D6B 1final v 23 04 12 jo1 - Timewarp 1final v 23 04 1… · Task 6B.1 began in Month 12 and is to...
Transcript of D6B 1final v 23 04 12 jo1 - Timewarp 1final v 23 04 1… · Task 6B.1 began in Month 12 and is to...
1
Deliverable 6B.1
The D4R LAPTOP, INDUSTRIAL NETWORK, MARKET BARRIERS TO
COMMERCIALISATION
Grant Agreement number: 226752
Project acronym: ZEROWIN
Project title: Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks
FUNDING Scheme: Collaborative project
Delivery date: 30.04.12
Deliverable number: D6B.1
Work package number: WP6B.1
Lead participants: MicroPro and GAIA with input from AUO
Nature:
Dissemination level: Private
Author(s): Maher, P, Galligan, A, Ospina, J. (MicroPro)
Garatea, J, Benito, B, Vidorreta, I (GAIA)
Yang, M (AUO)
Project co-ordinator: Dr. Bernd Kopacek,
Austrian Society for Systems Engineering and
Automation
Tel: +43-1-298 20 20
Fax: +43-1-876 06 619
E-mail: [email protected]
Project website: www.zeroWIN.eu
2
Contents
1. SUMMARY 3
2. Eco-Design Strategies 4
3. Prototype Presentation 7
4. Parts and components 9
5. Remanufactured panel 12
6. Industrial Network 13
7. ZeroWIN targets 17
8. Marketing Mix 19
8.1 Price 19
8.2 Distribution 21
8.3 Promotion 22
8.5 Target audience 24
9. External Analysis 25
9.1 Legislative factors 25
9.2 Main EU Directives: 27
9.3 Other policies 30
9.4 Legal barriers: 31
9.5. Economic factors 32
9.6 Social factors 33
9.7 Competitiveness analysis 39
9.8 Market analysis 42
10. SWOT analysis 45
11. Conclusions 47
12. List of Tables and Figures 50
13. Glossary of technical terms 51
14. References 54
3
1. SUMMARY
The Description of Work (DoW) of D6B.1stated in the ZeroWIN Project explains that Deliverables should address:
• development of prototypes and testing their market applicability/barriers
• development of industrial networks to demonstrate benefits and optimisation potential which can be achieved through focused cooperation
Also that Case Studies aim to implement design recommendations in high-tech products. Task 6B.1 for the D4R laptop, led by MicroPro, is supported by partners GAIA and AUO, and includes:
• development of a D4R prototype
• Identification of market barriers for a D4R laptop “The prototype development actually is intended to provide evidence, that the stakeholder consensus achieved in WP 3 can be implemented in a physical product. The development of a prototype is a complex task involving cooperation of the whole supply chain, forming an IT industrial network. Those companies form a team which has already cooperated on the development of an iameco PC. AUO will provide the LCD panels for the prototype”.i Task 6B.1 began in Month 12 and is to end on Month 48 of the Project. D6B.1 is the main deliverable, due in April 2012 (Moth 36). D6B.1 comprises the following:
• presentation of the rationale for design and manufacture and a description of an ecological laptop (D4R) developed within the framework of the ZeroWIN Vision and to meet the environmental objectives of the ZeroWIN project, written by MicroPro (chapters 2-7) and
• scoping study to establish the barriers to the marketing and dissemination of the D4R both as a product and a service, written by GAIA (chapters 8-10).
• conclusion from the case Study (chapter 11)
The first part of this Rreport describes the product (D4R), and put forward a Model for the industrial network, that will act as supply chain for materials and parts and components, and also for the manufacture, servicing upgrading and take-back of the D4R. This industrial network is made up of several SMEs and one major component manufacturer (AUO), and will act both as supply chain, service infrastructure, and marketing network for the D4R. The Model aims to deliver a robust system for production, marketing, servicing and take-back, provding a sustainable income stream for network members in several countries.
The second part provides a trawl of the principal factors affecting marketing of the D4R, including price, distribution, promotion, competitors, and target audiece. It includes an analysis of legislative factors that could affec the marketing, and analysies the staturs of the D4R in relation to the key European Directives, and other EU polcies. It considers what legal barriers might exist at a EU level, as well as economic and social factyors that might afect sales. It looks at competition to the
4
D4R, and analyses the Euripean marketb for laptops. It finishes with a SWOT analysis that looks objectuvely at the current posotion of the D4R and the network .
A final chapter gives overall conclusions from the description and market analysis of the D4R, and sugegsts that it will become a benchmark for companies that wish to move towards designing, producing and selling sustainable products, based on a comprehensive reuse strategy.
2. Eco-Design Strategies
The D4R development is based principally on achieving the environmental targets
set by the ZeroWIN Project:
• Reduction of GHG emissions (by 30%)
• Increased recyclability and reusability (by 70%), and
• Reduction of water utilization (by75%),
These improvements are measured in reference to an agreed baselineii. It is also
D4R’s objective that these improvements be made as a result of the presence of a
generic industrial network, a cluster of industrial enterprises, where the “by-products”
of manufacturing functions of one or more network partners are used by other
partners as the “raw” materials for a new manufacturing (or re-manufacturing)
processes, thereby creating a closed-loop system of production.
MicroPro has learnt from previous R&D that the most significant environmental gains are made through the application of an integrated “reuse” strategy, aimed at extending the life of the computers through upgrading and reuse of materials, parts and components. Following this model, materials for the D4R “shell” are reused or recycled, and selected with a view to both performance and durability. Parts and components are mostly used, recovered from other computers and tested for fitness. However, to achieve the full benefits of the reuse approach, partners have set up a supply, marketing and service network that will allow the full implementation of the reuse strategy.
MicroPro has developed the Xerox Company’s concept of a “reuse as a manufacturing strategy” as being reflected in MicroPro’s approach. In the early 90’s, Xerox made this approach central not only to the design and marketing of their office equipment, but also to their entire business strategy. This is documented in Adam Werbach’s book, Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifestoiii, which recounts how the company from 1993 onwards, transformed itself from a loss making concern into a thriving success story on the basis of comprehensive integration of this strategy.
Xerox is perhaps the only mainstream electronics company to adopt such a life-cycle based reuse strategy. They considered it a “North Star” goal, and developed it with three principal aims:
• Reducing costs in the long term
• Eliminating waste and costs of negative environmental impact, and
5
• Developing an ethical image for the company
A description of the key points of the strategy is stated by Werbach:
• Focus on essentials
• Focus on R&D
• Move from products to services
• Work backwards to products design
• Signature analysis (quantifying the useful life of different parts and components)
• Aim at 90% reusability
• “Keep it simple”
• Design for commonality
• Total life costing
• Design for durability
• Energy reduction
• Use materials from sustainable sources
• Quantify life cycle costs savings
Apart from the environmental gains the reuse strategy aimed at long-term cost-effectiveness. Werbach believes that through this strategy Xerox saved hundreds of millions of dollars. ivThey converted waste in to raw materials that were already processed.
Xerox also advocated a transition from a traditional selling model to a Product and Service Strategy (PPS) to the design, manufacture, servicing, take-back and re-manufacture of the iameco v3. This principle of course was also applied by Xerox, whose model included the leasing of photocopiers, rather then their sale, and the remanufacture of used parts from those copiers in new products.
Xerox also introduced, for the first time, a benchmark for Reuse in the writing and accreditation of ISO/EC 24700, “Quality and performance of office equipment that contains reused components” v , in this way establishing a basis for consumer confidence in the use of reused products.
MicroPro in 2003, as part of the LIFE-Environment Project HEATSUNvi, and with the support of the Irish EPA’s Cleaner Greener Production Programmevii began the development Eco-PC (the iameco) that after several design modifications was awarded 1st European Eco-Label for integrated desktop computersviii The project included the carrying out of a Simplified Life Cycle Assessment for the PC, which showed that it achieved 50% reduction in energy use and GHG emissions. R&D also include a Design for Disassembly evaluation carried out by Tricom in Berlin, which looked at
• Selection and use of materials
• Design of components and the project architecture
• Selection of joints, connectors and fasteners
The paper “Practical Eco-Design Approaches to Personal Computers – A case Study of the iameco 2”ix, compiled by the University of Limerick after the end of the project, explains how MicroPro had sufficient control over production to implement design
6
which can ensure remanufacture and refurbishment, ensuring an environmental and commercial advantage. This was done through application of key design principles:
• Design for disassembly
• Design for lifetime extension
Aiming at achieving the following:
• Replace- and extension-ability
• Demount-ability, and
• Impression of stability and value
As it is not possible for an SME to influence to any great extent the design of all parts and components. MicroPro decided to prioritise those areas where it could have most impact. The areas are:
• Design and manufacture of the casing
• Design and commissioning of a “universal mother board”
Further detailed guidance on design was provided by ZeroWIN D3.3 “Guidance Document on D4R for PV Systems and Flat Panel Products”x that made detailed recommendation on all the above areas that were incorporated into the D4R design. This study added several additional considerations:
• Design for minimised production waste
• Design for production waste recycling/down cycling
• Design for reuse
• Design for repair
• Design for depollution
• Design for material recycling/high recovery ratio
• Design in low impact materials
• Design out materials and components
• Design for collection
Other detailed recommendation were also made in relation to motherboard designxi
Taking on board these recommendations, in designing the D4R MicroPro prioritised the design and development of a “universal” motherboard, a generic component that permits the integration of various used components into manufacture and re-manufacture, and a laptop shell that can be populated with a variety of components of various sizes and specifications, and of the selection of the materials that this casing is made form.
These improvements maximised the reuse potential of the laptop, its materials, parts and components. To implement this approach partners structured of an industrial network, with a triple role:
• Sourcing, testing and supplying parts,
• Repairing, upgrading and re-manufacturing
• Marketing, leasing and take-back
7
3. Prototype Presentation
MicroPro has designed and commissioned a universal motherboard with a 6 cell
lithium battery encapsulated in a universal shell made of wood and recycled metal.
This universal shell is capable of accepting new primary system components and
also has the ability to integrate diverse parts and components of different
specifications. The universal motherboard uses Sandy Bridge 1155 sockets and is
capable of accepting a chipset that will facilitate Intel dual core i3, i5, and i7
processors. Intel is updating this chipset in April 2012 with the new Ivy Bridge chipset
which can further reduce power consumption.
The laptop has a 15.6 inch thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD)
screen, which is a remanufactured screen, provided by network partner AUO.
However, it is also able to integrate a smaller screen size depending on the
availability of parts. It incorporates any size hard drive, DDR3 xiimemory, DVD±RW,
HD Graphicsxiii, Wi-Fi, B/G/N, Web Camera, and HDMI and can use any operating
system. It also has the ability to integrate various diverse parts and has one USB3
port and three USB2 ports. The by-product components and parts to populate the
D4R shell can be sourced from the industrial network.
