On the effectiveness of currently proposed EU Environmental Directives and Policies for Electronic products

摘要

Current proposed EU Directives and Policies are reviewed as regards their environmental effectiveness. It is concluded that a better integration of the emissions, the resources and the potential toxicity aspects of ‘green’ is needed. This will also permit a better approach to integrating life cycle principles and better reflection of stakeholders’ interest. A formula is proposed which allows measuring environmental performance from this holistic perspective. As regards operationalization, having proper definitions for the basic parameters will need more attention. Including the Eco efficiency principle (environmental gain /cost) will allow to better-set priorities and to make more appropriate trade-offs. Furthermore in this paper the role of EcoDesign is highlighted. It is concluded that in the current drafts there is ample room for further improvement.