Provisional Translation

26JEITA-CP 30

Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design of
Personal Computer Productsver. 1.2

March 2015

Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association (JEITA)

Provisional Translation

History of Revision
Jan. 2009

Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design of Personal Computer
Products ver. 1 was publishedJan. 2014

Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design of Personal Computer
Products ver. 1.1 was published
Major Revisions
・Revisions were made to reflect that the Japan Green Procurement
Survey Standardization Initiative (JGPSSI) was dissolved and its
activities were transferred to JEITA's domestic Validation Team (VT)62474 (a team serving as domestic hub for IEC/TC111).

Mar 2015

Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design of Personal Computer
Products ver. 1.2 was published
Major Revisions
・Description about the easy removal of secondary batteries was added.

Provisional Translation

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 1
2. Definitions of Terms ....................................................................................................... 1
3. Scope................................................................................................................................ 2
4. Assessment Items ........................................................................................................... 3
4. 1 Assessment of Energy Efficiency Performance ..................................................... 3
4. 2 Assessment of the Implementation of Reduce ....................................................... 8
4. 3 Assessment of the Reuse ......................................................................................... 9
4. 4 Assessment of the Implementation of Recycle .....................................................11
4. 5 Assessment of the ease of disposal ....................................................................... 16
4. 6 Assessment of the environmental protection performance ................................ 18
4. 7 Assessment of the packaging materials and user manuals ............................... 21
4. 8 Assessment of the information provision ............................................................. 23
4. 9 Assessment based on LCA (Assessment of environmental impacts) ................. 27
4. 10 Overall Assessment ............................................................................................. 28
5. Procedure for assessment of eco-design ...................................................................... 31
5. 1 Preparation of an assessment manual ................................................................. 31
5. 2 Assessment procedures ......................................................................................... 31
5. 3 Cooperation with materials/parts suppliers ........................................................ 34
Appendix-1 Types of Plastic Materials Suitable For Material Recycle ........................ 36
Appendix-2 Range of Recyclability.................................................................................. 38
Appendix-3 Degree of Product Disassembly................................................................... 43

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Introduction
In recent years, the needs of environmental conservation and reduction ofenvironmental load have been highlighted in order to achieve "sustainable
development" of human beings. In this light, efficient use of resources and energy as
well as proper disposal of wastes have become key challenges for manufactures.
Specifically, manufactures were not only required to make their business sites
environmental friendly, but also to develop end products with enhanced safety andminimal environmental impacts considering the "environmental load throughout theentire life-cycle" from material procurement, manufacture, use, to disposal of suchproducts.
The principals of the Basic Environment Law in Japan aim the "creation of a societythat ensures sustainable development with reduced environmental load." Morespecifically, the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, Japan aims
to achieve a society that minimizes natural resource consumption and reduces adverse
impacts to environment by reducing waste generation from products, moreover reusing,recycling and properly disposing used products. Promotion of three Rs concept, that is
the abbreviation for Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, shall be the fundamentals for productdevelopment and technological advancement in the future. In particular, in the design
and manufacture of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as "PCs"), it has been
expected to develop and employ highly advanced technologies that allow the minimum
loads to global environment because PCs are evolving in an accelerated speed.
In September 2000, JEITA published the Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design ofInformation Processing Equipment (ver.2). Then, the Act on the Rational Use of Energy(hereinafter referred to as "Energy Conservation Law") and the Act on Promotion of
Effective Utilization of Resources (hereinafter referred to as "Law for the Promotion of
Effective Utilization of Resources") were amended and the Recycling and Waste
Subcommittee of the Industrial Structure Council under the Minister of Economy, Tradeand Industry (METI), Japan, published a document titled "Towards the Achievement of
the Most Resource-Saving Society in the World" (January 2008). In such a context, there
has been an increased demand for enhanced and advanced energy conservation and 3Rs
for PCs because they are produced on a very large scale. Subsequently JEITA publishedthese Guidelines to help PC manufactures' self-assessment of their products from theenvironmental perspective.
These Guidelines illustrate environmental assessment items and methods necessaryProvisional Translation

to deliver high-performance and safe-to-use PCs to the society as "environmentallyconscious products," which allow for low energy consumption, resource conservation,and 3Rs after use of such products.
Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA)CE Board
Personal Computers Committee
PC Environment Committee

Provisional Translation1.

Objectives

These Guidelines aim to help manufacturers to assess their PC products in orderto achieve "design that allows to reduce the environmental load of their products
throughout their entire life-cycle" by presenting assessment items and methods.

[Commentary]
These Guidelines provide the fundamentals for the assessment of PC products in a
way that they have the highest technical standards at the time of development/design,by implementing measures to reduce the environmental impacts in a manner that itnever disturbs technological advancement and safety measures for these products.
From the perspective of Total Quality Control (TQC), these Guidelines help
manufactures to pursue product safety and reduction of environmental impacts as far
as possible in the product design by predicting how their products will be handled
through their lifetime (from manufacture, use to disposal) based on the concept of "thenext process is our customer."
Particularly, in efforts to facilitate disassembly and recycle of used or unneeded
products and parts (hereinafter referred to as "used products"), sometimes there aretrade-offs between such environmentally conscious design and product safety or
measures for product liability (PL). Additionally, for products that may raise somesafety or sanitary concerns when being crushed, disassembled, or separated, or that
contain substances having harmful effects for environment, it may be necessary todevelop alternative technologies and/or to properly inform businesses disposing theseproducts about such concerns, even if these products are safe at the component level.

2.

Definitions of Terms
The terms used in these Guidelines shall have the following meaning.

1. Assessment (Preliminary evaluation of Eco-Design):
It means an assessment implemented by a PC manufacturer in the productdesign phase with the aims to achieve energy conservation during use, to ensureease and safety during disassembly, segregation, recycle and disposal of the usedproduct, and to reduce the environmental impacts of the product throughout theentire life-cycle.
2. Disposal:
It means collection, transportation, disassembly, segregation, crushing, storage,
recover, recycle, and incineration, etc.

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3. Reduce:
It means efficient use of raw materials by reducing raw materials used for
Products and the Like (as defined below), employing recycled materials, anddiminishing the generation of discarded products through enhancing the
product lifetime.
4. Reuse:
It means the utilization of used or unused products that have been collected or
discarded but are still useful as parts of new products (e.g. parts or units).
5. Recycle:
It means the utilization of materials and/or parts that have been separated or
segregated from used products during the disposal as raw materials of new
products.
6. Product and the Like:
It means a product itself and associated user manuals and accessories.
7. Conventional Product :It means manufactures' or competitors' existing product that provides
equivalent performance and applications to the newly-designed product, andthat can be used as a comparison standard for newly-designed product on theirenvironmental impacts (e.g. electricity consumption per performance, productweight, etc.)
8. Chemical Substance with Environmental Impacts:
It means a chemical substance used for products and the like that has potentials
to impose severe impacts on human health and safety, and/or to cause air, wateror soil pollution during the intermediate treatment or final disposal after use.

3.

Scope
These Guidelines are applied to newly-designed PCs.

[Commentary]
Application of these Guidelines to prototype models or products developed for alimited number of companies is up to individual manufacturer's decision. When
procuring or importing OEM products from overseas manufacturers, or developing andmanufacturing products designed for Japanese market in abroad and reimporting them,
it is desired that the principals of these Guidelines are reflected on these products asextensively as possible.
For the definition of PC, the Japan Standard Commodity Classification (sub-section
5212, "Personal-computers") provided by the Statistic Bureau, Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications, Japan shall be referred to.

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4.

Assessment Items

These Guidelines provide example assessment items and standards needed in
product design that helps not only to reduce energy consumption of products but also
to promote utilization of used products as recycled materials and reuse of used parts,
to reduce the waste generated from used products, and to facilitate disposal of such
waste.
Referring to such examples, manufacturers shall establish appropriate assessment
items and standards based on the characteristics of their products, and conduct
assessments by each of the established assessment item.

[Commentary]
These Guidelines provide the fundamentals of assessment to be implemented, foreach assessment item. So in actual assessment by manufacturers, it is desired toestablish more specific assessment procedures considering the product characteristics,
functions, performances and environmental goals of the manufacturer.
Alongside the development of the Internet, PCs have been increasingly usedeverywhere from businesses, organizations, to households, due to the reduction in theirsize, price, and the advancement of their performance as well.
Therefore, the product liability that manufacturers take on reduction of energy
consumption and handling of used products has been increased.
Designing products with low power consumption and enhanced ease of disassembly
and recycle in the design and development phase can be effective to prevent global
warming and future waste-related problems, as well as to reduce disposal cost.