Plywood has been used to manufacture the laptop housing. By-product plywood
from discarded pallets from both the automobile and furniture industries has been
sourced for this purpose. By-product plywood can also potentially be sourced from
demolition/construction activities. Metal is not required for manufacture of the laptop
housing therefore this aspect of the industrial network has been eliminated.
Figure 1 – D4R – external view closed (photo)
8
Figure 2- D4R external view open (photo)
Figure 3 – D4R cut-away port side (sketch)
.
Figure 4- D4R casing reuse at EOL
9
MicroPro has been able to source by-product recycled cardboard and paper from
local industries, SuperValu Supermarkets and Smurfit Kappa Group, which will be
used as D4R laptop packaging.
4. Parts and components
A full inventory of the parts and components of the D4R and their weight are as
follows:
Table 1: Parts and components.
Part or component Weight
Hard Disk 106g
Base back cover 296g
RFID sensor 3g
Battery 315g
DVD 2 layer 162g
LED 15.6” AUO 430g
Sound + USB interface 10g
SATA interface 6g
CPU heatsink fan 52g
RAM DDR3 8g
Motherboard with CPU processor 167g
Motherboard without CPU 156g
CPU 6g
CPU fan 33g
Speakers 8g
Chassis upper with glass + keyboard 1485g
WiFi card 3g
Card reader 16g
Miscellaneous cables 6g
PSU (external) 246g
Camera 1.3M pixels 0.75g
Touchpad 6g
Mains cable 83g
DVD blank disk with drivers 18g
Assortment of screws 3g (See chapter 14 for glossary of technical terms for definitions) Source: Maher, P, MicroPro
The life expectancy of the different parts and components is critical to the
implementation of this reuse strategy. The D4R laptop is expected to have a life-
span of 10 years (2.5 times the life of the baseline laptop). This is the expected
maximum life of the screen and the universal motherboard. After this point it might
not be practical to continue using these parts for remanufacture. It is possible the
10
LED screen could be put to other uses (such as commercial signage) and that the
casing shell could also be used (see Figure 4 above) It is therefore assumed that the
D4R will have 3 x 4 years (12 years) maximum life from the time of manufacture.
Figure 5 – Internal view D4R base .
Figure 6- D4R internal assembly (photo)
11
Component life is variable, so it is likely that different components will have to be
replaced or upgrade at different times in order to achieve the full life of the product.
The estimated usable lives of the different key parts and components are estimated
as follows:
Table 2 – Life expectancy of parts and components.
Part Baseline D4R
LCD Panel 4 years 10.3 yearsxiv
Motherboard 4 years 8 years,
Processor 4 years 9 years
Hard Drive 4 years 4 years
Memory 4 years 5 years
Power Supply 4 years 8 years
Dual Layer DVD 4 years 8 years
Casing 4 years 12 years
Source: Maher, P (MicroPro), Yang, M (AUO)
Components will have to be replaced as early as the first (end of 4 years) but others are likely to last longer. MicroPro suggests that all components be tested periodically by industrial network partners to acertain condition, and if necessary be replaced. Ths coudl take the form of a notional cost „check up“ at the end of 4 years, or when a component fails. These cost would ahve to be brone by the cutomer, unless included in a leasing agreement. The universal motherboard and the universal casing are designed to be reused 3 times or more. Given the potential barrier that lack of confidence in the quality of used parts and components would be, it is recommended that parts and components used be tested to demonstrate that they conform to a high standard, with explicit recommended minimum technical threshold.
12
Table 3. – Testing for parts and components: .
Part or
component
Test required
Memory Stress test, Burn in test, Address test, Math test
Hard Drive Surface test, smart test, Random seek test, Firmware update
Processor Stress test, Temperature test, Address test
DVD Drive DVD & CD testing, Firmware update
Source; Maher, P MicroPro
5. Remanufactured panel
For the initial D4R prototype, a LED panel remanufactured by AUO in Taiwan has been used. This is unique in that an EMO is participating a reuse process. However, there are particular difficulties in the collaboration, and barriers in relation to the continued availability of remanufactured panel have been identified: a) The current supply chain and take back loop does not encourage reserve logistics Panels are B2B products in the laptop supply chain. Panels could be reworked in two situations:
• Defective panels are discovered on sites and still re-workable;
• Defective panels are returned to the panel manufacturers from the brands company customers.
Panel manufacturers sell panel modules to brand companies, and provide after-sale service if defect occurs. Defected panels would be repaired/remanufactured and send back to the brand companies. However, after laptops are sold to the market, panels seldom return to the panel manufacturers due to the complexity of the supply chain, and the requirement from the brand companies. Since some laptop brand companies require panel manufacturers to remove their logo from the panel, customers can only recognize the brand of the laptop, but unable to discover the source of panel, let alone seeking the original panel manufacturer for help. Therefore, it is very rare that final customers will be able to return defected panel back to panel manufacturers to repair or to remanufacture. b) There are technical barriers to remanufacture panels Panels are assemblages of parts including bazel, backlight, array, cell, and colour filters, etc. After the parts are sealed, panels become strong and inseparable to ensure the product quality; only the bazel part is easier to be removed. Therefore, panels can only be remanufactured if defect occurs on the exterior part of panels,
13
such as glass, or if the defect part is discovered before the sealing process. As a result. c) Quality and integrity of the panel. The quality of products is the most important issue for manufacturers. Manufacturers, especially from large corporations, would not risk their companies face by adopting a new business model. Unless the technology to reuse parts is matured enough, or customers are mostly willing to accept products with reused parts, to move from the baseline model to the reuse business model remains difficult.xv
6. Industrial Network
A detailed proposal of the industrial network for the D4R was made in ZeroWIN
Deliverable 6A.1xvi. This paper emphasised the importance of the industrial network
in achieving the ZeroWIN objectives, as well as describing the required design
innovations (explained previously). It four principal conclusions were:
• Importance of industrial networks in supporting reuse as a strategy for
elimination of waste and achieving environmental targets
• Importance of eco-design as the basis for waste elimination in industrial
networks
• The need fro development of a product/service strategy and infrastructure to
make the industrial network possible
• The need for R&D on parts, components, materials and services that can
make the D4R concept possible:
14
Figure 7. D4R Industrial Network in practisexvii.
The network, in practise, has been structured as follows:
Table 4. Industrial Network
No
.
Participant name short
name
Region Main Role in Industrial
Network
1 Multimedia Computer
Systems
MicroPro IE CS1 Co-ordination, product
research and development,
development of reuse
technologies.
2 Association of
Electronic and
Information
Technology
Industries of the
Basque Country
GAIA ES/FR R&D market barriers, recovery
of used parts and components
(supply chain), upgrading, and
repair and remanufacture
(product/service chain).
4 AUO AUO TW R&D and manufacturer of
LCD panel, provide
remanufacture service in
special cases (supply chain).
5 ReUse Computer Reuse DE/AU R&D of Reuse. Recovery of
used parts and components
(supply chain), upgrading,
repair and remanufacture
15
(product/service chain).
6. Secure IT Secure IT UK Recovery of used parts and
components (supply chain),
upgrading, repair and
remanufacture
(product/service chain).
7. REHAB Recycling REHAB
Recycling
IE Recovery of used parts and
components (supply chain),
upgrading, repair and
remanufacture
(product/service chain).
8 Gerharty Furniture Gerharty IE Recovery of waste pallets
from automobile industry and
recycled metal from
(automobile) manufacture and
tooling for manufacture of
housing (supply chain).
Source: MicroPro
The role of industrial network partners is primarily to source used or recycled
materials for the shell, and parts and components that may populate the D4R.
Sourcing and quality control of materials used in the casing will be carried out by
partners Gerharty Furniture in Galway, Ireland, a manufacturer of quality wooden
furniture, who will also prepare and tool these materials, and assemble to provide the
completed universal casing. In the 1st year of production, Gerharty and MicroPro will
be the central manufacturing and distribution points for fully assembled D4R’s.
Functions will include:
• The manufacture of the universal casing
• The assembly of the universal motherboard manufactured by a specialist
companyxviii
• The integration of the manufactured LED panel provided by AUO
• The integration of selected electronic components sourced in the first instance
from industrial network partners in Ireland, (REHAB Recycling)
• The integration of a power supply, cabling , and battery
The electrical components that will populate this shell will be sourced from network
partners (probably in Dublin) that dismantle PCs. In order to ensure fitness of
products, a high standard of testing will be required (see Table 3).
Participating network partners will be asked to confirm that the parts and
components used in the D4R have been tested successfully to the agreed standard.
In later years, MicroPro will outsource internal assembly to regional network
partners. “barebones” systems (i.e. the computer systems void of hard disks and
16
RAM modules) will be manufactured in Ireland and shipped to industrial network
partners in other countries that have entered into franchise arrangements with
MicroPro fro assembly. These partners will populate the shells with locally available
selected primary system components, but ensuring that the testing protocols (above)
are adhered to and depending on stock (inventory) of returned quality used parts. In
future MicroPro could franchise industrial network partners to actually manufacture
D4R casings in each region, for sale in their catchment areas.
The new model requires a change from a traditional retail “direct selling” model to a
lease-based business model, or a deposit based model (below), both of which will
guarantee return of the equipment to MicroPro at the end-of-life.
This recovery mechanism could also take the form of a return deposit based
agreement between MicroPro/distributors and the consumer. The consumer could
receive various scales of return deposit, calculated on the residual value of working
parts and components, on return of the system to MicroPro for upgrade or
refurbishment.
The D4R represents for MicroPro a news approach to eco-design, in relation to the
design its previous green computer, the iameco v3xix . The former emphasised
improved eco-design, discerning selection of components and applications of
accepted environmental benchmarks, such as Energy Star 5, the European Eco-
label, the EuP Directive, etc.
The D4R approach, on the other hand, emphasises reuse of materials, parts and
components, upgrading, take-back and remanufacture. It is a further development of
the life-cycle approach, and an innovative design and manufacture philosophy,
corresponding to ZeroWIN objectives.
Industrial network partners in the selected regions are technically qualified and have
the administrative and technical infrastructure to provide after-sales support, repairs
and upgrading to clients in the selected region, and to provide this service in the four
initial large catchment areas in Europe. A franchise or similar arrangement will be put
in place and an IPR agreement will be signed with partners, to protect MicroPro’s
investment.
