News
Sony, Matsushita and ESHconnect expand Environmental Intelligence Tool to Manage High Tech Product Compliance
29 April 2004
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Environmental Intelligence Tool to Manage High Tech Product Compliance
Arlington, VA — April 2, 2004 — The electronics industry is being confronted with strict environmental requirements that impact the way that products are designed and sold in global markets.
The large number of regional and national requirements can only be tracked and managed through smart and cost-effective initiatives that increasingly utilize the web to deliver value-added information on regulations worldwide.
This is particularly significant given recent European Union (EU) Directives that govern the design and end-of-life management of electrical and electronic equipment, and the expansion of the EU via Eastern European countries.
The growing multitude of environmental regulations imposed on consumer electronics, IT equipment and other high tech products, means that producers and distributors must be well informed throughout the design and approvals process.
Such factors have motivated the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), an Arlington, Virginia based trade association that represents more than 2,300 members of the global electronics industry, to develop EIATRACK, the worlds most comprehensive and authoritative web site that covers all significant environmental product-related regulations pertaining to EIA member companies. Over 120 jurisdictions and 3,000+ laws are covered in EIATRACK, including a comprehensive Restricted Substance Database. There are currently over 40 global electronics companies benefiting from EIATRACK and its unique service.
More recently, Sony Europe initiated a separate expansion of EIATRACK aimed at increasing its scope, improving content review processes and updating the frequency of new data additions.
“EIATRACK now represents a unique and invaluable information resource. It has enabled Sony to successfully streamline the tracking of environmental product requirements.” said Serge Foucher, Executive Vice President and Compliance Officer, Sony Europe.
Expanding EIATRACK has been a collaborative effort among key industry players. Matsushita Electric Europe (better known under its brand name Panasonic®) has been instrumental in the project development process from the beginning Mr. Wilfried Oppermann, Head of European Environmental Affairs, says “The new enhanced version of EIATRACK fills a major information gap and makes product compliance across Europe far less complicated, for production sites within Europe as well as overseas.”
Effective compliance with EU directives and associated national implementation has become a business-critical issue that producers and distributors need to include as part of their corporate compliance and marketing strategies. The new expanded version of EIATRACK covers substantially more detail about European regulatory measures. It also presents essential information about new additions to EIATRACK and the inclusion of eleven extra jurisdictions including: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Turkey.
Holly Evans, Director of Business Development and Environmental Issues for the Electronic Industries Alliance (USA), says that “EIATRACK is an invaluable business tool that allows subscribers to gain a wealth of substantive compliance information at a fraction of what that information would cost if secured directly through independent law firms and sources. EIATRACK is a “best practice” management tool for electronic industry firms that need to gather this information to remain competitive in the global marketplace.”
Whether it is about mandatory take-back requirements, Design for Environment, restricted substances, or packaging, EIATRACK is unrivaled in terms of concise content, end-user convenience and global coverage.
Andrew Sweatman, Vice President of Regulatory Tracking at ESHconnect has been one of the key architects in developing and delivering EIATRACK in a user-friendly way. “Adding value to an existing information resource has resulted in a comprehensive source of knowledge that can help create environmentally compliant products” said Sweatman.
Expanding the scope of EIATRACK remains a continuing priority. Improvements in service quality and the delivery of highly reliable information are vital objectives that can fulfill the knowledge needs of subscribing companies and their operations.
EIATRACK has exceeded user expectations by effectively connecting robust and timely content with leading edge web based technology. This is borne out by the fact that in it’s first three of years, the annual subscriber renewal rate has exceeded 95%.
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About EIA
The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a national trade organization that includes the full spectrum of U.S. manufacturers, representing more than 80% of the $550 billion electronics industry. The Alliance is a partnership of electronic and high tech associations and companies whose mission is promoting the market development and competitiveness of the U.S. high tech industry through domestic and international policy efforts. EIA, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is comprised of more than 2,300 member companies whose products and services range from the smallest electronic components to the most complex systems used by defense, space and industry, including the full range of consumer electronic products. The industry provides more than two million jobs for American workers. For more information, visit the EIA website at http://www.eia.org.
About Sony
Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to become a leading personal broadband entertainment company in the 21st century. In Europe, Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 13.88 billion (yen 1,666 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 120 to the EUR. Sony Europe, with its corporate headquarters at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company\'s European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 8.62 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003.
For more information on Sony Europe, please visit http://www.sony-europe.com
About Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand name, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the Company recorded consolidated sales of US$61.68 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003. Matsushita\'s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York, Euronext Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information, visit the Matsushita website at http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html
About ESHconnect, Inc.
ESHconnect, Inc. is the leader in environmental, safety and health (ESH) knowledge management solutions. ESHconnect provides its customers with web-based tools to track and deliver ESH and risk management information through its international regulatory tracking REGconnect brands and eLearning solutions. ESHconnect is based in Silicon Valley, CA. For more information, visit the ESHconnect website at http:///www.eshconnect.com.
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The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, press only:
Asia/Pacific - Andrew Sweatman, ESHconnect : ph: +61 405 411 399, email: sweatmana@eshconnect.com
USA: Heather Bowman, EIA : ph +1 703-907-7582 email: hbowman@eia.org
Europe: Lucas Bergkamp, Hunton & Williams: ph: + 32(0)2 643 5800, lbergkamp@hunton.com
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