4. 1 Assessment of Energy Efficiency Performance<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Energy efficient design(1) Does the product meet the energy efficiency standards stipulated in applicablelaws and regulations or non-mandatory agreements?
(2) Have components with low power consumption and power-supply unit with highefficiency been developed or employed?
(3) Has the energy consumption during operation or standby been decreased?
(4) Has the energy efficiency of power-supply unit been increased?
(5) Does the product have an energy saving mode?
2. Labelling energy consumption and energy efficiency(1) Does the product meet the labelling requirements on energy efficiency stipulated
in applicable laws and regulations or non-mandatory agreements?
(2) Does the label present information on energy consumption?
(3) Does the label present information on energy saving mode?

―

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1. Status of compliance with laws and regulations such as the energy conservation
standards of the Energy Conservation Law, Japan
2. Status of achievement of the energy efficiency standard of the International
ENERGY STAR Program which is in effect at the time of the assessment
3. Comparison of energy consumption and energy efficiency, etc. between the newly
developed product and the manufacturer's own conventional product(s) or an
existing product(s) sold in the market.
4. Status of achievement of standards for energy efficiency of power-supply unit
5. Status of compliance with the labelling requirements under the Energy
Conservation Law, Japan or the energy-saving labelling program of JIS
standard and other programs.
6. Status of information provided on the product's energy consumption and efficiency
on product catalogue, user manual documents, and websites, etc.

[Commentary]
1. Laws, Regulations, and Non-mandatory Agreements on Energy Efficiency
Summaries of energy efficiency standards applied to information processing devices
stipulated in Japanese laws and regulations as well as internationally-operated
non-mandatory agreements shall be provided.
During product assessment, the latest version of applicable laws, regulations, andnon-mandatory agreements on standards shall be referred to (relevant websites'
URLs are provided below).
(1) Energy Conservation Law
The Energy Conservation Law sets judgement criteria for business operators
engaged in manufacturing or importing energy-consuming machinery and equipment(hereinafter referred to as "manufacturers/importers") to make a good faith effort inenergy conservation of machinery and equipment.
These judgement criteria are comprised of the target scope of products, standards ofjudgement for manufacturers/importers, items to be displayed, and measuringmethod of energy efficiency. Among information equipment, Computers and Magnetic
Disk Units are included in the scope.
These standards of judgement for manufacturers/importers set the equipment
categories based on performance, target fiscal year to achieve the target efficiency,
target standard values, etc. The target standard values are set by the "Top Runner"
approach, which points out target values that should be exceeded as the highest
energy efficiencies of existing equipment sold in the market at the time of standard
setting.
These standards of energy efficiency for Electronic Computer and Magnetic Disk
Equipment, divided to equipment categories are available on the website of theEnergy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ). So the status of achievement of these―4 ―Provisional Translation

standards shall be judged referring to standards and requirements valid at the timeof implementation of the product assessment.
[Website of the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ)]
http://www.eccj.or.jp/index.html[Website of ECCJ providing information on the revised Energy Conservation Law(revision as of April 1, 2006)]
http://www.eccj.or.jp/law06/index.html(2) International ENERGY STAR Program
The International ENERGY STAR Program established by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently implemented in seven countries
and regions in the world as an international energy efficiency scheme for officeequipment.
This Program establishes standards for each product category on energy
consumption for the idle mode, sleep mode and the Typical Electricity Consumption(TEC energy consumption) in a way that products in the top 25% energy efficiency arecertified. Successfully certified products are eligible to bear International ENERGYSTAR logo.
In Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has established theoperating specifications for this Program and operates it. The covered products
include "Computers (PCs, workstations, etc.)," "Monitors," and "Imaging Equipment(Printers, Scanners, etc.)".
Operating specifications of the energy efficiency standards for each covered productare available on the website of the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ). So thestatus of achievement shall be judged referring to these standards and measurement
methods, which are effective at the time of implementation of the product assessment.
[Website of ECCJ providing information on the operating specification of ENERGY
STAR]
http://www.eccj.or.jp/ene-star/prod/outline.html(3) Energy efficiency of power-supply units
As regards to power-supply units used for information equipment, in addition to thevoluntary regulations under the International ENERGY STAR Program, there arelaws that set standards for the energy efficiency of external power-supply units (EPS)in the United States, State of California, and Australia, and others.
In particular, the International ENERGY STAR Program stipulates the energy
efficiency at certain rated output for power-supply units (external/internal
power-supply units) as the certification standards for computer products.
Products covered by the International ENERGY STAR Program and those intended
to be sold overseas with external power-supply units, the status of achievement shall―5 ―Provisional Translation

be judged referring to the energy efficiency standards for power-supply units, which
are valid at the time of implementation of the product assessment[Website of EPA]
http://www.energystar.gov/[EPA's PRODUCT Website]
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.
[Website of the Energy Conservation Center, Japan (ECCJ) for businesses]
http://www.eccj.or.jp/ene-star/prod/index.html[State of California: Appliance Efficiency Regulations]
http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/(4) Energy efficiency standards in environmental labelling scheme in the world
Many countries have certification standards for PC products voluntary
environmental labelling schemes that include status of achievement of theInternational ENERGY STAR Program or standard energy consumption during idle
mode, sleep mode, off, etc.
These environmental labelling schemes are implemented in conformity with theinternational standard ISO 14024 (Type I environmental labelling). For this purpose,
JIS Q 14024 has been established in Japan.
The following is a list of URLs of major environmental labelling schemes andstandards. Products that intend to bear environmental labels should evaluate theconformity with the relevant energy efficiency standards.
・European Union's Eco-label:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/index_en.htm
・German Blue Angel: http://www.blauer-engel.de/en/index.php
・Nordic countries' Nordic Swan: http://www.svanen.nu/Eng/ (Swedish, English)
・Swedish TCO: http://www.tcodevelopment.com/index.html
・Japan's Eco Mark: http://www.ecomark.jp/[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)'s web site providing data about various
environmental labels]
http://www.env.go.jp/policy/hozen/green/ecolabel/f01.html
2. Assessment of energy consumption based on the comparison with conventional
products
Assessment of newly-developed products shall be based on a comparison with the
manufacturer's conventional product(s) or an existing product(s) sold on the market
with equivalent performance and applications on the rate of energy consumption
reduction and increase of energy efficiency.
・Maximum or typical energy consumption
・Energy consumption during the stand by time (idle mode, sleep mode, off, etc.)―

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・Energy efficiency calculated according to the Energy Conservation Law
3. Display items regarding energy saving performance(1) Labelling requirements stipulated by the Energy Conservation Law
The "standards of judgement for manufacturers/importers" under the Energy
Conservation Law stipulates that the following information must be displayed in
catalogues or other documents offered by manufacturers/importers that provide
description about product performance, in order to help choice of equipment.
・Product name or type・Category name

・Name of manufacture/importer

・Energy efficiency
・Description of energy efficiency

Products covered by the Energy Conservation Law, shall confirm the display
requirements and assess the status of compliance with such requirements.
(2) Energy-saving labelling program
The Energy-Saving Labelling Program was introduced by JIS standard in August
2000, based on the Top Runner approach stated in the Energy Conservation Law. This
program requires products, many of which are used in households, to bear labels
representing the status of achievement on energy efficiency based on national
standards.
Detailed display items and methods are described in JIS C 9901 "Methods ofcalculation and representation of energy efficiency standard achievement percentage
of electrical and electronic appliances," which stipulates display methods for
Computers and Magnetic Disk Units among information equipment.
This Program requires that the following four items to be displayed.
・Energy saving symbol
・Target fiscal year
・Energy efficiency standard achievement rate*
・Energy consumption efficiency

Target fiscal year: 2007
Energy Efficiency Standard*According to the exception of the representation
method stipulated by JIS C 9901, it shall be
displayed with alphabets such as "AAA."

Achievement rate: AAA
EnergyConsumption

Efficiency:

0.00021

Although Energy-Saving Labelling Program is not mandatory for manufacturers ofComputers and Magnetic Disk Units, efforts to provide information for consumers arerecommended when there are some applicable agreements within the relevant
industry.