It will be desirable (but not mandatory) for industrial network partners to be certified
to the following standards:
• ISO14001(Environmental)
• ISO 9001(Quality)
• PAS 141:2010 (Specification for the processing for reuse of waste and used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE)
17
7. ZeroWIN targets
The manner in which the D4R prototype achieves the three ZeroWIN targets is
explained in D6A.2xx . In relation to reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
Table 5 – impact GHG emissionsxxi
Strategy Potential
Impact1
Use of by-product LCD panels from industrial network 20%2
Sourcing wood for chassis from construction/demolition
industrial network
10%3 /
0.5%2
Use of by-product RAM modules from industrial network 3%2
Use of by-product cables/power supply from industrial network 3%2
Sourcing packaging from industrial network 0.5%2
Use of by-product processor from industrial network 0.5%2
Use of by-product keyboard modules from industrial network 0.2%2
Use of by-product mainboard from industrial network 25%2
1 Potential impact as percentage of the greenhouse warming potential of the
baseline 2 Assumption of substitution of a product with virgin materials; the
environmental burden of the by-product is allocated on the basis of a market
value of 20% versus the virgin product 3 Effect of substitution of magnesium and aluminium (baseline laptop) through
wooden parts taken into account (Eco-design plus substitution effect)
Table 6 – Impact on recycling and reusexxii
Strategy Potential
reuse /
recycling
rate1
Relevance as
percentage of
the product
weight
Sourcing wood for chassis from
construction/demolition industrial
network
80%1/100% 35%
18
Strategy Potential
reuse /
recycling
rate1
Relevance as
percentage of
the product
weight
Use of by-product LCD panels from
industrial network
80%1/100% 20%
Sourcing packaging from industrial
network
0%/100% 15%
Use of by-product cables/power supply
from industrial network
80%1/100% 5%
Use of by-product keyboard modules
from industrial network
80%1/100% 3%
Use of by-product RAM modules from
industrial network
80%1/100% 1%
Use of by-product processor from
industrial network
80%1/100% <0.1%
1 Related to the potential amount of waste in the baseline scenario; upstream
waste generation outside the industrial network is not taken into account 2 Optimistic assumption that 80% of the incoming by-products meet the
material requirements agreed on in the industrial network. Remaining 20% of
the inputs have to be recycled.
And finally, on reduction of fresh water use:
Table 7: Impact on fresh water use.xxiii
Strategy Potential
Impact1
Use of by-product LCD panels from industrial network 30%2
Sourcing wood for chassis from construction/demolition
industrial network
8%3/0.3%2
Use of by-product cables/power supply from industrial
network
3%2
Use of by-product RAM modules from industrial network 2%2
Use of by-product keyboard modules from industrial
network
0.4%2
19
Strategy Potential
Impact1
Use of by-product processor from industrial network 0.2%2
Sourcing packaging from industrial network 0.1%2
1 Potential impact as percentage of the fresh water use of the baseline 2 Assumption of substitution of a product with virgin materials; the
environmental burden of the by-product is allocated on the basis of a market
value of 20% versus the virgin product 3 Effect of substitution of magnesium and aluminium (baseline laptop) through
wooden parts taken into account (Eco-design plus substitution effect)
8. Marketing Mix
8.1 Price
ZeroWIN D7.2xxiv sets out the results of the life cycle costs assessment of the D4R.
It is shows that the total costs of an iameco D4R laptop are estimated to approx. 600
Euro, which is 43% of a new laptop with comparable configuration. Based on the
adapted reuse scenario, approximately 12% spare parts can be expected with total
extra costs of approx. 10 to 15% (€60-90) during four years use.
Given that the testing procedures are tight enough in order to reach a comparable
standard such as new products, the advantages are very clear. The question, if or
how far the quality standard can be reached, can be only answered at the final
assessment, when real data about the testing and quality tests are available. At this
point, the comparison is fictitious and speculative.
20
Table 8. Results of cost comparison (average values of market price ranges) as provided by MicroPro (2011) and MicroPro (2012)
Component Baseline Pilot
LCD panel 36 24
Motherboard 500 490
CPU 200 30
Hard disk drive 82 16
RAM modules 65 17
Power supply 40 4
Cabling 20 0.4
DVD drive 49 18
Chassis 420 0.5
Screws, minor parts 4.75 0
Sum 1416.75 599.9
Source: xxv
The definitive retail price of the D4R has not been established. Given the low
numbers to be produced in the first instance, it is possible that the sales price will
initially be higher than that of conventional laptops on the market (e.g. Lenovo, Dell).
It is important to establish that the price of the product will generate a different level
of demand and will therefore have a different impact on the marketing objectives of
the company.
Normally, demand and price have an inverse relationship: the higher the price, the
lower the demand; however, some consumers see higher prices as a sign of a better
product, despite this, if charged a price too high, the level of demand could fall. The
demand curve shows the probable purchase amount of the market at different
prices, taking into account the reactions of many individuals who have sensitivity to
prices. It is also important to be aware that products labeled as "green" have
boomed in recent years, due to growing concern about climate change as a result of
global warming, and has led to consumers to be increasingly aware of environmental
issues in relation to both companies and their products. xxvi
So-called "green products" tend to be priced higher than conventional ones, but it
has been found that this is not an impediment to their marketing, as consumers are
willing to spend more money on them. This trend is stronger among consumers of
so-called "emerging countries" who are more likely to buy products and services with
a responsible approach to the care of the planet.
The importance of environmental criteria for companies when choosing IT vendors
and products is in most of the cases relatively important. xxvii It is really important for
a company in which products are prized higher to demonstrate as a key of their
business their ICT usage sustainable strategy and the comprehensive corporate
social responsibility (CSR) strategy that they have adopted. As a result, Green ICT
strategy can positively influence both, prize and company value. xxviii
21
All products entering the market take some time to be accepted by society, yet, for
the reasons mentioned above, and thanks to the social consciousness that exists
today, it is likely that demand for a product that can demonstrate its unique
environmental credentials will increase significantly in time, gaining a considerable
market, possibly within the first year of inception, and over time become accepted
and therefore established in the market.xxix
8.2 Distribution
The distribution of the D4R will be the responsibility of the industrial network
described previously, so initial distribution will be carried out in Ireland, UK,
Germany, Austria, Spain and France.
This structure will be a network of enterprises that will be franchise holders for the
maintenance, repair, take-back, re-manufacturing, and re-marketing of the D4R.
MicroPro proposes to start out with 3 such network partners, and increase the
number of partners and the regions covered gradually. These agents will also have a
key role in local dissemination and marketing of the D4R and possibly other iameco
products. The selection of agents will aim at maximizing EU and later world
coverage. The network will be expanded beyond the initial regions after the 3rd year
of operation.
The work done by the network will include a D4R lease and service package, and
the network will also develop an internet-based lifecycle information system for
inventory management. It is important that the consumer is fully aware of the
technical support options available after sales or during the lease period. Support
options include repair and replacement of parts, upgrading and take-back, remote
support for hardware/software issue resolution and other operations. These details
will be provided with the information pack provided with the equipment and on-line,
as well as instructions on the computers proper environmental use
The development of a lifecycle information system for inventory management will be
crucial. A key difficulty in ensuring the economic feasibility of remanufacturing is
associated with reverse logistics. Supply uncertainties in terms of quality, timing, and
quantity of returned products are the main issues. Timing and quantity of returned
systems are direct barriers for strategic and operational planning but will be
addressed by the leasing model. To address the quality issue, before the lease
period starts all primary system components will be individually tagged and assigned
with a unique serial number. Static information associated with each serial number
(E.g. bill of materials, component specifications, configuration options and operation
instructions etc.) will be input to the database. This information will be added to the
dynamic EOL data base information, based on market data, and will allow to chose
the appropriate disposition option. This system will allow the swapping in the repair
process allowing reliability and accuracy which will improve the information about the
22
turn around times and a clear understanding of what parts need to be supplied and
to what parts which improves the value of the information about the market return.
This will become more important as distribution networks scale up. Item level
identification using barcodes or other means is one option. Radio frequency
identification is another promising technology that could potentially provide an
increased level of automation to this process.
8.3 Promotion
The main element for the promotion of the D4R will be to carry out good
dissemination activities planning. The development of a comprehensive
dissemination programme is essential to identify key stakeholders and the public
with the aim of both, achieving targeted and general public.
This includes product related specific dissemination activities mainly in terms of
communicating
• Rationale of the reuse strategy and
• Importance of elimination of electronic waste
• Combating the prejudices surrounding remanufacture,
• Importance of renewable and long-life materials and components xxx
This will be partly aimed at national and European authorities, aiming to promote a
more comprehensive approach to eco-design and electronic sustainability. This
means to inform EACI (European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation) with
product information sheets for online information system and additional information
material (like videos, images, news flash, etc.).
The main dissemination activities that must be undertaken to effectively promote the
product are the following:
• Dissemination strategy which focuses on a three-way communication
between project stakeholder, policy makers and end users. This will be an
integral part of all activities from first contact through to ongoing customer
satisfaction feedback.
• A website dedicated to promoting and disseminating the D4R
• Electronic newsletters edited and send out by MicroPro.
• Press releases. All partners will take an active role in discussing and deciding
the content of the material to be published to ensure that no confidential
material is disclosed. Articles will be elaborated and published and other
associations and Universities will be also contacted for dissemination. Gaia as
23
an Industrial Association will be able to disseminate the actions carried out by
GAIA Sarean, the official newsletter of Gaia which is monthly published to
more than 2000 stakeholders.
• Publications in specialised journals and announcements will be made during
European conferences, in order to communicate to the target audience, the
results of this project and provide information on the availability of the
developed material. As an example of this action, GAIA will disseminate the
D4R description to its Software Committee and Business Committee,
attended by associated companies, which are hold every 2 month.
• Presentation at conferences such as Electronics Goes Green 2012 in Berlin or the General Assembly of Gaia and IHOBE International Eco design Congress.
• User’s manuals. Publication of a User Manual explaining use and benefits of
the D4R. Such a guidebook will help in making more target groups aware of
the advantages of the D4R.
Selected promotion and dissemination will be secured through the promotion of the
Case Study by the ZeroWIN Project (e.g. via WP9). This will include:
• Dissemination on the ZeroWIN project web site
• Other European projects that Partners in ZeroWIN and CS1 might choose to
develop.
MicroPro and several ZeroWIN partners are currently developing a further proposal
to the CIP Innovation programmexxxi, which aims to develop the commercialisation of
iameco products developed to date (including the D4R).
8.4 Competitors
The D4R’s principal competitors in European markets are the large brand name
companies: Dell, HP, Fujitsu, Lenovo/IBM/ Medion, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and Apple,
who source their components almost without exception outside Europe. Only Fujitsu
Technology Solutions produces in Augsburg / Germany and some Intel and AMD
processors are produced in Europe. Although most of the large players take
environmental aspects into account, they are very hesitant to promote any computer
specifically as an eco-product. This is evidenced by the fact that none, apart from
Asus, has gone as far as to secure the European Eco-Label fro any of its products.
