Blades, K, Allenby, B. Environmental Effects The Electrical Engineering Handbook Ed. Richard C. Dorf Boca raton crc Press llc. 2000
Blades, K., Allenby, B. “Environmental Effects” The Electrical Engineering Handbook Ed. Richard C. Dorf Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000
Environmental effects 111.1 Introduction 111.2 Industrial Ecology 111.3 Design for Environment 111.4 Environmental Implications for the Electronics naus Karen blades and 111.5 Emerging Technology Braden Allenby Integrated Circuits. Printed wiring boards 111.6 Tools and Strategies for Environmental Design National Laboratory Design Tools· Design Strategies· Conclusion Acknowledgements. Disclaimer 111.1 Introduction The importance of electronics technology for consumers, and the electronics sector for the global economy, is already substantial and continues to grow rapidly. Such growth and innovation coupled with the global concerns for the environment and the need to better manage the resources of the earth pose many challenges for the electronics industry. While thought of as a"clean"industry, the technological advances made by the industry creates a significant demand on the earths resources. As an example, the amount of water required in the production of semiconductors, the engines that motor most of today's electronic gadgets, is enormous-about 2000 gallons to process a single silicon wafer. Building silicon chips requires the use of highly toxic materials, albeit in relatively low volumes. Similarly, printed wiring boards present in most electronic products and produced in high volume use large amounts of solvents or gases which are either health hazards, ozone depleting, or contribute to the greenhouse effect and contain lead solder. The challenge for the industry is to continue the innovation that delivers the products and services that people want yet find creative solutions to minimize environm nental impact, enhance competitiveness, and address regulatory issues without impacting quality, productivity, or cost; in other words, to become an industry that is more "eco-efficient. Eco-efficiency is reached by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and support a high quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity, to a level at least in line with the earths estimated carrying capacity Like sustainable development, a concept popularized by the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the notion of eco-efficiency requires a fundamental shift in the way environment is considered in industrial activity. Sustainable development-development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability f future generations to meet their own needs"[World Commission on Environment and Development, 9871-contemplates the integration of environmental, economic, and technological considerations to achieve continued human and economic development within the biological and physical constraints of the planet. Both eco-efficiency and sustainable development provide a useful direction, yet they prove difficult to operationalize and cannot guide technology development. Thus, the theoretical foundations for integrating technology and environment throughout the global economy are being provided by a new, multidisciplinary field known as c 2000 by CRC Press LLC
© 2000 by CRC Press LLC 111 Environmental Effects 111.1 Introduction 111.2 Industrial Ecology 111.3 Design for Environment 111.4 Environmental Implications for the Electronics Industry 111.5 Emerging Technology Integrated Circuits • Printed Wiring Boards 111.6 Tools and Strategies for Environmental Design Design Tools • Design Strategies • Conclusion • Acknowledgements • Disclaimer 111.1 Introduction The importance of electronics technology for consumers, and the electronics sector for the global economy, is already substantial and continues to grow rapidly. Such growth and innovation coupled with the global concerns for the environment and the need to better manage the resources of the earth pose many challenges for the electronics industry. While thought of as a “clean” industry, the technological advances made by the industry creates a significant demand on the earth’s resources. As an example, the amount of water required in the production of semiconductors, the engines that motor most of today’s electronic gadgets, is enormous—about 2000 gallons to process a single silicon wafer. Building silicon chips requires the use of highly toxic materials, albeit in relatively low volumes. Similarly, printed wiring boards present in most electronic products and produced in high volume use large amounts of solvents or gases which are either health hazards, ozone depleting, or contribute to the greenhouse effect and contain lead solder. The challenge for the industry is to continue the innovation that delivers the products and services that people want yet find creative solutions to minimize the environmental impact, enhance competitiveness, and address regulatory issues without impacting quality, productivity, or cost; in other words, to become an industry that is more “eco-efficient”. Eco-efficiency is reached by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and support a high quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity, to a level at least in line with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity. Like sustainable development, a concept popularized by the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the notion of eco-efficiency requires a fundamental shift in the way environment is considered in industrial activity. Sustainable development—“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987]—contemplates the integration of environmental, economic, and technological considerations to achieve