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4. 2 Assessment of the Implementation of Reduce<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Resource saving in products(1) Does the product have reduced weight?
(2) Does the product employ reused or recycled materials?
(3) Has employment of plant-based (bio) plastic been examined?
2. Enhancement of the lifetime of the product(1) Has the product's performance in upgrades increased?
・Structure allowing for upgrades
・Range and types (number) of functions available for upgrades(2) Has the product's performance in repair/maintenance increased?
・Structure allowing for easy repair/maintenance・Information for repair/maintenance businesses(3) Has the product's durability increased?
・Use of parts with enhanced lifetime《Assessment Methods》
1. Comparison of the weight per performance between the product and aconventional product(s)2. Comparison of the volume (percentage) of reused parts and recycled materials
between the product and a conventional product(s)3. Comparison of types (number) of functions available for upgrades (e.g.
employment of modular structure) between the product and a conventional
product(s)4. Comparison of the time required for disassembly prior to repair/maintenancework between the product and a conventional product(s)[Commentary]
Generally, reduction of raw materials used for a product is achieved by employing
lighter materials, making product walls thinner, changing product structures, and others.
Through such measures, the product size and weight are reduced as much as possible
while keeping the original performance. From the perspective of resource efficiency,
enhancement of product lifetime may also lead to achievement of resource-saving
products. It should be noted that some products have achieved increased resource
efficiency but they cannot be used as recycled materials. There is a need for products thathave structures made of parts and materials that are easily available for reuse andrecycle.
In recent years, bioplastic have received much attention in the light of saving
exhaustible resources, which are raw materials of petroleum-based plastic. However,
the environmental impacts of bioplastic have not been fully studied yet. So whenemploying it for products and the like, it is necessary to consider its environmentalloads generated at the time of manufacture and disposal. Laptop PCs have become eventhinner and lighter (design for Reduce) by employing build-in thin battery packs.
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However, in order to secure the battery capacity, the battery packs have started tooccupy an increased area, resulting in that many laptops have battery packs capturing
50% or more of the whole products area. In order to realize long-term use of laptop
products, securement of the machinery strength during transportation (e.g. clamping
battery packs by screws) shall receive sufficient consideration. Therefore, it is needed toachieve "design for Reduce" that achieves product's thinness, lightness, and strength
simultaneously (e.g. integrating battery cover and product bottom housing).
For specific assessment items, the following shall be considered.
1. Assessment based on the comparison of resource efficiency
・Assess the reduction in product weight by comparing the weight per performance
・Assess the increase in the number of reused parts and the percentage (by weight)of recycled material (recycled plastic etc.)
2. Assessment of enhanced product's lifetime
・Assess the employment of modular design and so forth, which allows the productto easily exchange some component based on the prediction on futuretechnological advancement.
・Assess the types (number) of functions that are available for upgrades thanks to
the modular design.
・Assess the product structure's ease of maintenance and repair, supplies or failed
parts replacement, and tool usage. Comprehensively, assess the time necessary
for disassembly prior to maintenance and repair work.
・Assess preparedness of documents describing the disassembly process andmaintenance/repair methods because in order to shorten the time for disassembly,
it is needed to provide such information for (educate) workers.

4. 3 Assessment of the Reuse<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Clarification of units, parts, and etc. available for Reuse
Does the product have reusable parts/units?
· Hard disk drive (HDD), floppy disk drive (FDD), monitor, optical disk drive(ODD), memory module, CPU, fans, and others
2. Ease of disassembly and separation of parts/units intended to be reused
Is it ease to disassemble the product from which parts/units will be reused?
· Disassembly and separation with commonly-used tools, and the types andnumber of tools required for the disassembly and separation· Ease of disassembly and separation from one direction, and ease ofidentification of the number of screws, places of screw clamps, and the like.

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3. Judgement criteria for Reuse(1)Is the lifetime of units/parts clarified?
· Lifetime of each unit/part· Recognition of information about month and year of manufacture of each
unit/part(2) Have reliability evaluation methods for units/parts to be reused established?
・Method to identify the remained lifetime
・Criteria to identify units/parts to be repaired
・Establishment of usage history management system for units/parts to be used
4. Facilitation of cleaning of units/parts to be reused
Does the product have material and structure that are hard to get dirty?
《Assessment Methods》
1. Review of "design for Reuse" plan
2. Comparison of the number of reusable units/parts with a conventional product(s)3. For ease of disassembly and separation, the product shall be compared with aconventional product(s) based on necessary working hours, the number of screws
to be removed, types of necessary tools, etc.
4. According to the judgement criteria for reuse, the product shall be compared witha conventional product(s) or internal standards.

[Commentary]
There are difficulties to reuse PC units and parts collected from used products such as
FDD and HDD, due to the rapid advancement in software and hardware of PC products.
However, in order to deal with the challenges of efficient use of resources and reductionof waste, it is necessary to make efforts to reuse the units and parts removed fromcollected products, for example, selling them in second-hand market or using them asrepair parts after refurbishment, inspection, or even as they are.
In order to realize reuse of units/parts, efforts should be made on a wide range ofdifferent phases from product planning, design, manufacture, sell, collection,
disassembly (disposal) to quality assurance. It is also needed to resolve a number oftechnical challenges including lifetime estimation and reliability evaluation methods.
These Guidelines focus on the following four items as assessment items.
1. Clarification of parts available for Reuse
In this context "Reuse" means using products that are collected from users after use
and are identified as reusable ones, as they are or after repair/refurbishment. The
subjects of Reuse may include PC units and parts.
In order to facilitate Reuse of units/parts, it is important to preliminarily determine
what to reuse in the product design process. In order to enhance the scope of Reuse,
employment of general-purpose products or commonalization or standardization
between different products can be effective.

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2. Ease of disassembly and separation for Reuse
First of all, it is important that the product has a structure in which the productcan be easily disassembled and units and parts intended for reuse can be easily
separated. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to give consideration to the amountand types of screws and other similar tools needed, as well as the suggested
assembling methods in a way that the intended parts/units can easily be removed
with the minimum number and types of tools in the design phase.
Consideration is also needed for the ease of removing work of units/parts (e.g.
assembly from one direction). There are certain products in which points ofdisassembly and separation are hard to recognize (e.g. screw-clamped products etc.),
in this case for example, it can be a measure to enable workers to recognize the points
of disassemble by marking the exact area.
3. Judgement criteria for Reuse
Herein it is important to establish lifetime estimation and reliability evaluation
methods for parts to be reused. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish systems
in which manufacturing year and month of each unit/part can be easily recognized,
and to consider application of history management methods.
4. Facilitation of cleaning of units/parts to be reused
Prior to reuse units/parts, they need to be cleaned. So it is necessary to employ
material and structure that are hard to get dirty.

4. 4 Assessment of the Implementation of Recycle<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Selection of recyclable material and/or parts(1) Does the product have recyclable material and/or parts?
· Kinds and weight of parts containing precious materials (made of precious orrare metals)· Kinds and weight of commonly-used metals such as steel, copper, andaluminium· Kinds and weight of plastic materials that are suitable for material recycle(thermoplastic)(2) Does the product have composite materials? Or has the product received
treatment that interferes with recycle?
· Reduction of composite material and parts made of different type materials(e.g. metal and plastic)· Avoidance of metal plating, paint, and plastic coating agents made frommaterials different from main component
2. Structure in which disassembly and separation can be easily performed(1) Is the product easily disassembled and separated into materials/parts to be―

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recycled and others?
· Ease of disassembly and separation of the product into parts containing
precious metals, commonly used metal parts, plastic parts intended formaterial recycle, glass parts, and others.
· Structure in which secondary batteries can be removed easily(2) Does the product have a structure in which different materials can be easily
separated?
· Minimization of joints using different type adhesives, welding, swage· Avoidance of using screws embedded into plastic parts· Creative jointing methods for plastic parts (insertion, snap joint etc.)(3) Does the product have structure in which materials/parts that interfere withrecycled parts are easily removable?
· Consideration is needed to make easy to identify separation points on the
product (design, labelling, etc )(4) Have the product's disassembly and separation methods been established? Have
human working hour needs to complete this works been reduced ?
· Ease of disassembly and separation with commonly used tools· Ease of disassembly and separation from one direction· Disassembly from underside for heavy products shall be avoided (for ease ofdisassembly work by one person)(5) Does the product have reduced number of parts and screws?
3. Ease of segregation(1) Is it easy to identify the quality of materials/parts for workers?
· Plastic parts over 25g shall bear symbols stipulated by JIS Standard K 6899 /K 6999 or ISO 1043 / 11469· Secondary batteries shall be labelled according to the Law for the Promotion of
Effective Utilization of Resources, as the Specified Labelled Product· Symbols and labels shall be easy to recognize (position and size)(2) Are employed materials unified?
· The materials of frames, chassis, and etc. shall be unified to a single material
and unitized.
(3) Is it easy to identify materials difficult to recycle?
《Assessment Methods》
1. Status of compliance with requirements under applicable laws and regulations
including the Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources
2. Status of conformity to guidelines and manuals developed internally or issued byindustry groups and others (including JEITA)
3. In addition to the above two items, the newly-designed product shall becompared with a conventional product(s) on the following items.
(1) Employment of recyclable material/parts: the weight and number of employedrecyclable materials, the recyclability, etc.
(2) The product structure's ease of disassembly and separation; the time necessary
for disassembly and separation works prior to the collection of materials to berecycled(3) The ease of segregation: the kinds of materials employed as well as thepercentage of labelled parts