MicroPro will open a virtually virgin (Blue Ocean) market for actively promoting eco-
computers, which is currently non-existent. In this market segment MicroPro will be
without real competitors, similar to Apple who (repeatedly) developed a completely
new market with their fashionable product strategy. Besides these large players
there are numerous assembly shops selling computers under their own brand, but
24
basically using standard components, and none of these companies put significant
efforts in designing a particular “green” PC.
8.5 Target audience
The lessons learnt from the application of the D4R product/service model will be very
important for other computer and electronics manufacturers who want to incorporate
eco-design principles in their products. It must be acknowledged that small computer
manufacturers are partly at a disadvantage as they have much less influence over
their component suppliers when compared to their OEM counterparts.
The partners will, as part of the Project’s dissemination strategy, promote a
product/service model, which includes eco-design, a life-cycle approach, and a reuse
strategy (based on design for disassembly, take-back, upgrading and
remanufacture), to other SME’s and stakeholders in the consumer electronics sector
that might benefit from replicating this sustainable product service model.
Key target groups for the project are:
• Private consumers: particularly those segments identified in the above
surveys
• Private companies: particularly large corporates, banks and the hospitality
sectors
• Local Authorities and Public bodies: purchasing on Green Procurement
principles
• IT service companies: that can replicate the eco-design, LCA and reuse
strategies
• SMEs in the electrical and electronics sector; that can apply the model to
other sectors
• Policy makers: that can see the D4R as a practical example of sustainable
consumption.
For an optimal outreach to the target groups, the involvement of some key actors is
essential:
• Industrial clusters that integrate several SMEs from the electrical and
electronics sector.
• National, Regional and Local administration: with specific programs to SMEs.
Many of these have already been contacted and their support secured by partners
who have an existing working relation with them.
25
The following table summarizes the customer split that the MicroPro’s previous eco-
computers:
Table 9. Client profile in current sales
Sector MicroPro XPC Iameco v1 Iameco v2
Education 24% - 56%
Business 60% - 13%
Home users 16% 100% -
Government - - 31%
Source: Galligan, A, MicroPro.
9. External Analysis
9.1 Legislative factors
The world is moving towards green computing or green IT, and the European Union
is getting onboard by onboard by promoting better environmental conditions through
different programs and enactment of laws to achieve the established objectives in
this field. This concept refers to the study and practice of designing, manufacturing,
using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems –such as
monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems,
efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.
It is clear that governments have a need to regulate and promote initiatives in favor
of green production, moving towards greater care of the environment and society in
general. Since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force in 2009, the European Union,
as a legal entity, has shared responsibility with all the Member States, by legislating
in areas such as the internal market; social policy; economic, social and territorial
cohesion; agriculture and fisheries, the conservation of marine biological resources;
environment; consumer protection; transport; trans-European networks; energy; area
of freedom, security and justice; common safety concerns in public health
matters.xxxii
As the European Union and Member States share responsibilities in the mentioned
areas, laws from each Member State are obliged to be in accordance with law
established by the EU. Considering the functioning of the EU legal system and for
the purpose of the present study, we do not consider it necessary to analyze
legislation in every country involved, but the legislation that prevails for the entire
European Union
The ZeroWin Project has carefully analyzed the European policies and relevant
initiatives that are legally binding and non-binding at EU level that are related, in this
26
case, to the production of the Laptop D4R. The group also analyzed policies that
sometimes include voluntary and non-voluntary aspects.
In April 2010, the ZeroWIN consortium presented the Deliverable 8.1, Policy
Synthesis Report, which presents a deep analysis of the impact of twenty-five
European and international policies on supply chain management, industrial
symbiosis, product stewardship and Eco design; The following table presents the
most relevant legislation that has a direct or indirect impact in the developing of the
project, as well as the foreseen results.
Table 10: Policies relevant to ZeroWIN sectors and strategies
Non-voluntary Voluntary
Raw material acquisition
Thematic Strategy on the
sustainable use natural resources
Manufacturing
Eco design Directive
RoHS
ETAP
IPPC
Marrakech Process
European Union Emissions
Trading System
European EIA Directive
REACH
Distribution
No relevant policies identified
Product purchase and use
European Eco label
GPP
Energy labeling
End of life
27
Waste Framework Directive
WEEE Directive
ELV Directive
Packaging and Packaging Waste
Directive
Batteries and Accumulators
Directive
Waste Oil Directive
Hazardous Waste Directive
PCB/PCT Directive
Incineration and Landfill
Directives
PoP Directive
Shipment of Waste Regulation
Thematic Strategy on the
prevention and recycling of
waste
Source: ZeroWIN Project. Deliverable 8.1 Policy Synthesis Report. p. 5
As the present report has as main focus the analysis of legislation that is closely
involved to the production of the D4R, thus, it is necessary to define and analyse the
laws mentioned in the “manufacturing” section of the previous table: Eco design
Directive, RoHS, ETAP, IPPC, Marrakech Process, European Union Emissions
Trading System, European EIA Directive, and REACH, in order to have a clear
understanding of how this legislation affects the envisaged product.
9.2 Main EU Directives:
The specific polices that the researchers recommended as relevant to the D4R
laptop are the Eco design, RoHS, and WEEE directives.
a) DIRECTIVE 2009/125/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of Eco
design requirements for energy-related productsxxxiii
The Eco-Design Directive was adopted in 2005 and extended in 2009 to include
Energy related Products (ErP). It defines the principles, conditions and criteria for
28
setting environmental requirements for energy-using and energy-related
appliances. The Directive is an integral part of EU policy for sustainable
development and builds upon the Integrated Product Policy in adopting a lifecycle
approach to the reduction of the environmental impacts of products. Given that
over 80% of product-related environmental impacts are determined at the design
phase of the product, the Directive promotes a preventative approach through
Eco-design.xxxiv
The Directive covers a very wide range of products that use energy during their
use phase and has provisions to include products used for the generation,
transfer and measurement of energy. The Directive does not discriminate
between energy sources: electricity, solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and
renewable energy are included. It also covers parts for products which are put on
the market for sale to end users, where their environmental performance can be
evaluated separately. Examples of energy using products include boilers, water
heaters, televisions, computers, industrial fans and furnaces. Examples of energy
related products, which impact energy use if not directly using it, include loft
insulation material, windows, and bathroom devices, such as taps and shower
heads. Means of transportation are excluded.
This is the directive with the highest impact on the design and production of the
D4R, because it defines the action plan from the EU regarding environmental
technologies. It has a comprehensive approach through the removal of barriers
to commercializing eco-design technologies, as well as the promotion and
implementation of environmental technologies.
The Eco-design Directive on Energy-using Products, aiming to design out the
environmental impacts of products across the lifecycle, is evidently a pivotal
European policy for this ZeroWIN strategy, especially for the case of the D4R.
b) DIRECTIVE 2002/95/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. -RoHS.xxxv
The purpose of this Directive is to implement within the laws of the Member
States restrictions in the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic
equipment and to contribute to the protection of human health and the
environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste electrical and electronic
equipment.xxxvi The RoHS or lead-free directive which took effect on 1st of July
2006, which basically restricts the following materials: lead (Pb); mercury (Hg);
cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB),
polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). This kind of measure is of vital
importance to promote among industry the production of devices friendly to the
environment.
29
The RoHS directive is a key element of the European Union´s environmental
policy on waste. It addresses notably the reduction of e-waste management
problems linked to heavy metals and flame retardants.
Overall the RoHS Directive has a positive environmental impact due to its
limitation of toxic and hazardous materials in EEE. This is especially relevant for
the inappropriate recycling procedures currently in place in many developing
countries and economies in transition, where toxic and hazardous material usage
results in elevated uncontrolled emissions.
Taking into account technical and economic feasibility, the most effective way of
ensuring the significant reduction of risks to health and the environment related to
these substances, is the substitution of these substances in EEE by safe or safer
materials. Restricting the use of these hazardous substances is likely to enhance
the economic profitability and possibility for recycling of e-waste and to decrease
the negative health impact on workers in recycling plants. Therefore, the RoHS
Directive prescribes maximum concentration values up to which the presence of
the substances referred to above shall be tolerated. Substitution of the hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment must also be carried out in a
way that is compatible with the health and safety of users of EEE.
c) DIRECTIVE 2002/96/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment
(WEEE)xxxvii
The purpose of this Directive is, as a first priority, the prevention of waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the reuse, recycling
and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of
waste. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all operators
involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, e.g. producers,
distributors and consumers and in particular those operators directly involved in
the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The WEEE Directive constitutes the European legal framework regarding
collection, recycling and recovery obligations for electrical goods. It is key
element of the European Union’s (EU) environmental policy on waste. It
addresses a particularly complex waste flow in terms of:
• The variety of products,
• The association of different materials and components,
• The hazardous substance content, and
• The growth patterns of this waste stream which can be influenced
not only by need but also by changes in technology, design and
marketing.
The WEEE Directive seeks to induce design modifications that make WEEE
easier to dismantle, recycle and recover. It plays an important role in reducing the
30
dispersion of hazardous substances into the environment by seeking not only to
regulate the use of hazardous substances in equipment but also controlling the
way that older equipment is disposed of at the end of its life. This stance reduces
the contamination of shredder residue and eases recycling and disposal of these
residues.
It was determined by partnership after the analysis of WEEE Directive, it
introduces lifecycle thinking into e-waste policy, noting that the environment
impact of WEEE is linked to its design, and this should be considered along with
material extraction, processing and waste management.
9.3 Other policies
a) Environmental Technologies Action Plan:
The Commission Communication ‘Stimulating Technologies for Sustainable
Development: An Environmental Technologies Action Plan for the European
Union’ was adopted in January 2004 to promote “eco-innovation for jobs, growth
and the environment”. The Action Plan’s aims to:
• Remove obstacles to eco-innovation, to maximize its potential
environmental benefits, while contributing to EU competitiveness and
economic growth
• Position the EU at the forefront of environmental technology development
and application
• Mobilize stakeholders to promote these objectives
ETAP is enabled by important research investment, and follows the Lisbon
Strategy target of research spending near 3% of GDP by 2010. It indeed
concretely supports the Lisbon Strategy’s aim to “make Europe, by 2010, the
most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge based economy in the world”.
Through the promotion of energy efficiency, renewable energy and low carbon
energies, environmental technologies promoted by ETAP directly support
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
b) Marrakech Process
The Marrakech Process is a global multi-stakeholder process to support the
implementation of sustainable consumption and production and to develop a
global framework for action on sustainable consumption and production, the so-
called 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and
Production (10YFP on SCP).
The Process responds to the call of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
(as of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002) to support
31
regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards SCP patterns, and
de-link economic growth from environmental degradation.
Thus, the Marrakech Process was launched in 2003 with the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) as leading agencies.