continued human and economic development within the biological and physical constraints of the planet. Both eco-efficiency and sustainable development provide a useful direction, yet they prove difficult to operationalize and cannot guide technology development. Thus, the theoretical foundations for integrating technology and environment throughout the global economy are being provided by a new, multidisciplinary field known as “industrial ecology”. Karen Blades and Braden Allenby Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Sustainable Development Industrial Ecology Industrial Ecology Infrastructure Sector Initiatives Implementation Initiative Environment Agriculture cology Models and Risk Assessments and ForestrySyster R&D Agenda Databases Risk Prioritizat FIGURE 111.1 Industrial ecology framework. The ideas of industrial ecology, which have begun to take root in the engineering community, have helped established a framework within which the industry can move toward realizing sustainable development. The electrical, electronics, and telecommunications sectors are enablers of sustainability because they allow the provision of increasing quality-of-life using less material and energy, respectively,dematerialization"and decarbonization. This chapter will provide an introduction into industrial ecology and its implications for the electronics industry. Current activities, initiatives, and opportunities will also be explored, illustrating that the concomitant achievement of greater economic and environmental efficiency is indeed feasible in many cases. 111.2 Industrial Ecology Industrial ecology is an emerging field that views manufacturing and other industrial activity including forestry, agriculture, mining, and other extractive sectors, as an integral component of global natural systems. In doing so, it takes a systems view of design and manufacturing activities so as to reduce or, more desirably, eliminate he environmental impacts of materials, manufacturing processes, technologies, and products across their cycles, including use and disposal. It incorporates, among other things, research involving energy supply and se,new materials, new technologies and technological systems, basic sciences, economics, law, management, nd social sciences The study of industrial ecology will, in the long run, provide the means by which the human species can deliberately and rationally approach a desirable long-term global carrying capacity. Oversimplifying, it can be thought of as "the science of sustainability. The approach is"deliberate"and"rational, to differentiate it from other, unplanned paths that might result, for example, in global pandemics, or economic and cultural collapse he endpoint is "desirable, to differentiate it from other conceivable states such as a Malthusian subsistence world, which could involve much lower population levels, or oscillating population levels that depend on death rates to maintain a balance between resources and population levels. Figure 111.1 illustrates how industrial ecology provides a framework for operationalizing the vision of sustainable development. As the term implies, industrial ecology is concerned with the evolution of technology and economic systems such that human economic activity mimics a mature biological system from the standpoint of being self contained in its material and resource use. In such a system, little if any virgin material input is required, and little if any waste that must be disposed of outside of the economic system is generated. Energetically, the system can be open, just as biological systems are, although it is likely that overall energy consumption and intensity will be limited e 2000 by CRC Press LLC
© 2000 by CRC Press LLC The ideas of industrial ecology, which have begun to take root in the engineering community, have helped to established a framework within which the industry can move toward realizing sustainable development. The electrical, electronics, and telecommunications sectors are enablers of sustainability because they allow the provision of increasing quality-of-life using less material and energy, respectively, “dematerialization” and “decarbonization”. This chapter will provide an introduction into industrial ecology and its implications for the electronics industry. Current activities, initiatives, and opportunities will also be explored, illustrating that the concomitant achievement of greater economic and environmental efficiency is indeed feasible in many cases. 111.2 Industrial Ecology Industrial ecology is an emerging field that views manufacturing and other industrial activity including forestry, agriculture, mining, and other extractive sectors, as an integral component of global natural systems. In doing so, it takes a systems view of design and manufacturing activities so as to reduce or, more desirably, eliminate the environmental impacts of materials, manufacturing processes, technologies, and products across their life cycles, including use and disposal. It incorporates, among other things, research involving energy supply and use, new materials, new technologies and technological systems, basic sciences, economics, law, management, and social sciences. The study of industrial ecology will, in the long run, provide the means by which the human species can deliberately and rationally approach a desirable long-term global carrying capacity. Oversimplifying, it can be thought of as “the science of sustainability”. The approach is “deliberate” and “rational”, to differentiate it from other, unplanned paths that might result, for example, in global pandemics, or economic and cultural collapse. The endpoint is “desirable”, to differentiate it from other conceivable states such as a Malthusian subsistence