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Provisional Translation[Commentary]
The following is the principle for assessment towards Recycle.
1. It is necessary to select parts, materials, and structures that are intended for Recycle.
Subsequently, it is needed to assess the factors that interfere with recycle.
In regard to metal materials, commonly used metal material suitable for material
recycle shall be selected. In case of parts containing precious metals, the partstructures shall be designed suitable for material recycle.
In regard to plastic, materials with suitability for material recycle shall be selected.
Appendix－1 "Types of Plastic Materials Suitable for Material Recycle" provides
guidelines for this purpose.
In product development/design phase, it is necessary to quantitatively estimate andevaluate the percentage of parts/materials that might be recyclable in the future,when the product would already be used one.
In principle, a high priority is given to Reuse and material recycle namely it isimportant to utilize used products as resources. Especially, in case of plastic parts theuse of coating, plating, painting, printing, labelling, metal insertion, adhesives andsimilar procedures shall be avoided or reduced.
The recyclability should preferably be evaluated according to the calculation
methodology and procedure described in Appendix－2 (The Range of Recyclability).
2. In order to enable recyclable parts/materials to be easily disassembled and separated,
desirably the product will be disassembled and separated by material of frames,chassis, etc., mounted printed board unit, memory unit such as FDD and HDD,
cathode-ray tube, liquid crystal unit, key board, fluorescent lamp, cable, and so on.
The Appendix － 3 (Degree of Product Disassembly) represents some example
standards for product disassembly. When deciding the degree to which the product isdisassembled, various requirements shall be considered according to the productcharacteristics.
For products employing secondary batteries, which are designated as Specified
Resources-Recycled Products under the Law of Promotion of Effective Utilization of
Resources, easy removal of secondary batteries is needed. Table 1 represents the"Different grades of Easy Removal of Secondary Batteries" included in theAssessment Manual for Facilitation of Secondary Batteries Removal.
It should be noted that recycle of the product's main body can be facilitated if
material and/or parts that would be obstacles for recycle can easily beremoved/separated.
It is also vital to evaluate tools and working time necessary for actual productdisassembly and separation works, in conjunction with the ease of such works.

―

13 ―

Provisional Translation

Difficult

Easeof Removal

Easy

Table1 Different Grades of Easy Removal of Secondary Batteries
Category
Item
Example of assessment items
Gra RanMiddleSmalldekclassification classification
Power-supply part is designed to be
separated from the main body andA
One-touchOne-touchthe battery pack can be removed
with one touch
The battery cover is manually
One-touchremovable and the battery pack canbe removed with one touch
ManualB
removal of
The battery cover is manually
Disconnectio
battery cover
removable and the battery pack cann of
be removed by disconnecting
connectors
connectors
The screws of battery cover are
One-touchremovable and the battery pack canbe removed with one touch
Removal ofC
screws of
The screws of battery cover are
Disconnectio
battery cover
removable and the battery pack cann of
be removed by removing screws,
connectors
disconnecting connectors, etc.
The screws of battery cover are
Removal ofremovable and the battery pack canDscrews of
Cutoffbe removed by cutting thebattery coverconnectors off with nippers, etc.
Disassembly of
The whole product can be
the whole
Disconnectio disassembled by removing screws
E
productn ofand the battery pack can be(screwconnectors
removedbydisconnecting
removal)connectors
Disassembly of
The whole product can be
the wholedisassembled by removing screws
F
product
Cutoffand the battery pack can be(screw
removed by cutting the connectors
removal)off with nippers, etc.
Disconnectio The battery pack can be removed by
Disassembly of
n ofdismantling the whole product andthe wholeconnectors
disconnecting connectors
product
G
The battery pack can be removed bydismantling the whole product and(dismantlemen
Cutoffcutting the connectors off witht)nippers, etc.
※The bold frame shows the removability of secondary battery that should bemaintained for products used by end users.
※The battery cover includes bottom housing of the product.
3. Plastic parts, secondary batteries, etc. shall be labelled so that the parts/materials to
be disassembled and separated can be easily segregated. Although laws and―14 ―Provisional Translation

regulations require labelling plastic parts of PC products over 25g, at the same time itis desired to label every plastic part as much as physically possible.
Identification symbols for plastic parts shall be marked according to JIS K 6899-1(ISO 1043-1, Basic polymers and their special characteristics), JIS K 6899-2 (ISO1043-2, Fillers and reinforcing materials), ISO 1043-3 (Plasticizers), JIS K 6899-4(ISO 1043-4, Flame retardants), or JIS K 6999 (ISO 11469, Generic identification andmarking of plastics products) as much as possible. In addition, for the sake ofmaterial recycle facilitation, labelling would desirably includes grade identification,
namely detailed information about the plastic material (manufacturer of the resin,
product name, lot number, etc. Please note that marking methods differ by
manufacturer).
Examples of specific markings are shown below.

Example of marking(1) Marking for normal ABS resin according to ISO 1043:＞ＡＢＳ＜(2) Marking for FR ABS resin according to ISO 1043:

ＦＲ (17) ＜＞ＡＢＳ※Here FR stands for "flame resistant"; and17 means Antimony compound＋aromatic bromide (＝brominated flame
retardants)(3) ISO 1043 marking including grade identification (manufacturer of the resin,
product name, serial number) flame resistant ABS plastic:＞ＡＢＳ－ＦＲ＜
ＡＢＣＤ． Ｃｏ． Ｌｔｄ．
ＰＯＬＹＭ, ＡＢ－560

Additionally, after being disassembled and separated, frames and chassis, etc. arecrushed and undergo magnetic and/or gravity sorting process, in which ferrous andnon-ferrous metals are collected to be recycled. Therefore, materials and treatmentsthat would interfere with such processes shall be avoided.
In the “Assessment Methods”, assessment processes, including the confirmation ofconformance for applicable laws and regulations and guidelines developed by relative―

15 ―Provisional Translationindustry and/or by each manufacturer, are clarified.. In case of individual assessment,
comparison with a conventional product(s) is determined to be the basic assessment
method.

4. 5 Assessment of the ease of disposal<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Ease of collection and transportation of products and the likeIs the product transferred and transported easily?
· Low center of gravity, total product weight
2. Adaptability for mechanical crushing, and treatment or recycle performed inincineration facilities
Is it easy to separate objects that may be difficult to crush/cut-off, may damage
crushers, or may damage incinerators by being melted?
· Hard parts, soft materials, metal parts with low melting points, glass parts,and etc.
3. Safety during disposal process(1) Does the product have a structure that allows disposal workers to handle itsafely?
(2) Is it easy to separate objects to be preliminary segregated?
・Parts with possibilities to explode or catch fire
Lithium-ion battery, chassis made from magnesium, and etc.
(3) Are there clearly displayed markings that help the preliminary segregation?
(4) Is proper disposal available for the parts/units preliminary segregated?
・Confirmation of proper disposal technique
4. Disclosure about disposal(1) Is information about hard-to-treat objects disclosed?
(2) Has a manual(s) for disassembly prepared?
・Disassembly manual, service manual, user instruction, and etc.
《Assessment Methods》
1. The status of compliance with requirements under laws and regulations
including the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law
2. Status of achievement of guidelines established by JIS or relevant industry
3. Status of achievement of manuals and guidelines established by the
manufacturers
4. Assessment shall be implemented on the following items in addition to the above
1 to 3.
(1) In regard to facilitation of collection and transportation, the product shall becompared with a conventional product(s) on product weight, volume, andtransportability(2) In regard to facilitation of crushing of products and the like, it shall be comparedwith a conventional product(s) on the existence of units that are difficult tocrush/cut-off, and if any, the number and volume of such units, working timeneeded to separate them, and concerns about damage to disposal facilities―

16 ―Provisional Translation(3) In regard to securement of safety during disposal, the product shall be comparedwith the conventional product(s) on the risk (exploding or catching fire, and etc.),
the number of parts, working time needed for separation, safety of workers, andconcerns about damage to incinerators[Commentary]
1. There is a need to establish system(s) in which used products and separated parts canbe collected and transported safely and sanitary. To this end, the product shall haveweight, volume (including products that can be divided into appropriate volume),
shape, and structure that allow collection and transportation conducted as easily as
possible.

Safety standards shall refer to JIS C6950. Heavy products shall beconsidered to be provided with handle(s).
2. After separating parts that can be used as recycled parts or resources, crushing andincineration shall be performed with the aim of reducing the remaining materials'
weight, detoxifying them, and recovering energy from them. Therefore, facilitation of
crushing and incineration and maintenance of treatment facilities shall also be
considered. Hard-to-crush materials (e.g. materials that may damage the crusher)
include hard parts (motors, FRP parts, etc.), soft materials (gum, sponge, etc.), andglass parts.
3. Avoidance of parts with such risks shall be considered first, in order to secure thesafety during disposal.
In the matter of products parts where risk(s) of explosion and/or catching fire, etc.
might be possible, the product structures/configurations shall allowing such parts tobe easily separated, in order to facilitate the preliminary segregation.
In addition, it is desired that such products have structures that are safe forworkers, furthermore that information is provided for treatment businesses so thatthey could take safety measures by themselves such as prevention of overturning or
preparation of containers for these products.
4. Provision of information about hard-to-treat objects, preparation of disassemble
manual, and display of contact details shall be provided according to the Marking for
Presence of the Specific Chemical Substances for Electrical and Electronic Equipment(as known as J-MOSS).