The Marrakech Process consists of regular international expert meetings,
regional consultations, national roundtables and other activities to promote
progress on the 10YFP on SCP. It includes the following mechanisms and
stakeholders: a Cooperation Dialogue with development agencies, an NGO and a
Business Forum, an UN Inter-Agency Network, Regional Consultations and SCP
Programmes organised by governments as well as seven voluntary Task Forces.
9.4 Legal barriers:
The D4R, instead of facing legal barriers for its production and commercialization, it
has an open path to enter in the European market.
The Thematic Strategy on Natural Resources, calling for “more value” from
resources as well as less environmental impact per unit of resource use, is itself an
important driver of innovation and resource efficiency, and thus also of European
competitiveness. The Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste
supports these principles in a more general way, introducing lifecycle thinking into
waste policy and linking this to product design.
Green Public Procurement has been identified as a major vehicle for the promotion
of Eco-design, offering opportunities to shape production and consumption trends as
well as boosting European competitiveness.
Finally certain policies uphold Eco-design in specific sectors. The Packaging Waste
Directive for example includes targets for packaging recycling that have been seen
to trigger several successful innovations in packaging design, resulting in packaging
optimisation in terms of lighter weight, increased use of recycled materials and more
concentrated product formats. The End-of-Life Vehicles Directive and the Batteries
and Accumulators Directive include further design-phase product specific recycling
and recovery requirements.
Overall, Eco-design has been best addressed by EU policy in terms of the ZeroWIN
strategies studied, and has been approached from a number of angles, both in terms
of technical development and market development
32
9.5 Economic factors
According to the report “A new Growth Path for Europe, Generating Prosperity
and Jobs in the Low-Carbon Economy”xxxviii commissioned by the German
Environment Ministry, states Europe can revitalize its economy by a massive burst of
investment in green technologies which aims at reducing emissions by 30% by 2020
on 1990 levels. The report also states that by increasing investment from 18% to
22% of GDP, a major retrofit of European building stock and reorientation of the
energy grid towards renewables can spur a construction boom that will increase
economic growth rates by up to 0.6% a year. In the process, a mutual reinforcing
process would take place with up to six million additional jobs being created. This
would be helped by the utilisation of hi-tech industries.
The report gives a macro-level overview of the expected future for green industries
and green products. Parallel, the EU policy makers are targeting to achieve this goal
through different initiatives such as the ones described in the legal section of this
report.
The EU is committed to growing the economy while protecting the earth and its
resources. To make this happen, plenty of effort is being put in to boosting the green
economy. In 2009, the Commission announced that it would provide €105 billion
through its cohesion funds to invest in green technologies and eco-innovation.
In addition, priorities laid down in Europe 2020, the EU’s new economic strategy,
stress the need for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. That means building a
competitive, low-carbon, resource-efficient economy – one of the Europe 2020’s
flagship initiatives - and safeguarding the environment by preventing degradation,
biodiversity loss and the unsustainable use of resources.
A key goal under Europe 2020 will be to support businesses so that they can
compete globally while being able to make the shift to a greener economy. If this is
going to happen, people will have to acquire the skills and training needed to work in
the green economy.xxxix
MicroPro has previously been a partner and beneficiary of a previous EU initiative to
promote environmental action, the LIFE-Environment Programme (Project
HEATSUN, LIFE00/ENV/IRL/00764), where the first prototype of the ecological
computers were developed. The iameco v3 is now in production and available to the
market. It is also a partner in another FP7 Environment Project LCA to Goxl
It is clear that at the moment the green economy is still in development, but efforts
from European SMEs, which represent 98% of all Industry in Europe, supported by
EU policies is moving towards a greener environment, greener economies and a
greener future.
33
MicroPro is in the right track and at the right moment to promote the development
and production of the D4R Laptop because it is the moment when more efforts are
being done to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 Initiatives.
This appears to be the right moment to develop green products, but at the same time
it is important to bear in mind economic factors, such as the high labor cost in
Europe compared with costs of developing countries. To decrease the labor cost in
Europe in order to be competitive with the one in developing countries like China,
incentive programs would have to be developed in EU to allow unemployed people
to find employment in social works like environmental technologies. For example in
China the labor cost is subsidized through housing or free education for the children.
9.6 Social factors
The first step that MicroPro has to take when considering the design of green
products, such as the D4R is to establish the level of customer concern regarding
environmental issues, and how potential customers will receive environmentally
friendly products and services. These will become our “green consumer” target.
The Scottish firm Smartmeters, which embraces the idea of what smart metering
technology can do to reduce energy consumption has highlighted several issues
regarding the behavior of European consumer regarding green products. The study
called “Green Consumers in Europe”, had within its scope, the examination of how
environmentally conscious European consumers are, which factors affect a
consumer´s choice to undertake green behaviors, among others, the referred study
is available on the Smartmeters website.
According to the results of the referred study, the firm has highlighted that xliEuropean consumers are highly aware of environmental problems and how their
everyday activities are contributing to them, with a high proportion already taking
action to improve the sustainability of their lifestyles.xlii
Smartmeters also states, based on their own research, which the vast majority of
European consumers that pursue green behaviour are doing so primarily in order to
benefit the environment, as opposed to receiving the monetary savings often
associated with such behavioural change.xliii
Females and older consumers display higher levels of sustainable behavior than
other groups, and are therefore likely to be more receptive to green marketing
campaigns.
For this people, among the most important reasons to purchase green products is
because they understand the factors that are driving the growth of green
consumerism in Europe. xliv
34
The IT sector has an important opportunity to provide green products and services,
and to develop strategies based on those demographic groups that are more
receptive to environmental concerns.
a) Culture - major determinant of European consumer behavior
MicroPro is mainly targeting customers from Europe, taking advantage of the
European Single Market. It is therefore important to understand consumer behavior,
particularly of people within the EU, in order to develop adequate marketing
strategies for the D4R. There are several factors that should be analyzed for this
purpose:
• Consumption of goods / services: For many Europeans the acquisition of
certain products have become the means of expression of social
differentiation, they can also be considered signals, which allow them to
express their social position.
• Membership. Ostentatious consumption is typical of certain social categories,
aimed at demonstrating wealth / status of the individual in society (e.g.
Mercedes car brand in France is the symbol of success and upward social
mobility).
• Reference groups also influence consumer behavior. This influence is very
strong for products that express the social status of the client - such as cars
and clothing. Sometimes the reference group may be transformed into one of
belonging; the individual is included in the group, which radically changed his
consumer behavior and buying purchasing. For example, public support for
the ecological products can be obtained not only when such products are
offered and made, but if customers have an ecological behavior in the group
which includes "green consumers". Green consumer is people who actively
seek out products with a relatively low impact on the environment and with
favourable effects on life quality. Mostly they are educated and well informed.
Surveys show that more women attach greater importance to the acquisition
criteria related to ecological optics, making them feel more threatened by lack
of attention paid to environmental imperatives and to become more inclined to
accept environmental solutions related reasons the quality of their most
important customers and the ability / power to influence their purchasing
decisions of the whole society and future generations.
b) Green customer trendsxlv
Euro monitor Internationalxlvi is the world leader in strategy research for consumer
markets, established in 1972. In March 12th, 2012, it made public the results of its
latest study carried out worldwide regarding “green” consumer trends “Green
Buying – An Exploration of "Green" Consumer Trends”.xlvii The research was
35
carried out in different countries from all continents, by in-house researches and
counted also with opinions from experts and analysts from different countries.
The research shows that concepts such as “green”, “organic”, “locally sourced,” and
“fair trade” has begun to populate more and more labels and ingredients lists within
the last decade. As climate change, health awareness, and environmental issues
gain ground, consumers are beginning to reconsider the most important factors
guiding their purchasing decisions. While green factors do influence many
respondents' purchase decisions, they trail price and quality by a significant margin.
Green products with the natural” label hold the most appeal. At present, concerns
about legitimacy in developed markets and lack of availability in developing markets
negatively affect interest in green products. In addition, products with green features
tend to have relatively higher prices than their non-green counterparts, and that extra
cost is difficult to pay out of recession-hit household budgets. Still, analysts feel that
awareness of green products has been growing and will continue to grow in all
regions, though many note that awareness does not necessarily translate to interest,
especially if prices remain high.
According to Euro monitor’s report, respondents worldwide agree that quality and
price are the most essential factors when buying a product; 97% think that the quality
of a product is a key feature, and 85% feel just as strongly about price. While the
term “natural” is an essential factor to nearly 50% of analysts, making it ostensibly as
important as a strong brand presence, the survey shows that some other “green”
phrases (organic, locally-sourced, fair-trade) only affect about one-third of
respondents' purchasing decisions.
Through write-in responses to Euromonitor´s survey, it was clear that many
respondents, mostly in North America, Latin America, and the EU, are concerned
with the legitimacy of green products. As one analyst from North America said, “I
have a hard time buying into the sustainability of most 'green' or organic business
processes. It seems to me to be largely misappropriated and used out of context to
tap into a new marketing fad among consumers.” Taking into consideration
comments like this, MicroPro has to make emphasis not only in the benefits and
advantages of the product, but also in clearly demonstrate the legitimacy of the
“green” features that make the D4R particular and friendly for the environment.
The following figure shows the % of who believe the listed factors are "somewhat
important” or “very important” in their purchasing
36
Source: xlviii
Nearly 70% of respondents across the globe said they were somewhat to very willing
to spend more on a green product, compared to the same product without green
features. Only 11% of respondents were not willing at all to spend more money for
green features.
Source: xlix
Euromonitor research shows while the image and penetration of green products
varies by region, analysts generally believe that green products are mostly
purchased by consumers who can afford them. When asked about the general
attitudes regarding green products in their countries, respondents from the US,
Canada, Europe, and Africa, among others, pointed out that only wealthy people
purchase green products; those with less money will most likely buy cheaper and
more readily available products.
Figure 8. Important factors in purchasing decisions 2011
Figure 9. Willingness to pay for green features 2011
37
Respondents from Russia and non-EU countries stressed the lack of available green
products in their region and said that the percentage of those who do seek out green
products is quite limited. In open-ended responses, analysts in China recognized the
organic trend, but feel it is very much still developing.
The expert firm has also described in its report how the consumers´ attitudes have
shifted towards green products, to this respect, Euromonitor affirms that consumers´
attitudes for green products have either stayed neutral or slightly grown even the
economic situation.
As one respondent from the EU said, “There is a small but growing segment that
finds [green products] extremely important and tries to eat as much as possible only
organic. However the majority is still sceptical toward organic products and finds
them too expensive. But the awareness is growing rapidly.” Respondents from Latin
America, however, were adamant in stating that green products affect a very small
segment of people and they did not think this attitude has changed since 2009.
