اجرای طرح سازگار با محیط زیست از طریق یک سیستم مدیریت زیست محیطی مبتنی بر محصول

Lucent Technologies (Lucent) has undergone considerable change in business strategy with the outsourcing of manufacturing activities. In order to control the significant environmental aspects of hardware products, Lucent's wireless business unit, Mobility Solutions, determined it would concentrate on the design of products: focusing on eco-design enables product sustainability to be improved, with each product generation providing a ‘start of pipe’ (front end) solution with attendant efficiencies. Mobility Solutions pioneered a product-based environmental management system (PBEMS) to formally address the impacts of wireless hardware products on the environment throughout the entire product lifecycle, regardless of where products are developed. This management system looks beyond the environmental impacts of manufacturing to include conceptual design, development, use by the customer, and final product disposal. The success of this approach can be attributed to the integration of eco-design with traditional hardware product realization processes. Through the PBEMS, business and environmental processes are simultaneously utilized to manage significant product aspects and to incorporate sustainability principles during product design. Many innovative eco-design tools are applied during the product realization process to identify areas for improvement of future products, and to verify that each generation of existing products is more sustainable than its predecessor. These eco-design tools include eco-roadmapping, design for environment guidelines and checklists, and lifecycle assessments. The Mobility Solutions PBEMS conforms to the requirements of the ISO 14001 international standard and has achieved third-party certification. By implementing environmentally responsible characteristics through eco-design programs, employees, customers, and the world community benefit from a consistent approach to the environmental management of wireless hardware products. Mobility Solutions continues to reap the value of sustainable product design that is both good for the environment and makes sound business sense.

Lucent Technologies is a recognized world leader in the design and delivery of the systems, services and software that drives next-generation communication networks. Backed by Bell Laboratories' research and development and its wireless business group, Mobility Solutions, Lucent uses its strengths in mobility, optical, software, data and voice networking technologies, as well as services, to create new revenue-generating opportunities for its customers, while enabling them to quickly deploy and better manage their networks. Lucent's customer base includes communications' service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide. Lucent maintains a global presence that includes 31,500 employees worldwide. Lucent is committed to protecting the environment and the health and safety of its employees, customers, and the communities where they operate. This commitment is demonstrated through an ISO 14001 [1] product-based environmental management system (PBEMS). The Mobility Solutions Green Team pioneered the innovative approach of using a management system to integrate eco-design principles into the business culture. Through the system the design community is engaged in lifecycle thinking encouraging innovation to ensure that succeeding generations of products are designed to enable wiser, sustainable use of natural resources. Through the PBEMS, eco-design principles are applied to strategic business decisions, product evolution planning, and product development. This approach positions Mobility Solutions to meet the rise in stringent legal and customer product-based environmental requirements and the increasing public concern over the impacts electronic equipment has on the environment. For example, the European Union (EU) has enacted a directive known as RoHS [2], Restrictions on Hazardous Substances, banning specified hazardous materials as constituents of specified electronic equipment. In this paper, we will discuss how the elements of ISO 14001 [1] are applied through the PBEMS to manage hardware product environmental impacts and to improve product environmental performance through eco-design. In addition to touching upon those elements of ISO 14001 [1] that support the PBEMS in a more traditional manner, we will discuss in detail those elements that have a direct impact on eco-design. We will describe how the formal structure of the PBEMS is facilitating the management of an internal initiative to meet the RoHS [2] material substance ban. We will also discuss the benefits and advantages of implementing a PBEMS, the challenges faced during development and implementation, and the lessons learned. In the next section we will discuss how the application of ISO 14001 [1] requirements for conformance to detailed procedural and documentation requirements, a commitment to continual improvement, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and a focus on the prevention of pollution have been successfully integrated with product realization processes to facilitate eco-design.

Traditionally, environmental management systems have been location-based, addressing the impacts of local activities on the environment. A product-based environmental management system, in contrast, addresses the impacts hardware products have on the environment. As the business model has evolved environmental impacts of “location” activities have decreased due to the outsourcing of manufacturing activities, and as legal and customer product-based eco-environmental requirements have continued to become more stringent, a product-based environmental management system appropriately aligns environmental issues with business drivers. This approach proved to be a successful alternative to implementing a stand-alone eco-design initiative managed by the EH&S organization. Integration of eco-design considerations as early as possible into the product realization process offers the flexibility to make changes and improvements to products. The choice of specific eco-design solutions should achieve a reasonable balance between the various environmental issues and other relevant considerations such as safety and health, technical requirements, functionality, quality, performance, and economic aspects, including manufacturing costs and marketability, while complying with all relevant legislation. The initial milestones of the PBEMS project have been reached. The PBEMS has been developed, implemented and certified by a third-party. The Green Team is currently working on the next phase of the project: continual environmental performance improvement of wireless products. In addition, during this phase the team will continue to set the direction of EH&S management systems for Mobility Solutions, support the Mobility Solutions goal of integrated QEH&S management systems, and position Mobility Solutions EH&S management systems for alignment with an initiative to integrate QEH&S management systems across Lucent. The Green Team continues to support EMS initiatives through participation on cross-functional product development teams, participation on process management teams, and by supplying DFE subject matter expertise to the design and development community. Team members remain responsible for the coordination and success of semi-annual surveillance audits required by the third-party registrar to maintain certification. Mobility Solutions has found that by addressing eco-requirements in much the same way as other product requirements, costs are reduced, speed to market is increased, and products meet the quality and performance needs of customers while complying with regulatory requirements. By following the processes that have been put in place, Mobility Solutions can continue to protect customers, the business, and the environment. Mobility Solutions has proven that a PBEMS is good for the environment and makes sound business sense.