―

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Provisional Translation

4. 6 Assessment of the environmental protection performance<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Selection of safe material/parts(1) Have those chemical substances been avoided that may affect human health andsafety?
· Chemical substances regulated by laws and regulations· Chemical substances regulated by voluntary regulations(2) Has the use of ozone depleting substance been avoided?
· Chemical substances regulated by laws and regulations· Chemical substances regulated by voluntary regulations(3) Does the product give utmost consideration to the highest safety in terms of partscontaining chemical substances with environmental impacts? (e.g. employmentof alternative parts that have equivalent functions)
2. Reducing the use of chemical substances with environmental impacts and similar
substances in the manufacturing process(1) Do product specifications aim to reduce chemical substances with environmental
impacts and other similar substances during the manufacturing process?
· Ozone depleting substance· Chemical substances regulated by laws and regulations on the environment· Substances regulated by laws and regulations on occupational safety andhealth(2) Do product specifications aim to reduce chemical substances with environmental
impacts and other similar substances contained in gases, effluents and wastes
emitted during the manufacturing process?
3. Avoiding the generation of chemical substances with environmental impacts
during use
Has the product been given a careful consideration to volatile organic
compound?
4. Recycle / proper disposal of parts containing chemical substances withenvironmental impacts(1) Have the collection method and recycling pass been established?
· Secondary batteries, etc.
(2) Is it easy to separate parts containing chemical substances with environmental
impacts?
· Secondary batteries, etc.
(3) Has the use of chemical substances with concerns of generating harmful
substances during disposal (e.g. incineration), such as dioxin, been avoided?
《Assessment Methods》
The use of chemical substances with environmental impacts shall be confirmedby reviewing the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or related documentationsof the intended product, referring to applicable laws and regulations as well asinternal standards.

―

18 ―

Provisional Translation[Commentary]
As a principal, assessment standards for environmental protection performance shall
include 1) that the use of chemical substances that may significantly affect humanhealth and safety has been avoided; and 2) that the use of chemical substances withenvironmental impacts has been avoided in the light of treatment and final disposal of
used products.
For details of relevant laws, regulations and non-mandatory agreements, thewebsites mentioned below should be visited.

1. It is recommended to establish internal standards for usage of chemical substanceswith environmental impacts referring to domestic and international environmental
laws and regulations, as well as voluntary regulations (e.g. environmental labelling
programs); and to check the use of chemical substances with environmental impacts
accordingly.
[Website that explains obligations to provide information about substances
contained in products under the Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of
Resources]
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/3r_policy/policy/j-moss.html
In addition, it would be desired to check laws and regulations that regulate chemical
substances with environmental impacts including air, water and soil polluting
substances, and ozone depleting substance.
＜Example＞


Air Pollution Control Act,

Water Pollution Control Act,Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Prevention Law,

Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law,



Law for the Promotion of Utilization of Recycled Resources,

Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law,Act on the Protection of the Ozone Layer through the Control of Specified
Substances and Other MeasuresOffensive Odour Control Law

Law for the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances

Water Works Act



Sewerage Law

Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Law
In addition to the above, in order to check the safety of chemical substances used forparts/units comprising the product, information about substances with hazards and―19 ―Provisional Translation

risks described in the Guidelines for Management of Chemical Substances Contained in
Products (published by the Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium (JAMP)
and the domestic VT62474) as well as IEC62474 and corresponding standards shall bereferred to.
[Domestic VT62474]:

http://www.vt62474.jp/

2. Laws and regulations that regulate chemical substances (e.g. Air Pollution ControlAct) cover substances that may be used in manufacturing processes. It shall be
confirmed in the product design phase that chemical substances with environmental
impacts used in the manufacturing processes is reduced.
3. Assessment of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted during use shall be
implemented.
http://home.jeita.or.jp/ce/guideline/index.html
4. In regard to parts containing chemical substances with environmental impacts,
reduction of usage and facilitation of separation of shall be confirmed.

―

20 ―

Provisional Translation

4. 7 Assessment of the packaging materials and user manuals<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Assessment of the Reduce(1) Does the product have reduced packaging materials?
· Reduction of weight and volume(2) Does the product employ recycled materials?
· Recycled paper, pulp-mold, recycled plastic(3) User manuals etc.
· Reduction of weight and volume
2. Assessment of the Reuse
Does the product have materials and structures suitable for Reuse?
3. Assessment of the Recycle(1) Does the product employ recycled materials?
Cardboard, pulp-mold, non-wood fiber, styrene form, etc.
(2) Is it easy to separate the recyclable materials from substances that interfere with
Recycle?
· Separation of cardboards from other materials
Sealing tape, styrene form, urethane foam, staples, etc.
· Separation of styrene form other materials
Vinyl tape, paper label, and etc.
(3) Do plastic materials have identification code?
· Material marking in accordance with the Law for the Promotion of Effective
Utilization of Resources and JIS standard(4) Is it easy to collect and transport the product?
· Reduction of bulk and weight (e.g. foldable design)
4. Environmental protection performance during treatment and final disposal(1) Has the use of chemical substances with environmental impacts been avoided or
reduced?
· Heavy metals containing pigments of printing ink etc.
(2) Has the use of substances with concerns of generating dioxin and other similar
substances during incineration been avoided?
· Vinyl chloride sheet or films etc.
《Assessment Methods》
The assessment method for packaging materials and user manuals shall be
determined pursuant to the product's Assessment method.

[Commentary]
Assessment items and methods for packaging materials and user manuals shall beestablished in a similar approach that was used for the product assessment.
1. Recycle: Quantitative comparison of the percentage of recycled materials withconventional product(s)2. Reduction of weight and volume:Comparison of weight percentage [packaging material weight ÷ product weight―

21 ―Provisional Translation

×100]
Comparison of volume percentage [(total volume − packaging material volume) ÷total product volume ×100］(The above product weight and product volume also include the bundled items
such as user manuals.)
3.

Ease of disassembly and segregation: Working time for and ease of disassembly (e.g.
avoidance of adhering different kinds of materials)

4.

Display performance (Note 1): Ease of segregation based on plastic identification
symbols, material identification markings and labelling

5.

Regulated hazardous substances: Review the compliance to the regulatory
standards under applicable laws and regulations

6.

Re/long-term usage: Review of reusabiliy

7.

Recognition of packaging material quality and weight by type of material(Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, April 2000)

Note 1: For plastic symbols, material identification and labelling, the latest versions of JIS
K 6899-1 (ISO 1043-1) and JIS K 6999 (ISO 11469) shall be confirmed.

＜Examples of identification marking＞(1) Polystyrene resin (when displayed in a place away from the identification mark):＞ＰＳ＜(2) Paper (when displayed under the identification mark):

外箱(3) Polyethylene resin (when displayed under the identification mark):

ＰＥ

―

22 ―

Provisional Translation

4. 8 Assessment of the information provision<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Assessment on method of information provision for product handlers(1) Is information provided in an appropriate manner for those who are engaged inselling and maintenance of the product?
(2) Is information provided in an appropriate manner for users?
(3) Is information provided in an appropriate manner for specialists who dispose
used products?
2. Types and contents of information provided(1) Is information about Reduce properly provided?
· Possible increase in performance and enhancement of functions (upgrades)· Status of the use of recycled materials, such as recycled plastic materials(2) Is information about Reuse properly provided?
· Information about parts commonly used in conventional product(s)· Procedure and method for part removal (disassembly)(3) Is information about Recycle properly provided?
· Discard by users (description about collection system including application forcollection)· Collection, discard, and disposal methods for used products· Display of material name and identification symbols for parts· Resource Recycling Rate defined by the Law for the Promotion of Effective
Utilization of Resources(4) Is information about energy-saving performance properly provided?
· Labelling of the Energy Saving Performance stipulated by the Energy
Conservation Law (for more details, see Section 4. 1 Commentary 3 of these
Guidelines.)· Instruction on the use of energy-saving mode of the product(5) Is information about safety during product handling and discarding procedures
properly provided?
· Instruction and precautions for safe use· Procedures and methods on maintenance and repair work
· Precautions for discard of products and the like
· The physical properties of products/parts that are extremely difficult tocompress or crush; corrosive, hazardous, or explosive nature of products/parts
that must be noted to properly dispose them; risks associated with disposal of
the products/parts; environmental protection performance; and impacts todisposal facilities· Possibilities of generation of toxic gas etc. resulted from heating treatment(e.g. incineration)
3. Disclosure about disposal
Is information available about any substances contained in the product that may
decrease the quality of materials generated from the Recycle of the usedproducts or may interfere with the Recycle procedures disclosed in accordancewith the Marking for Presence of the Specific Chemical Substances for Electricaland Electronic Equipment (JIS C 0950, known as J-Moss)?
4. Understandability of provided information and methods to ensure that enoughinformation is provided―

23 ―Provisional Translation(1) Is there an appropriate information display on products and the like (directlabelling or attachment of environmental labels)?
(2) Do user manuals and similar documentations provide easy-to-understandinformation using figures etc.?
(3) Has any inquiry contact regarding the collection of used products been
established in other media (e.g. Internet)《Assessment Methods》
1. Intended Recipients and status of provision of necessary information
2. Status of compliance with relevant laws and regulations
3. Status of compliance with domestic or industry-wide standards and guidelines
4. Status of achievement on in-house manuals and guidelines· Display method (font size, position), contents of description, understandability,
procedure for information disclosure etc.
[Commentary]
The following is the basic principle for assessment methods and judgement criteria
for information provision relating to used products, in consideration of promoting theutilization of recycled materials and parts.