Source:l
While some respondents are sceptical of green product claims, very few are
completely opposed to the idea of such products. Given the choice between a green
product and a non-green product offered at the same price, the vast majority of
respondents write that they would opt to go green. Results of the Euromonitor
Survey –Quick Pulse- from December 2011show that there is a loyal, if minority,
following of people who opt for green products and those consumers will continue to
do so in the future. However, if green products continue to cost more than non-green
products, then analysts expect most buyers of green products to be those who have
extra income in this struggling economic environment.
It is clear that consumption habits have changed dramatically compared with the
past decades, and new profiles of customers are emerging and asking for specific
Figure 10. Changes in attitudes toward “green” products 2011
38
products and services that fulfill their needs. To this regard, Euro RSCG Worldwide
carried out The New Consumer study li, and defined the profile of the new
customers, not valid only for Europe, but at international level. The results of this
survey had drawn the following key characteristics and findings:
The New Consumers are smarter, more empowered, and more demanding than
previous generations of shoppers. They make full use of online tools to connect with
others and score the right buys. 69% of global respondents to Euro RSCG’s New
Consumer study say they are smarter shoppers than they were a few years ago.
63% are more demanding shoppers than they used to be. 62% do lots of consumer
researches online—e.g., seeking out product info, reviews and ratings, price
comparisons.
The New Consumers have taken advantage of the downturn to consider moving
down a new path, finding a better way forward in terms of how they consume and
how they live their lives. 56% say the recession has served to remind people of
what’s really important in life—and that’s a good thing. 72% are making an effort to
improve the way they live. 71% are trying to improve who they are as individuals.
50% are actively trying to figure out what makes them happy.
They are eager to reduce their negative impact on the environment and on other
people: 64% say making environmentally friendly choices makes them feel good.
72% feel good about reducing the amount of waste they create. 54% are making an
effort to buy fewer disposable goods. 65% believe they have a responsibility to
censure unethical companies by avoiding their products. 51% avoid shopping at
stores that don’t treat their employees fairly. 57% say it makes them feel good to
support local producers, artisans, and manufacturers, and 45% say it is important to
buy locally produced goods.
Mintel International has also joined the tendency to research about customer
tendencies towards green products, recently, the UK and US offices carried out
surveys in Europe and in the US to understand this new field in these markets.
Mintel´s UK branch found out that sustainability and ethical products are a major
trend in the European market due to their concern about environment, meanwhile
the US office says that customers of that country will buy such type of products when
they tend to be important for health and safety, and they are according to the price.
In the other hand, the IGD firm, expert in food and grocery customer tendencies,
reports that the 49% of 2700 customers from UK, Germany, France and Spain are
willing to buy food and grocery products with ethical credential in the future, before
buying local and Fairtrade products. Continuing in this line, another expert in the
field, Amarjit Sahota said that the organic market is patchy in Europe due to the
varying effects of the economic crisis, but that organic food and drink sales grew by
over 15 per cent in both France and Sweden.
In countries like Denmark, the market share of organic food is 7%, with many organic
products like mild and eggs having over 20% market share. However, the market
39
share for other environmental friendly products remains low because of poor
availability. The report also shows that Danish consumers would like to buy more
organic products, such as hygiene products if they could find them in retails stores.
Currently, there are researches available mostly related to bio or organic products,
which represent an important reference to understand the way of thinking of
potential customers, and analyze tendencies in the field of green products. There is
no information available regarding Green IT products because of the very low or not
availability in the market.
9.7 Competitiveness analysis
There is an increasing trend towards greener computing, with manufacturers and
service providers intent on reducing the impact that computer has on the planet, and
in particular climate change. However, there is more to eco computing than just
getting the latest low energy laptop, any attempt to reduce the environmental impact
of our increasing reliance on computers needs to be multifaceted, and the key to all
of it is the user.
a) Sector analysis
• Threat and rivalry of competitors: we are facing a difficult market and we
compete with cross marks considered in the top ten most valuable brands by
society according to a study conducted by Millward Brown Optimor. However,
using an appropriate strategy we can achieve the business to be preferred by
customers. Therefore, the green component should be a decisive factor in this
strategy, as it is, in our case, a clear differentiation strategy.
• Customers’ negotiation power: most of the customers are keen to pay more
for environmentally friendly products. Despite this, we cannot set a too
expensive price as we must keep in mind that there are already established
brands in the market. Therefore, a high quality must be assured and, in the
other hand, a reasonable prize will assure a market share.
• Threat of substitutes: There are other products which, although not
identical, can be considered competitors and that can make us lose market
share.
b) Market share of PC leading vendors
The market share of leading PC vendors is watched closely, as the personal
computer (PC) is an iconic high tech product. Market discussion of these devices
(typically desktops and laptops) may include netbooks but do not include media
tablets which are dominated by Apple products.
40
From the other side, however, its value is oblique, because in recent times a
personal computer can be assembled even by a home use, and the process of
making a PC is reduced to packing hardware components (which these listed
manufacturers do not produce) inside a casing.
Key developments in recent years have been the battle for the top spot between
Dell and HP, the rise of Acer, and the dwindling of PCs sold by companies
outside the top five.
Table 11. Global PC market
Global PC Market Share by Units, Percent. 2010 - 2011
Rank 2010 2011
1 HP 17,9 HP 17,2
2 Dell 12,9 Lenovo 13,0
3 Acer 12,0 Dell 12,1
4 Lenovo 9,7 Acer 11,2
5 Toshiba 5,4 ASUS 5,9
Others 42,1 40,7
Source: Gartnerlii
c) Companies working on green computers
There are some companies which are already working on green computers:
• Dell Latitude E6400 ATG: This laptop computer got a gold rating form the
Green Electronic Council on their EPEAT list, which is a well known and
respected registry of green friendly electronics. What this means is that this
Dell meets 23% of the required environmental standards for the list and 75%
of the optional standards.
• Lenovo Think Pad L420: made from 30% post-consumer recycled content.
The green-ness also affects the bottom line, as this laptop is supposed to
save 40% on operating costs alone. It has a LED-backlit display and power
manager. It includes energy certifications from ENERGY STAR and attains
the EPEAT Gold Standard. The packaging is recyclable and there’s 20% less
of it to go waste.
• Acer TravelMate TimelineX: it meets EPEAT silver, RoHS, WEEE, and
ENERGY STAR standards to protect the environment.
• Asus Bamboo Series: made out of bamboo, it has a tensile strength that rivals
of steel, and it is perfect substitute for plastic. The packaging is also eco-
41
friendly, so it is 100% natural and recyclable. The laptops use a bamboo
frame and even the trackpad is made out of bamboo.
• MacBook Air: it uses energy-efficient components that require less energy to
operate than other laptops. Since it is mostly made out of aluminum and
glass, it is easy to recycle. The MacBook Air also earns the EPEAT gold
certifications. It is also ENERGY STAR 5.2 compliant. And if you by a new
Mac, Apple helps you recycle the old ones.
• MacBook Pro: The green features of this Apple laptop include the fact that
arsenic is no used in the manufacture of the display glass. The LED backlit
display is mercury free, the circuit board and other components of the
machine are brominated flame retardant and polyvinyl chloride free, and the
battery is manufactured for exceptionally long life, lasting up to five years.
• Toshiba Protégé R700: It has an EPEAT Gold certification. The LED backlit
display uses less energy than others. Coupled with power-saving software, it
allows curtailing energy consumption. Toshiba has also cut down on the use
of harmful chemicals in their PCs over the next several years.
• Sony Vaio W Series: these are some of the most environmentally responsible
laptops currently available. More than 80% of the plastics used in these
computers are recycled. In addition, the LED monitor contains no mercury.
The packaging material in which the machine is shipped is kept to a minimum
as well in an effort to conserve natural resources. And they are made out of
23% recycled CDs and a 7 hour battery life.
• Gateway EC19C-A52C/S: This machine focuses on energy efficiency as a
way of being green. It gets around 6 hours of battery life per charge while also
Though principal competitors in European markets are the large companies named
above, as well as HP and Fujitsu, who source their components almost without
exception outside Europe (only Fujitsu Technology Solutions produces in Augsburg/
Germany and some Intel and AMD processors are produced in Europe). Although
most of the large players consider environmental aspects, they are very hesitant to
promote a computer explicitly as an eco-product, which is demonstrated by the fact,
that none (apart from Asus) has gone as far as to securing the European Eco-Label.
Hence, MicroPro will open a virtually virgin market for actively promoted eco-
computers, which is not existent by now. A computer based on a holistic ecologic
business philosophy is not on the market yet.
In this market segment MicroPro will be without real competitors, similar to Apple
who (repeatedly) developed a completely new market with their fashionable product
strategy. Besides these large players there are numerous assembly shops selling
computers under their own brand, but basically using standard components, and
none of these companies put significant efforts in designing a particular “green” PC.
42
d) Entry Barriers
• Initial investment expenditure
• Competitors already established in the market.
• Possible Dumping: competition establishes a price below cost that the firm
cannot fight against, forcing local producers out of the market and lead to
monopolistic positions.
• Intellectual property: potential entrant requires access to equally efficient
technology in order to freely enter a market. Patents give the legal right to
exploitation of a product and to stop other firms producing a product for a
given period of time, and so restrict entry into a market. Similarly, trademarks
and service marks may represent a kind of entry barrier for a particular
product or service if the market is dominated by one or a few well-known
names.
• Economies of scale: the experienced and large firms can produce at a lower
cost than small and newly firms cannot afford.
• Globalisation: the entry of global competitors in a local market makes it
difficult for local competitors, due to
• Customer loyalty: consumers may be reluctant to change to a new brand or
product.
• Advertising: established firms can wear it difficult for new competitors by
spending extraordinary incoming advertising firms cannot afford.
e) Sector Maturity
The sector is clearly in the growth phase as the electronics industry is constantly
expanding. That's why sales are growing rapidly, the unit cost per customer is
medium and the benefits are increasing. In addition the company is increasingly
consistent with environmental damage and therefore it is increasingly willing to
buy a product that is environmentally sustainable.
The field of organic electronics is a concept increasingly widespread and more
important, so it is important to note in this area that none of the competitors is
among the most sustainable companies according to research conducted
annually by Greenpeace.
9.8 Market analysis
Shoppers are increasingly concerned about the image of what they buy, and they
are getting better at spotting corporate greenwash and spin too. After many of the
world’s leading electronics companies rose to the challenge of phasing out the worst
hazardous substances, we are now challenging them to improve their sourcing of
minerals and better managing energy use throughout their supply chain.
43
Many of the environmental impacts associated with electronics are exacerbated by
the increasingly short product life cycles. Companies continue to launch more
powerful, faster and better gadgets that become must-haves to increasingly younger
customers with more spending power than ever before. The increasingly rapid
process of putting a new product on the market encourages people to replace
electronics faster and faster. This is one of the key drivers of expanding mountains of
e-waste.
