, and water and land transportation information management and control systems, etc. This bill...

The European Union published its second draft amendment to the RoHS Directive, No. 29/2009, on September 3, 2009. The Secretariat of the European Council presented the new draft amendment to the RoHS Directive to representatives of EU member states. The European Commission first proposed the draft amendment to the RoHS Directive on December 3 of the previous year, aiming to strengthen the directive's rigor, enhance producer responsibility, and strengthen market surveillance mechanisms in EU member states. Following the initial draft amendment, considerable feedback was received, prompting the EU to release a second draft amendment after coordinating opinions from all parties. A significant change in the new draft is that it covers all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), unless specifically excluded. Annexes I and II of the original draft (which listed the categories of EEE and the product lists for each category, respectively) have been removed from the new draft. The new draft adds large-scale stationery industrial tools and musical pipe organs to the list of inapplicable products. The President of the Council also requested member state representatives to consider the issue of the scope of excluded products. The new draft does not include any newly added prohibited substances. The essence of the RoHS Directive is to restrict specific hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Article 4 of the draft, "Prevention," stipulates that electronic and electrical equipment, including spare parts placed on the market for repair or reuse, must not contain Annex IV.