―

24 ―

Provisional Translation

1. Information provision for intended recipients (requesters)
Appropriate information shall be provided for each recipient about the increase in
the product’s resource efficiency, enhancement of product lifetime, reduction of wastes
to be generated from the product, ease of product disposal, and securement of productsafety.
The following table shows the relationship between recipient and information to beprovided, as an example.

RecipientThose who
engaged inselling
Those who
engaged inmaintenanceUsers

Recyclingtreatment
businesses

Reduce(Minimization ofwaste generation)○Possible enhancementof performance andfunctions (upgrades)that allow long-term
usage○ Consumable material(maintenance supplies○Simplified packaging○Repairing system○Storage period of partsfor maintenance○Status of use ofrecycled materials
such as recycledplastic materials

Example of information to be provided
Reuse
Recycle○Information oncommon parts withprevious versionsof the product○ Collection,
discard, anddisposal methods forused products○Methods for
Recycle usedsecondary batteries

Energy Conservationand Safety○Safe use
○Precaution regarding
human health duringuse○Procedure ofmaintenance and repair○Precautions forhandling○Eco-friendly usage ofthe product○Tips for energy-saving
usage○Precautions for discardof products and the like
○Energy Saving
Performance(Energy
Conservation Law,
International ENERGYSTAR etc.)○Display according to
J-Moss○Crushing and incinerating methods for
products/parts○Possibilities of generating toxic gas etc. resulted
from heating treatment (e.g. incineration)○Corrosive, hazardous, and explosive nature,
toxicity, environmental protection
performance, and impacts on disposal facilities○Display according to J-Moss○Procedure and method for part removal(disassembly)

―

25 ―

Provisional Translation

2. Secure provision of information
It is desired that necessary information is displayed on the product itself. In
addition, if the product cannot display enough information due to the restriction ofavailable space, etc., necessary information shall be provided in user manuals and/or
other media (e.g. Internet).
3. Establishment of information providing mechanism
An information provision system shall be established within the company incoordination with relevant organizations, so that user manuals and similar
documentations shows exact contacts where users' inquiries about contents of theuser manuals can be sent (including contacts of the relevant organizations).
4. Continuous improvement
Though the abovementioned points from 1 to 3 should be principal assessment
standards and judgement criteria, continuous improvement on these terms is theutmost important.
To this end, the following two measures should be effective.
(1) Promotion of standardized design
There shall be a continuous improvement in terms of information that is displayedon the item, the display method and the operation of such information provisionsystem. In order to secure such improvement, reviewing systems shall be establishedthrough internal standards or other related regulations.
(2) Proactive utilization of various laws, regulations, and guidelines
There are several laws that stipulate the content of information to be provided
along with appropriate methods, as well as the obligation of documentation (e.g. Law
for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources, Energy Conservation Law,
Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law, and Containers and Packaging
Recycling Law).
Additionally, the Japanese government and industrial organizations provide
information through circulars and publications including the document titled"Towards the Achievement of the Most Resource-Saving Society in the World"(January 2008) published by the Waste and Recycling Subcommittee under theEnvironment Committee, Industrial Structure Council, METI. Such information shallbe proactively utilized by acquiring such notices and publications from time to time.

―

26 ―

Provisional Translation

4. 9 Assessment based on LCA (Assessment of environmental impacts)<Assessment Items and Standards>
1. Environmental Impact Assessment in each phase of product life cycle
Have environmental impacts generated in each stage of the product's life cyclefrom raw material manufacturing, product manufacturing, logistics, use, todiscard/recycle been reduced?
· Raw material manufacturing: Environmental impacts generated from theextraction of resources to manufacture of raw materials· Product manufacturing: Environmental impacts generated from the
manufacturing of parts to processing, assembly, and manufacture of products· Logistics: The environmental impacts generated during product transfer frommanufacturing site to users· Use: Environmental impacts during use· Discard/recycle: Environmental impacts associated with discard/recycle of the
product《Assessment Methods》(1) Assessment shall be implemented according to LCA program developed
internally or by third party institutes(2) The assessment items are:･Impacts on global warming (CO2 equivalent)･Impacts on acidification (SO2 equivalent)･Energy consumption
The product shall be quantitatively assessed according to the above criteria.
(3) The environmental impacts generated in each stage shall be compared topreviously and newly developed products in order to verify the improvements.

[Commentary]
LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) quantitatively analyses the environmental impacts
generated in each stage of the product life cycle, from raw material manufacturing,product manufacturing, logistics, use, to discard/recycle. Thus, environmental impacts
can be assessed when LCA is implemented in the product design stage.
In addition, if in-house LCA program is used, preconditions for each stage and datacollection period and method shall be in accordance with the program.
The range and depth of study for LCA are determined according to the purpose of theassessment. When products are manufactured abroad, the accuracy of collected data
about manufacturing should be reviewed precisely. It should also be noted that there
are differences in the basic unit between Japan and overseas countries.
The EcoLeaf Environmental Label operated by the Japan Environmental
Management Association for Industry is an example of quantitative environmental
information program based on LCA.

―

27 ―

Provisional Translation

4. 10

Overall Assessment

Desirably an overall assessment should desirably be implemented, based on the
results of individual assessment items.
The overall assessment can include aggregation of the result of each assessment
item and comparison of the intended product with alternative design(s). In suchassessment processes, weighting shall be performed since the importance ofindividual assessment item varies due to the product characteristics.
When conducting an overall assessment, it shall be noted that in some cases there
are trade-offs between individual assessment items.
If the result of the overall assessment is worse than the conventional product’(s),re-design of the product and examination of measures for improvement should be
conducted.
Certainly, the overall assessment shall take into account the minimum
requirements of the product (e.g. original functions shall not be lost, product safety
during use shall be secured).

[Commentary]
Overall assessment comprehensively determines whether the product needs any
measures for improvement (in material, structure, or labelling etc.) or not, byaggregating the results of individual assessments.
1. When the importance of individual assessment item varies due to the productcharacteristics or internal environmental impact assessment standards, suchindividual assessment items shall undergo an adequate weighting.
The coefficients of such weighting are preferably determined through anappropriate subjective evaluation.
2. In general, it is difficult to perform subjective and absolute assessments on only one
design plan, so in overall assessment, comparison with alternative plans shall be
conducted.
3. It should be noted that in some cases, there are trade-offs among individual
assessment items, in which efforts to get higher score in an item lead to lower score(s)in other assessment item(s).
4. Typically, numerical rating systems are employed but there are no definitive
approaches for overall assessments. It is desired that an appropriate methodology is
employed based on the product characteristics.
5. In addition, the overall assessment shall pay significant attention not to interferewith the minimum requirements as a product (e.g. the original functions shall not be―

28 ―Provisional Translation

lost, the product safety during use shall be secured).
The following are examples of overall assessment, by total score approach and radar
chart approach.
【Reference】 Samples of overall assessment methodologies(a) Total Score ApproachThis approach evaluates the product by scoring the product performance on each
item (e.g. based on comparison with a conventional product) and totaling the scores.
(Example)
Conventional

Newly-designed productproduct
Assessment

Assessment

item

methodWeighting
Coefficiency Rating

Score Weighted Rating

Score Weighted(Note1)(Note 2) Score(Note 2) Score(Note 3)
EnergyComparison with a conventional

Conservation

product on energy consumption(Note 3)

2

-10%

+1

+2

-20%

+2

+4

2

±0%

0

0

-10%

+1

+2

4

±0%

0

0

+10%

+1

+4

-5%

+1

+4

-20%

+2

+8

and energy efficiency

ReduceComparisons with a conventional
product on the ease of upgrade for.

enhancement during productlifetime; and on weight (including
paper resource)

Reuse

Comparison with a conventional
product on employment of.