Also, greenhouse emissions in the supply chain contribute significantly to consumer
electronics overall energy footprint. Different stages in the supply chain release
different amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
More consumers expect their consumer electronics (CE) devices to be
environmentally friendly, according to new data released today by the Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA) ®. CEA finds that 89 % of households want their next
television to be more energy efficient, for example. Although awareness of “green”
CE offerings lags behind sectors like household products and automobiles, 33 % of
consumers say they expect to make some type of green CE purchase within the next
two years. liii
“Consumers are now beginning to associate terms like recycling and energy
efficiency with consumer electronics products,” said Tim Herbert, CEA’s senior
director of market research. “As they seek out those attributes in the purchasing
process, there is enormous opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to educate
customers about green products and how purchasing decisions can impact the
environment.”
According to the study, price and features continue to be the primary purchase
drivers for CE products, but green attributes will increasingly be a factor. In fact, 53
% of consumers say they would be willing to pay some type of premium for
televisions with green attributes.
Effectively communicating the green attributes of CE products continues to be an
obstacle for manufacturers in particular. Though the study indicates high consumer
awareness of logos like EPA’s ENERGY STAR®, the absence of a single indicator
for other “green” attributes leads to consumer confusion. The study finds consumers
desire an easy way to determine if a product meets environmental standards, such
as logos and descriptions printed on the product packaging.
“With 74 % of consumers saying that companies should do more to protect the
environment, it’s critical that CE manufacturers and retailers clearly communicate
with customers regarding the environmentally-friendly products and programs
offered by the industry,” notes Parker Brugge, CEA’s vice president of environmental
affairs and industry sustainability.
Main considerations in buying a new PC areliv
44
• Performance/ Function e.g. speed, battery life
• Price
• Brand name
• Environmental aspects (e.g. energy consumption, free of hazardous substances)
• Design
According to a broad 2010 consumer survey in Germany (BMU 2010) for 65% of the
population “energy efficiency” is already a purchase criterion. There is also a certain
willingness to pay more for products, which have a lower impact on climate change,
given this claim is credibly documented: more than 50% of the consumers are willing
to accept a price premium of up to 10% or even more, although more than 20% is
rarely accepted.
In Germany the most relevant consumer groups, which can be extrapolated to the
rest of European countries, following the systematic of milieus introduced by the
SINUS-Institut, for the green computer are the established conservative milieu, the
liberal-intellectual milieu and the socio-ecological milieu, comprising in total 2.7% of
the German population (17, 5 million), as these are the target groups with the highest
willingness to pay for “green”, according to the UBA survey.
It is also of great importance to highlight that, according to the report of the European
Commission regarding green countries, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
Holland, Sweden and England are on top of excellence in environmentally
sustainable product purchases (e.g. durable, reusable, efficient, resource-
saving throughout their life cycle or recycled)lv.
So, the production of an environmental friendly product will match very well with the
philosophy of a lot of countries of Europe, which are becoming greener and giving
more value to the sustainability.
Figure 11. Market segments willing to pay for environmental excellence
45
10 SWOT analysis
Below is a SWOT analysis for the D4R and its service model:
Table12: SWOT of the D4R.
STRENGHTS (and measures to
exploit the full potential of these)
WEAKNESS (and related mitigation
measures)
Product/service related factors
• First computer on the market
based on holistic ecologic
business philosophy
• High quality controls done to all
components
• Inventory management of used
system components
• Extensive range of eco-design
principles implemented at every
stage of the lifecycle
• Identification of 4 appropriate
enterprises who have agreed to
act as service agents
• Future marketing approaches
and product/service design by
the feedback of clients
• Partners acting as
disseminating strategy in their
own countries
• Key target groups identified
• Involvement of industrial cluster
to integrate associate SMEs
Market/competitiveness factors:
• Raising ecological awareness.
a) No similar product on the market.
Product/service related factors:
• Niche product
• Initial investments required
• Customers lack of information
about:
- Technical support
- Service structure
- Environmental benefits of
buying green products
• Lack of tools for returning
system management
• Lack of lifecycle information
system for inventory
management
• Support of public administration
needs for an effective
exploitation strategy
• A major and high profile
awareness and dissemination
campaign needed
• Less market influence of small
computer manufacturers
Market/competitiveness factors:
• Small and local company.
• Limited profitt margins
46
• Few in-house R&D resources
OPPORTUNITIES (and measures to
exploit the full potential of these)
THREATS (and related mitigation
measures)
Product/service related factors:
• Introduction of new technology
in International markets
• Changes in production model
from traditional business to a
lease based alternative
• Compliance European
Directives and regulations:
WEEE, RoHS, EuP
• Large computer companies do
not consider environmental
aspects of the products
• Large variety of dissemination
activities
• Large market opportunities
related to education and
business.
Economic factors:
• Revitalization of European Economy: � Massive investment in green technologies
� Energy grid towards renewables: increase economy growth and jobs
• EU Commitment to growth Economy and protection of earth and resources
• €105 billion from the Commission to invest in green technologies and eco-innovation Continue to lead in IT technology
Social factors:
• “Green”, “organic”, “locally
Product/service related factors:
• Green products priced higher
• Higher price that the existing
market laptops
• Rapid innovative cycles and
obsolescence of the ICT sector
• High environmental, social and
economic impact of the ICT
sector in production and EOL
• Possibilities of irregularities in
the supply.
Economic Factors:
• Weak stage of green economies
• High labor costs in Europe compared with cost of developing countries such as China.
Social factors:
• Quality and price are the most essential factors for buyer.
• Important concern about the “legitimacy” of green products.
• Green products tend to be purchased by wealthy people.
• Higher prices of green products are an important factor for buying decisions.
Market/competitiveness factors:
• Falling behind in technology innovation
• Not being able to reach “take-off” point on viable manufacture
• Insufficient human and financial capacity for continued R&D
• Loss of product/service diversity
47
sourced,” and “fair trade” concepts are becoming more popular.
• Climate change, health awareness, and environmental issues gain ground in customers.
• “Natural” and “environmentally friendly” concepts influence in the buying decisions.
• Certain willingness to spend on a green product.
• Slightly but constant grown of green products during 2009 and 2011.
• Rapid increase of awareness of green products.
• Very few people oppose to the idea of green product.
• Vast majority of people would opt to go for green products when an acceptable price.
• New customers are smarter, more empower and more demanding than previous generations, and care about environment.
Market/competitiveness factors:
• Trend-setter: Create an attractive brand image. Continue to lead in IT technology o Intensified cooperation with
suppliers
• Develop national and export markets o Develop robust network
infrastructure
• Manufacture viable and cost-effective
• Loss of customer loyalty
11 Conclusions
The world is moving into a more sustainable production model and customers are
becoming more aware about the environmental component of the products they pay
for. The Laptop D4R is the first computer on the market based on holistic ecologic
business philosophy based on the zero waste approach by which the volume and
toxicity of waste and materials are reduced.
48
It is an innovative product with an innovative production model, and like all the new
products that want to get into the market a feasibility study has to be carried out to
evaluate if it would have market acceptance.
Making a review on the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats identified, we
can conclude that the following characteristic are essentials for a good market
acceptance of the D4R:
a) Close relationship and service with the customers is of great importance to
make a differentiation on the market. Feedback of the clients must be taken
into account.
b) Make the customers aware of the technical, service and environmental
benefits of buying the product.
c) Effective exploitation strategy is essential for the support of the public
administration which may be essential because public entities are the most
prone and common in buying green products.
d) ICT sector is a really competitive sector which changes a lot in short time
period, constant innovation and R&D investments on the Laptop D4R are
really important.
e) There is less market influence of small computer manufacturers, but with the
industrial network four different European countries will be involved which
results on a big market opportunity.
f) The introduction of new technology and a lease based production model has
to be exploited as an innovative and more modern market view and take
advantage on the little consideration of the big companies on environmental
aspects.
g) The reused and suppliers network has to be constant for not having
irregularities.
h) Take advantage on the massive investment of Europe in green technologies.
i) Very few people oppose to the idea of green product and vast majority of
people would opt to go for green products when an acceptable price
j) An attractive brand image is essential to attract customers’ attention.
More broadly, the CS1 case study and the development of the D4R have shown the
following:
49
a) That SME’s can viably design products that achieve major reduction in GHG
emission and fresh water use, as well as maximising reuse and recycling of
materials and used parts and components
b) That structuring of an appropriate industrial network, where participants are
able to produce making use of the by-products of other participants, has
positive environmental benefits for all concerned
c) That it is possible in this way to form a practically closed-loop production
process, maximising reuse and ensuring a cradle to cradle approach.
d) That for the benefits of this approach to be fully achieved requires that the
product be designed from the start with this strategy in mind.
e) That Eco-design for reuse across a product life-cycle requires a departure
from the design, servicing and marketing principles that are currently
paramount in commercial electronics
f) That an industrial network developed within this framework support this
process not only from a supply chain perspective, but also in the marketing of
the product and in the service functions throughout the life cycle of the
product, including repair, upgrading, take-back and remanufacture.
g) That to reap the full benefit from this production process is likely to require the
development of a leasing or similar take-back arrangement, where there is an
incentive to put the products back into the closed-loop supply chain.
h) That the coverage that this closed loop model can achieve is limited by the
putting in place of an appropriate service network.
The ZeroWIN vision applied by the CS1 in the development of the D4R and the
industrial network, and the conclusions reached, could be replicated by other
manufacturers, certainly of small electronic products, and possibly others wishing to
gain an environmental and market advantage.
However, the benefits of this approach are probably not open to the same extent to
all industry sectors. In the electronics industry, SME’s working at a small scale,
producing relatively small number of models developed, have more control of design
and production processes that most large enterprises, particularly those where viable
production involves a large capital investment. Those industries will find it harder to
change existing practises
The arguments for a “paradigm change” or major evolution in the mainstream
approach to industrial design and production, and the difficulties and/ barriers
involved, has been argued in studies like Cradle to Cradlelvi. We can however safely
50
conclude on the basis of this Case Study that such an approach is viable for SME’s
at least as far as production.
The commercialisation of the D4R and the consumer acceptance of the reuse
approach are still to be tested. The market and financial viability of the D4R has not
been established, and the potential markers and the barriers to commercialisation
are only just being identified in this report. Also the full costs of commercial
production and marketing are not known. Although the Partners assume that the
D4R can be viably produced and marketed, it must be stated that this has not, at this
stage, been established, and will have to depend on the development of subsequent
projects, such as the proposed MicroPro CIP-Innovation Bid, iamecoEurope, to
demonstrate this point.