world, which could involve much lower population levels, or oscillating population levels that depend on death rates to maintain a balance between resources and population levels. Figure 111.1 illustrates how industrial ecology provides a framework for operationalizing the vision of sustainable development. As the term implies, industrial ecology is concerned with the evolution of technology and economic systems such that human economic activity mimics a mature biological system from the standpoint of being selfcontained in its material and resource use. In such a system, little if any virgin material input is required, and little if any waste that must be disposed of outside of the economic system is generated. Energetically, the system can be open, just as biological systems are, although it is likely that overall energy consumption and intensity will be limited. FIGURE 111.1 Industrial ecology framework
Although it is still a nascent field, a few fundamental principles are already apparent. Most importantly, the evolution of environmentally appropriate technology is seen as critical to reaching and maintaining a sustainable state. Unlike earlier approaches to environmental issues, which tended to regard technology as neutral at best, industrial ecology focuses on development of economically and environmentally efficient technology as key to any desirable, sustainable global state. Also, environmental considerations must be integrated into all aspects of economic behavior, especially product and process design, and the design of economic and social systems within which those products are used and disposed. Environmental concerns must be internalized into technological systems and econo factors. It is not sufficient to design an energy efficient computer, for example; it is also necessary to ensure that the product, its components, or its constituent materials can be refurbished or recycled after the customer is through with it-all of this in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market. This consideration implies a comprehensive and systems-based approach that is far more fundamental than any we have yet developed Industrial ecology requires an approach that is truly multidisciplinary. It is important to emphasize that industrial ecology is an objective field of study based on existing scientific and technological disciplines, not a form of industrial policy. It is profoundly a systems oriented and comprehensive approach which poses problems for most institutions-the government, riddled with fiefdoms; academia, with rigid departmental lines; and private firms, with job slots defined by occupation. Nonetheless, it is all too frequent that industrial ecology is seen as an economic program by economists, a legal program by lawyers, a technical program by engineers, and a scientific program by scientists. It is in part each of these; more importantly, it is all of these Industrial ecology has an important implication, however, of special interest to electronics and telecommu- nications engineers, and thus deserving of emphasis. The achievement of sustainability will, in part, require the substitution of intellectual and information capital for traditional physical capital, energy, and material inputs. Environmentally appropriate electronics, information management, and telecommunications technol- ogies and services-and the manufacturing base that supports them-are therefore enabling technologies to achieve sustainable development. This offers unique opportunities for professional satisfaction, but also places a unique responsibility on the community of electrical and electronics engineers. We in particular cannot simply wait for the theory of industrial ecology to be fully developed before taking action. 111.3 Design for environment Design for Environment(DFE)is the means by which the precepts of industrial ecology, as currently understood, an in fact begin to be implemented in the real world today. DFE requires that environmental objectives and constraints be driven into process and product design, and materials and technology choices. The focus is on the design stage because, for many articles, that is where most, if not all, of their life cycle environmental impacts are explicitly or implicitly established. Traditionally, electronics design has been based on a correct-by-verification approach, in which the environmental ramifications of a product(from manufac- turing through disposition) are not considered until the product design is completed. DFE, by contrast, takes place early in a product's design phase as part of the concurrent engineering process to ensure that the environmental consequences of a product s life cycle are understood before manufacturing decisions are committed It is estimated that some 80 to 90% of the environmental impacts generated by product manufacture, use, and disposal are"locked-in"by the initial design. Materials choices, for example, ripple backwards towards environmental impacts associated with the extractive, smelting, and chemical industries. The design of a product and component selection control many environmental impacts associated with manufacturing, enabling, for example, substitution of no-clean or aqueous cleaning of printed wiring boards for processes that release ozone lepleting substances, air toxics, or volatile organic compounds that are precursors of photochemical smog. The design of products controls many aspects of environmental impacts during use--energy efficient design is one cample Product design also controls the ease with which a product may be refurbished, or disassembled for parts or materials reclamation, after consumer use. DFE tools and methodologies offer a means to address such concerns at the design stage. Obviously, DFE is not a panacea. It cannot, for example, compensate for failures of the current price structure to account for external factors, such as the real (i.e, social) cost of energy. It cannot compensate for deficiencies e 2000 by CRC Press LLC