Recyclerecyclable parts

4

Comparison with a conventional
product on the number of kinds ofused materials (including thenumber of colours), thepercentage of recycled materials,
and the percentage of recyclable
materials

6

Total score

―

29 ―

18

Provisional Translation(Note 1) These coefficients shall be used when the importance of individual assessment
item differs from each other
If the assessment items do not undergo weighting, all values shall be 1.
(Note 2) Each item shall be scored as following based on the comparison with aconventional product:+2: Significant outcome, +1: Reasonable outcome, 0: As it was,
―1: Worse than previous(Note 3) Weighted score ＝ Score × Weighting coefficients(b) Radar chart approachThis approach evaluates the product by making a radar chart using the scores oneach assessment item. It focuses on the existence of items with significantly lowscore and the score of items with particular importance among others.

Energy conservation
100
LCA

Reduce50

Information
Provision

Reuse
0

Packaging materials
User manuals

RecycleEase of disposal
Environmental
protection performance
Conventional product―

Newly-designed product30 ―Provisional Translation

5.

Procedure for assessment of eco-design

5. 1 Preparation of an assessment manual
Manufacturers shall appropriately develop their own eco-design assessment
manuals considering their own organization, structure, and the characteristics ofproducts to be covered, taking into account their goals of eco-design and theseguidelines.

[Commentary]
Basically, an assessment manual shall indicate the objective and scope of assessment,
definitions of terms, assessment procedures that are described in Sections 4 and 5 ofthese Guidelines, individual assessment items and overall assessment.

5. 2 Assessment procedures
In order to achieve fruitful assessment and to secure the subjectivity, theassessment should preferably be implemented in two phases. Firstly self-assessment
should be conducted by persons/departments that developed/designed the product(hereinafter referred to as "product designers"), secondly subjective assessment
could be performed by assessor who are in charge of assessment, based on theaggregated results of the self-assessment (hereinafter referred to as "Subjective
assessors").

[Commentary]
Although the assessment may be conducted in conjunction with other assessments
run in the design phase (e.g. assessments of function, cost, safety, and etc.), thesubjectivity of the assessment shall be secured. Assessment methodologies may include:(a) a method that judges if the product meets each of individual assessment items thathave been properly set according to the product characteristics, and (b) a method thatscores the product on individual assessment items compared to environmental targets(targets for improvement) that have been properly set according to the productcharacteristics. In any case, assessment should be implemented according to proper
criteria. The following is an example of assessment flow for reference.
(1) Self-assessment
It can be an idea to implement individual assessments on multiple design plans todetermine the best one, which earns the best rating.
When some product improving measures are implemented according to the results―

31 ―Provisional Translationof overall assessment, the processes of individual assessment and subsequent overall
assessment shall be conducted again.
The product designers shall record the results of the individual and overall
assessments and accordingly-implemented measures, and then compile them into areport, attaching the composition of chemical substances used, the product's safety
data, and relevant supporting documentations.
(2) Subjective assessment
Subjective assessors shall validate the results of the self-assessment based on the
self-assessment reports and the prototype product to be mass-produced, checking theexistence of any failure in assessment items or any misunderstanding in assessment
methods, as well as considering the latest trends in environmental regulations,environmental technologies and environment- or safety-related accidents.
When necessary, the assessors shall ask the product designers to submit the resultsof dissolution test on hazardous substances and/or toxicity assessment.
When the assessors conclude that some improving measures shall be taken for the
product or that individual assessment items shall be revised, self-assessment shall be
implemented again.
The product designers shall deal with the comments from the subjective assessors
and shall record the measures taken.

―

32 ―

Provisional Translation＜Example of assessment flow＞(1) Self-assessment(Product designers)

Develop &design productIndividual
assessment

Confirm thevoluntary target(Refer to)(Refer to)Assessment
ManualConduct
improvingmeasures
Overallassessment(Submit assessment results)(2) Subjective
Assessment(Subjective assessors)

MeasuresrequiredJudgement
Measures NOT required
Finished(Maintain assessment records)

―

33 ―

Provisional Translation

5. 3 Cooperation with materials/parts suppliers
Manufacturers should mutually cooperate with suppliers that design/develop
units and parts of their products, to make products essentially safe andenergy-efficient, to enhance the product lifetime by increase product's functions, andto achieve product structure where recycle of the products can be easily conducted.
These should be in accordance with these Guidelines.
In addition, it is desired to promote coordination and cooperation among theentities belonging to their supply chains in order to reduce by-products such aswastes generated during manufacturing of pars and final products.

[Commentary]
Cooperation may include:(1) Provision of necessary information such as individual assessment items andstandards from manufacturers to suppliers of materials/parts(2) Implementation of necessary assessments on the materials/parts by suppliers ofmaterials/parts(3) Display the material quality by suppliers of materials/parts, which are necessary forthe easy segregation of the parts to be recycled(4) Provision of necessary information such as material quality and structure of theparts from suppliers of materials/parts to the manufacturers(5) Provision of necessary information regarding recycle of used materials/parts, as well
as disposal methods for such used materials/parts that are safe and do not impose
impacts to environment(6) Coordination between suppliers of materials/parts and manufacturers to reduceby-products such as wastes generated during manufacture.
On the subject of PC products, information about recyclability of units/parts, efforts
that were made to make disposal easier for users, and environmental performance andsafety of the products shall be provided for consumers because used PC products are
generated in wide-ranging places including general households.
In particular, to ensure the safety during disposal of discarded products and toprevent associated environmental pollution, it is needed for manufacturers to cooperatewith suppliers of materials/parts by providing information about proper disposal ofhazardous chemical substances contained parts/materials. Manufacturers can get
information about hazards by requesting suppliers to submit MSDSs (Material Safety
Data Sheets) of parts/units used for the product, which contain information aboutchemical substances with environmental impacts and/or hazards.
On the other hand, the document titled "Towards the Achievement of the Most
Resource-Saving Society in the World" (January 2008), which was published by the
Waste and Recycling Subcommittee, Environment Committee, Industrial Structure―

34 ―Provisional Translation

Council, reported that the following two findings can be measures for re-strengthening
the Reduce among companies comprising a supply-chain.
[1] There are certain challenges where manufacturers' design and specifications may
restrict the flexibility of the suppliers of materials/parts in reduction of the
by-products, namely the strict quality requirements may result in decreased yieldrate.
[2] Reduction of by-products can lead to minimization of input raw materials andresult in reduced cost and increased competitiveness. It may even be an effective
method for suppression of energy consumption during the manufacturing
processes. It is thus essential to look at initiatives implemented for cooperation
among businesses belonging to the supply chain.
In addition, the reduction of waste and recycle of used products cannot be promoted
without close mutual cooperation between the manufacturers and suppliers from theperspectives of avoidance of composite materials, reduction of types and number ofscrews used for the product, unification (utilization of a single material) of plastic
materials, cost of use of recycled materials, and product quality.

―

35 ―

Provisional Translation

Appendix-1

Types of Plastic Materials Suitable For Material Recycle

For plastic, the material recycle is literally the approach of recycle, in which plastic is
recycled as material; chemical recycle is an approach in which the plastic is decomposed
to be used as chemical material or fuel; and thermal recycle is an approach in whichplastic is burnt to recover the thermal energy. In product design, a priority shall begiven to parts' Reuse and Recycle as raw material. This Appendix lists the plastic
materials suitable for material recycle. In order to be suitable for material recycle,
plastic materials should preferably have good scores on the following quality
assessment criteria.
Table
N
o

Assessment items

1 Lifetime
2 Regulations
3 Appearance
4 Ease of shaping
5 Versatility
6Ease ofassembly/disassembly

7 Ease of recycle

Assessment of recyclability of plastic materials
Details of item
Lower deterioration resistance during
operation
Domestic and international voluntary
regulations regarding Recycle
Excellence in surface gloss after shaping,colorability, ease of second processing(bonding, paint etc.)
Versatility in forming(thin/thick-wall, rib, etc.)
General purpose resin (physical properties
that allow for unification of materials)
Excellence in performance inhinge mechanism / fitness of snaps
Good resistance against cleanser,
less degradation after heating, melting,kneading, and shearing, and highcompatibility that allows for easy
mixed-recycle with other materials

Recycled material
ＰＰ

ＰＳ

ＰＥ

ＰＣ

ＡＢＳ

ＡＳ

○

○

○

○

○

○

◎

◎

◎

◎

◎

◎

△

○

△

○

◎

○

○

◎

○

△

◎

◎

○

○

△

○

○

○

◎

△

○

○

○

△

◎

◎

◎

○

○

○

Ease of
Volume reduction and crushing after
○
○
○
○
○
8 volume reduction
collection are easy
and crushing※This table shows the rating of general grade product (◎: Good ○: Moderate △: Slightly Poor)
Resource: Ryoichi Yamamoto, 1995. Eco-material revolution that saves the Earth:
Tokuma Shoten

Plastic materials that are suitable for material recycle cannot be determined by asingle fixed approach because they cover a wide-range (e.g. thermoplastic orthermosetting), and the recycle technologies are emerging and associated costs varywith time. The followings are those suitable for material recycle, determined based on
the current recycle technology and industry.
―

36 ―

○

Provisional Translation

Plastics materials that are

As thermoplastic and general-purpose resin

suitable for material recycle

PP, PS, PE, PC, ABS, AS

Note 1: Products with secondary processing (e.g. paint, plating, insertion, different parts
bonded) are not suitable because foreign substances may be mixed.
Note 2: For composite materials, filler composite materials are relatively suitable for recycle,
but resin with glass/metal fiber as filler is not suitable because its physicalproperties significantly decrease after recycle.