CS1 is important for the ZeroWIN project in that it demonstrates that the ambitious
targets for environmental improvement set out in its Vision Statement, of significant
savings in GHG emissions and fresh water use, and significant increase in
reusability and recycling are achievable, at least in the electronics sector. As this
Case Study is completing at a half-way point is the ZeroWIN project, we hope that its
experiences and conclusions will act as a beacon to other sectors participating in
ZeroWIN, demonstrating how these targets can be achieved, and how the industrial
network model can be developed.
12 List of Tables and Figures
Table 1 Parts and Components Pg. 9
Table 2 Life expectancy of parts and components Pg. 11
Table 3 Testing for parts and components Pg. 11
Table 4 Industrial Network Pg. 13
Table 5 Impact on GHG emissions Pg. 16
Table 6 Impact on Recycling and Reuse Pg. 17
Table 7 Impact on fresh water usage Pg. 17
Table 8 Results of cost comparison Pg. 19
Table 9 Client profile in current sales (MicroPro) Pg. 24
Table 10 EU policies relevant to ZeroWIN Pg. 25
Table 11 Geographic PC market Pg. 39
Table 12 SWOT analysis of D4R and its network Pg. 44
51
Figure 1 D4R Laptop Pg.7
Figure 2 D4R laptop keyboard Pg. 8
Figure 3 D4R cut-away view port side (sketch) Pg. 8
Figure 4 Reuse of D4R casing at EOL Pg. 8
Figure 5 Internal view of D4R (sketch) Pg. 10
Figure 6 D4R internal assembly Pg. 10
Figure 7 D4R industrial network Pg. 13
Figure 8 Important factor in purchasing decisions Pg.35
Figure 9 Willingness of pay for environmental excellence Pg. 35
Figure 10 Changes in attitudes towards green products Pg. 36
Figure 11 Market segment wiling to pay for environmental excellence Pg. 43
13. Glossary of main technical terms
Card Reader A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium modern card readers are electronic devices that use plastic cards imprinted with barcodes magnetic strips computer chips or other storage medium. A memory card reader is a device used for communication with a smart card or a memory card. A magnetic card reader is a device used to read magnetic stripe cards, such as credit cards. A business card reader is a device used to scan and electronically save printed business cards Central processing unit CPU The central processing unit (CPU) is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s. The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation remains much the same. CPU Fan Computer cooling is required to remove the waste heat produced by computer components to keep components within permissible operating temperature limits a cpu fan is required
52
DDR3 (DRAM) with a high bandwidth interface. It is one of several variants of DRAM and associated interface techniques DDR3 SDRAM, an abbreviation for double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory , is a modern kind of dynamic random access memory used since the early 1970s. DDR3 SDRAM is neither forward nor backward compatible with any earlier type of random access memory (RAM) due to different signaling voltages, timings, and other factors. Dual-layer DVD recording Dual-layer recording (sometimes also known as double-layer recording) allows DVD-R and DVD+R discs to store significantly more data—up to 8.5 gigabytes per disc, compared with 4.7 gigabytes for single-layer discs. Along with this, DVD-DLs have slower write speeds as compared to ordinary DVDs. When played, a slight transition can sometimes be seen in the playback when the player changes layers. DVD-R DL was developed for the DVD Forum by Pioneer Corporation DVD+R DL was developed for the DVD+RW Alliance by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM). A dual-layer disc differs from its usual DVD counterpart by employing a second physical layer within the disc itself. The drive with dual-layer capability accesses the second layer by shining the laser through the first semitransparent layer. In some DVD players, the layer change can exhibit a noticeable pause, up to several seconds. This caused some viewers to worry that their dual-layer discs were damaged or defective, with the end result that studios began listing a standard message explaining the dual-layer pausing effect on all dual-layer disc packaging. DVD recordable discs supporting this technology are backward-compatible with some existing DVD players and DVD-ROM drives. Many current DVD recorders support dual-layer technology, and the price is now comparable to that of single-layer drives, although the blank media remain more expensive. The recording speeds reached by dual Hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD; also hard drive, hard disk, or disk drive is a device for storing and retrieving digital information, primarily computer data. It consists of one or more rigid (hence "hard") rapidly rotating discs (often referred to as platters), coated with magnetic material and with magnetic heads arranged to write data to the surfaces and read it from them. Hard drives are classified as non-volatile random access digital magnetic data storage devices HDMI HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transferring encrypted uncompressed digital audio/video data from a HDMI-compliant device ("the source" or "input") to a compatible digital audio device, computer monitor video projector and digital television A digital audio/video source for HDMI can include a HDMI-compliant set-top box DVD player, HD DVD player, Blu-ray Disc player, AVCHD camcorder personal computer (PCs), video game console (such as the PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 and the Wii U ) AV receiver tablet computer and mobile phone HDMI is a digital alternative to consumer analog
53
standards, such as radio frequency (RF) coaxial cable composite video S-Video SCART component video D-Terminal or VGA (also called D-sub or DE-15F). HD Graphics Before the introduction of Intel HD Graphics, Intel integrated graphics were built into the motherboard's north bridge This included Intel Extreme Graphics and the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator. As part of the Platform Controller Hub (PCH) design, the northbridge was eliminated, and graphics processing was moved to the central processing unit (CPU). In January, 2011, the Sandy Bridge processors were released introducing the "second generation" HD Graphics: Motherboard In Laptops a motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, and planar board or, on Apple computers, the logic board It is also sometimes casually shortened to mobo Keyboard. In computing a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Following the decline of punch cards and paper tape interaction via teleprinter style keyboards became the main input device for computers. Power supply A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric loads. The term is most commonly applied to devices that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer to devices that convert another form of energy (e.g., mechanical, chemical, solar) to electrical energy. A regulated power supply is one that controls the output voltage or current to a specific value; the controlled value is held nearly constant despite variations in either load current or the voltage supplied by the power supply's energy source. RFID A wireless identification and sensing platform (WISP) is an RFID (radio-frequency identification) device that supports sensing and computing: a microcontroller powered by radio-frequency energy. That is, like a passive RFID tag, WISP is powered and read by a standard off-the-shelf RFID reader, harvesting the power it uses from the reader's emitted radio signals. To an RFID reader, a WISP is just a normal EPC gen1 or gen2 tag; but inside the WISP, the harvested energy is operating a 16-bit general purpose microcontroller. The microcontroller can perform a variety of computing tasks, including sampling sensors, and reporting that sensor data back to the RFID reader. WISPs have been built with light sensors, temperature sensors, and strain gauges. Some contain accelero meters WISPs can write to flash and perform cryptographic computations. The WISP was originally developed by Intel Research Seattle but after their closure development work has continued at the Sensor Systems Laboratory at the University of Washington. Touchpad
54
A touchpad (or trackpad) is a pointing device featuring tactile sensors, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. Touchpads are a common feature of laptop computers, and are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk space is scarce. Because they vary in size, they can also be found on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and some portable media players, Wireless touchpads are also available as detached accessories. Webcam. A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB ethernet or Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Some times spelled Wifi or WiFi, is a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network including high-speed Internet connections.
14 References
i Appendix 1 Description of Work, ZeroWIN Project 05.05.11
ii
ii Hickey, S, et all, Deliverable 6A.2 ZeroWIN project (Draft) 23.03.12
iii Werbach. Adam - Strategy for Sustainability A Business Manifesto Harvard University Press 2009
iv idem
v ISO/IEC Quality and Performance of Office equipment that contains reused components ISO/IEC 24700-2005(E)
vihttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=1889&docType=pdf
vii http://www.cleanerproduction.ie/
viii http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/pdfs/july06_iameco.pdf
ix Hickey, S, Fitzpatrick, C, Schischke, K, Schlösser, A, Aguirre, MP, ,Benecke, P, Nittka, T,Wabbel, M,Becker F, Maher, P,
Ospina, J Practical Eco-Design Approaches for Personal Computers – A Case Study of the iameco II 17.01.12 x Middenndorf, A (editor) TUC Berlin, April 2012
xi Schischke, K, Mainboard Design Requirements April 2011
xii DDR3
xiii HD 1025 lines
xiv “If being used 8 hours a day” (AUO)
xv Yang, M, AUO
xvi Hickey, S, Fitzpatrick, C, Beigl, P, Dietrich, J, Ospina, J, Maher, P, Garatea, J, Shischke, K D6A.1 in Concept Papers for All
networks, ZeroWIN April 2011. xvii
idem xviii
Name withheld for commercial reasons. xix
Hickey et all, op cited. xx
Hickey, S, et all, Deliverable 6A.2 ZeroWIN project (Draft) 23.03.12 xxi
idem xxii
idem xxiii
idem xxiv
Obersteiner,G, Beigl,P, Pertl,A, Scherhaufer, S,D7.1 ZeroWIN Project April 2012 xxv
idem xxvi
http://www.netmba.com/econ/micro/demand/curve/ xxvii
Forrester, Green IT Adoption By Geography, 2009. xxviii
http://www.ictliteracy.info/rf.pdf/T-SystemsWhitePaper_Green-ICT.pdf xxix
Mr Vinay L Deshpande. Application for Seeking Financial Assisstance from TDB. Part II_Information about project_Determination of claim. xxx
Eco-Innovation – 1st
Application for Market Replication Project: CIP-EIP Eco-Innovation 2011, No. 304551, iamecoEurope. MicroPro 2011. xxxi
idem xxxii
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Art. 4 xxxiii
: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:285:0010:0035:en:PDF xxxiv
D.8.1. Policy Synthesis Report, ZeroWin Project xxxv
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:037:0019:0023:en:PDF xxxvi
idem xxxvii
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:037:0024:0038:en:PDF
55
xxxviii
http://www.euractiv.com/sites/all/euractiv/files/m30_Synthesis_0.pdf
xxxix http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=370&langId=en&featuresId=130&furtherFeatures=yes
xl LCA to GO- FP7 Environment 2010
xli
xlii http://www.research-store.com/smartmeters/product/green_consumers_in_europe?productid=BFEN0522
xliii idem
xliv idem
xlv www.euromonitor.com
http://blog.euromonitor.com/2012/03/quick-pulse-green-buying-an-exploration-of-green-consumer-trends.html xlvi
http://www.euromonitor.com/about-us xlvii
http://blog.euromonitor.com/2012/03/quick-pulse-green-buying-an-exploration-of-green-consumer-trends.html xlviii
Euromonitor International Analyst Survey – Quick Pulse; December 2011 Scale from 1 'Not at all important' to 5 'Very important' xlix
Idem l idem li http://www.thenewconsumer.com/study-highlights/ lii http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1893523
liv G CEA. Going Green: An Examination of the Trend and What it Means to Consumers and the CE Industry. April 2008.reenpeace International/ Imposes MORI lv
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/pdf/Final%20Report%20final%2025%20Oct.pdf lvi
McDonough, W, Braungart, M Cradle to Cradle. North Point Press 2002