General Information
(Creation Year & Reason)

1992

Unique to the industry in its technical breadth, the program has pioneered the industry's best practices in design for the environment (DFE), product recycling technologies and product environmental metrics.

Reason: IBM's continuing Environmental Leadership.

Initiator(s)

International Business Machines (IBM). 

Objectives(s)

This program has established five environmental design objectives for IBM products:

• Develop products with consideration for their upgradability to extend product life.

• Develop products with consideration for their reuse and recyclability at the end of product life.

• Develop products that can safely be disposed of at the end of product life.

• Develop and manufacture products that use recycled materials where they are technically and economically justifiable.

• Develop products that will provide improvements in energy efficiency and/or reduced consumption of energy.

Timeframes and Milestones

1996 – Use of recycled plastics as defined by the total weight of recycled plastics incorporated into product compared to the total weight of all plastics purchased, increased by 74 percent over 1995 usage.

1997 – Increased the use of recycled plastics by 19 percent versus 1996. In these two years, IBM incorporated more than one million pounds of recycled plastics into its personal computer, server and storage products.

1997- Sought a 10 percent reduction in the percentage of product-related scrap landfilled by IBM Materials Recovery Centers (MRCs) versus the 1996 baseline. By year-end 1997, the IBM MRC network reported a landfill percentage of only 4.9 for processed product scrap, a 23 percent decrease over 1996. The cumulative progress from the 1995 baseline is an exceptional 30 percent decrease worldwide.

1997 - Key program areas included development and qualification of recycled materials, identification and development of new technologies for reuse and recycling of information technology equipment, presentation of IBM's environmental design objectives to original equipment product manufacturers, and development of design criteria and tools to support DFE and life cycle activities.

Implementation Process

ECP requirements have been incorporated into IBM's Integrated Product Development (IPD) process. The IPD Process is a strategic tool used by product and process. Development engineers, among others, to ensure a consistent, efficient end-to-end process for designing IBM's products.

Monitoring Process & Parties

Program Metrics:
IBM's corporate ECP program has again measured its progress against goals and targets established at the outset of 1997. Program metrics continued the corporate focus on landfill reduction, recycled plastics usage, product energy efficiency and development and integration of DFE assessments in IBM's product design process.

To track its progress in DFE, IBM piloted a product assessment and rating tool in all operating units in 1997. Product developers can incorporate key environmental attributes, then track implementation progress. The rating scheme is applicable to all IBM hardware products and can be used as a self-assessment tool in the early phases of product development or as a final product rating for comparison with predecessor or follow-on products.

Individual product areas track and report on IBM's target to decrease the energy consumption of its products per unit of useful work versus predecessor products.

General:
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (BVQI) introduced to enhance focus on product environmental goals with increased tracking.

Success in Achieving Stated Objectives

In 1997, all product areas continued to report energy improvements in this area.

IBM operations include 10 major Reutilization and Materials Recovery Centers around the world, with additional locations supporting parts return and regional collection. In 1997, these operations processed more than 62,000 metric tons of manufacturing scrap, IBM owned end-of-life machines and customer returned equipment. More than 90 percent of this amount was recycled and less than 4.9 percent was sent to landfills. Dismantling and recycling expertise is shared among these centers to increase recycling efficiencies and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

1997 - IBM's AS/400e series 600, S10, 620 and S20 received Edison Award for Environmental Achievement, sponsored by the American Marketing Association. The seventh annual Edison Award recognized IBM's comprehensive approach to environmental attributes throughout the product line, from energy efficiency and design for product end-of-life, to the reduction in use of hazardous materials.

1997 - IBM achieved first worldwide ISO 14001 registration (BVQI).

March 1998, Personal Systems Group was named the US EPA ENERGY STAR® Computer Partner of the Year.

IBM was chosen for an Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Special Recognition Award for outstanding achievement in the development of its ECP program and the program's associated waste and emission reduction.

1998 - IBM introduces 6893 Intellistation E Pro using 100% recycled plastics for all major parts.

April 1999 - Personal System Group was named EPA's ENERGY STAR® Computer Partner of the Year, second consecutive year.

Public Education & Information Components

Information on IBM's ECP Program is available on its web site www.ibm.com

Replication Potential

High. Special note should be made of the fact that the Reutilization and Materials Recovery Centers share their experiences, concerns and recommendations with IBM product development teams, in essence, closing the loop by providing suggestions for design improvements that will further expedite the management of end-of-life products.

Mechanisms for Improvement

ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems enhancing focus on product goals and objectives with increased tracking; measurements; awareness.
Goals and Targets continually evaluated for effectiveness;
Focus on closed loops, feedback process to designers.

Contacts for Further Information

Diana Bendz
Endicott Senior Location Executive
Director. Environmentally Conscious Products
IBM
Corporpate Operations & Environmental Affairs
Tel. 607/755-1111
Fax: 607/755-3527
E-mail: dbendz@us.ibm.com