―

37 ―

Provisional Translation

Appendix-2

Range of Recyclability

1. Recyclability
In principal, what is important in the development/design phase is the improvement
in recyclability, giving a high priority to Reuse and material recycle.
The recyclability is an index that quantitatively and preliminarily estimates andevaluates in the product development/design phase the weight percentage ofparts/materials (per total weight of the product) that will be identified to be recyclable
at the time the product become used.
The recyclability is determined by established recycle technologies for the concerned
parts and materials and the manufacturer’s efforts on recycle.
It is recommended to calculate the recyclability using the existing calculation
conditions for Resource Recycling Rate that have been set by relevant industry or byeach company, or actual recycling rate based on the actual results.
2. Calculation method of recyclability
Recyclability is a ratio of the total weight of recyclable materials to the total weight ofthe product. It is calculated from the following formula.
Total weight of recyclable materials
Recyclability (%) ＝―――――――――――――――――――― ×100
Total product weight《Descriptions of terms》○Total weight of recyclable materials: total weight of parts and materials that fallunder the following (1) or (2) within one product.

After disassembling a used product:(1) Parts or units to be Reused or those that are determined to be “Reusable”(2) Objects that are available for material recycle, in which such objects are
separated, segregated, crushed, or incinerated and useful objects are recovered as
raw materials (excluding Chemical recycle and thermal recycle).

○Total product weight: Total weight of the product for which recyclability is calculated.
3. Sample calculation of recyclability
Recyclability is calculated based on assessment items and the weight of parts/units tobe recycled. The following is the calculation procedure for desk top PCs [composed byparts (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f)]

―

38 ―

Provisional Translation○Process 1: Components shall be assessed according to the following diagram.

Component/part ofthe intended product

Example of segregation or
RecycleYES

Reuse as a part/unite

Is it Reused?

(a)HDD, FDD

NO(b)Liquid crystal unit

Is it easy todisassemble /separate?

Weight ofparts/materials toberecycled

YES

W1(c)cables, printed board

Can onesinglematerial be
segregated?

unit

YES

Recycle as materials(d) Glass

NO
NO
Is it
crushable/
Segregatable?

YES

NO

(e) Steel, copper, aluminium

W2(f) Plastic

Remaini
Disposal by incineration for ng otherthan therecycle and landfillingabove: Assessment item

○Process 2: Example calculation of recyclability
W1＝weight of (a)×100wt% (note 1) ＋weight of (c)×100wt% (note1)
W2＝weight of (d)×85wt% (note 2) ＋weight of (e)×90wt% (note2) ＋weight of (f)×50wt% (note2)
W1＋W2
Recyclability (％) ＝――――――――――――×100
W (total product weight)

Note 1: This is an example of a case in which 100wt% is used for W1 only when the subject
parts/units are determined to be reused or to be available for Reuse after the
product is used in the design phase.
When the parts/units are determined not to be reused after the product is used,or when it cannot be determined if they are reused or not after the product is usedin the design phase, the value of weight percent shall be set according to internal
standards or the past resource recycling rate. Alternatively, the weight of such

―

39 ―

Provisional Translation

parts/units shall be included into W2.
Note 2: The value of percent of each material’s weight to be recycled (wt% for d, e, and f)
shall be set according to internal standards or past resource recycling rate.

―

40 ―

Provisional Translation

Reference:Calculation of the Resource Recycling Rate

1. Resource Recycling Rate
Resource Recycling Rate is the weight percentage of parts/materials that areavailable for recycle as materials at the time the product becomes used per total
weight of one product (the definition stipulated by the Law for the Promotion of
Effective Utilization of Resources).
2. Calculation of Resource Recycling Rate
Resource Recycling Rate is the ratio of the total weight of materials that can berecycled as a resource, to the total weight of the treated product. It is calculated fromthe following formula.
Weight of the objects to berecycled as material including
steel, copper, aluminium(material recycle )＝―――――――――――――――――――――――――×100
Weight of the treated product *Note
Weight of the objects tobe recycled as parts＋

Resource recycling rate(％)

Note: Treated product means collected products excluding materials that will be reused as
product

Chemical recycle (e.g. liquidation, use as reducing agents in blast furnace, andconversion into chemical materials for coke oven) as well as thermal recycle should be
excluded from the calculation of resource recycling rate because the Law for the
Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources puts a priority to Reuse and Recycle asmaterials.

―

41 ―

Provisional Translation○Classification of recycle
Way to Recycle(Example)

Recycle Type

Material
RecycleChemicalRecycleThermalRecycleRecycle as material(excluding
approaches where
chemicalalteration(s) occur)

Recycle as material(byapproaches
wherechemicalalteration(s)) occur･Use as solid fuel･Incineration･Metal refining, steel manufacture
through refining, melting, and etc.
･Recycled plastic through melting,mixing, and etc.
･ Recycled glass through melting,mixing, and etc.
･Cement materials･Molten slags･Raw material monomer･Reducing agent for blast furnace･Chemical materials for coke oven･Gasification (as chemical material)･Liquidation (as Chemical material)･Gasification (as fuel)･Liquidation (as fuel)･RDF･Fuel for cement production･Incineration for power generation

―

42 ―

Objectives of
RecycleResou
rce
Recycling
Rate

Recycle as raw
material

applicable

Recycle as raw
material

NOT
applicable･Recycled as
fuel･Recovery ofthermalenergyNOTapplicable

Provisional Translation

Appendix-3

Degree of Product Disassembly

There are many product types that differ in the price, the employment of expensive
materials/parts, the number of parts, the degree of unitization, and the use of chemical
substances with environmental impacts. It is difficult to measure such wide-ranging
products with a single assessment approach or a single set of standards. Thus, it isneeded to decide the degree to which the product is disassembled by each individual
product, clarifying the purpose of disassembly. Purpose of product disassembly include
the following two, at least:[1] Disassembly from the perspective of proper disposal[2] Disassembly from the perspective of Recycle
In [1], removal of parts containing chemical substances with environmental impacts
shall be conducted primarily. In addition to the products specified as "products with an
obligation to have easy-to-remove design" in the Specified Resources-Recycled Productsof the Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources (e.g. secondary
batteries and fluorescent lamp), parts containing substances that may cause problems
during incineration and/or landfill, should also preferably be designed with an easily
removable feature. If manufacturers neglect to take such measures, it can lead toincreased cost because such products are obliged to be transferred to controlled or
strictly-controlled landfill sites, or such products may be refused to be accepted bydisposal businesses.
In [2], the disassembly of the products should be implemented in accordance with theintended Reuse and Recycle strategy for their parts/materials. Products that were
eco-designed (e.g. plastic materials have identification symbols, product disassembly
can be easily implemented, parts are unitized, parts to be reused are clarified, and etc.)
can be disassembled with enhanced recyclability.
Cost efficiency is also important in continuous implementation. Although the balance
between disassembly cost and profit on the sale of disassembled parts is difficult topredict because it significantly varies according to the trends in the second-handmarket, the economic performance including manpower cost shall be considered as far
as possible.
The following is an example of disassembly standards taking into account the above.
As mentioned at the beginning of these Guidelines, the product design shall be
determined taking into account various requirements of each product.
【Example of disassembly standards】(a) Remove parts containing chemical substances with environmental impacts (e.g.
―43 ―Provisional Translation

fluorescent lamps, batteries, and lead-containing parts)(b) Remove large-sized parts for recycle or size and weight reduction throughincineration (e.g. exterior materials etc.)(c) Remove unitized parts (e.g. HDD, FDD, LCD, and etc.)(d) Remove expensive parts (electronic substrate, cables, and etc.)(e) Remove reusable parts (parts specified as reusable when designing or
disassembling the products)(f) Remove parts that are made from materials clearly suitable for material
recycle(g) Disassemble the entire product to the part/material level excluding parts
difficult to disassemble (bonded parts, etc.)

―

44 ―

Provisional Translation－All rights reserved－
Assessment Guidelines for the Eco-Design of Personal Computer Productsver. 1.2
Date of Issue March 2015
Published by Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA)CE Board
Personal Computers Committee
PC Environment Committee
Ote Center Building, 1-1-3, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0004
TEL: +81-3-5218-1058