© 2000 by CRC Press LLC Although it is still a nascent field, a few fundamental principles are already apparent. Most importantly, the evolution of environmentally appropriate technology is seen as critical to reaching and maintaining a sustainable state. Unlike earlier approaches to environmental issues, which tended to regard technology as neutral at best, industrial ecology focuses on development of economically and environmentally efficient technology as key to any desirable, sustainable global state. Also, environmental considerations must be integrated into all aspects of economic behavior, especially product and process design, and the design of economic and social systems within which those products are used and disposed. Environmental concerns must be internalized into technological systems and economic factors. It is not sufficient to design an energy efficient computer, for example; it is also necessary to ensure that the product, its components, or its constituent materials can be refurbished or recycled after the customer is through with it—all of this in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market. This consideration implies a comprehensive and systems-based approach that is far more fundamental than any we have yet developed. Industrial ecology requires an approach that is truly multidisciplinary. It is important to emphasize that industrial ecology is an objective field of study based on existing scientific and technological disciplines, not a form of industrial policy. It is profoundly a systems oriented and comprehensive approach which poses problems for most institutions—the government, riddled with fiefdoms; academia, with rigid departmental lines; and private firms, with job slots defined by occupation. Nonetheless, it is all too frequent that industrial ecology is seen as an economic program by economists, a legal program by lawyers, a technical program by engineers, and a scientific program by scientists. It is in part each of these; more importantly, it is all of these. Industrial ecology has an important implication, however, of special interest to electronics and telecommunications engineers, and thus deserving of emphasis. The achievement of sustainability will, in part, require the substitution of intellectual and information capital for traditional physical capital, energy, and material inputs. Environmentally appropriate electronics, information management, and telecommunications technologies and services—and the manufacturing base that supports them—are therefore enabling technologies to achieve sustainable development. This offers unique opportunities for professional satisfaction, but also places a unique responsibility on the community of electrical and electronics engineers. We in particular cannot simply wait for the theory of industrial ecology to be fully developed before taking action. 111.3 Design for Environment Design for Environment (DFE) is the means by which the precepts of industrial ecology, as currently understood, can in fact begin to be implemented in the real world today. DFE requires that environmental objectives and constraints be driven into process and product design, and materials and technology choices. The focus is on the design stage because, for many articles, that is where most, if not all, of their life cycle environmental impacts are explicitly or implicitly established. Traditionally, electronics design has been based on a correct-by-verification approach, in which the environmental ramifications of a product (from manufacturing through disposition) are not considered until the product design is completed. DFE, by contrast, takes place early in a product’s design phase as part of the concurrent engineering process to ensure that the environmental consequences of a product’s life cycle are understood before manufacturing decisions are committed. It is estimated that some 80 to 90% of the environmental impacts generated by product manufacture, use, and disposal are “locked-in” by the initial design. Materials choices, for example, ripple backwards towards environmental impacts associated with the extractive, smelting, and chemical industries. The design of a product and component selection control many environmental impacts associated with manufacturing, enabling, for example, substitution of no-clean or aqueous cleaning of printed wiring boards for processes that release ozone depleting substances, air toxics, or volatile organic compounds that are precursors of photochemical smog. The design of products controls many aspects of environmental impacts during use—energy efficient design is one example. Product design also controls the ease with which a product may be refurbished, or disassembled for parts or materials reclamation, after consumer use. DFE tools and methodologies offer a means to address such concerns at the design stage. Obviously, DFE is not a panacea. It cannot, for example, compensate for failures of the current price structure to account for external factors, such as the real (i.e., social) cost of energy. It cannot compensate for deficiencies
Design for Environment Specific DFE Generic DFE DFE Checklists Green Accountin Life Cycle Assessments Green Supplier Management Green Design Tools Green Business Planning FIGURE 111.2 Examples of DFE activities within the firm. in sectors outside electronics, such as a poorly coordinated, polluting, or even non-existent disposal and material recycling system in some areas of the world. Moreover, it is important to realize that DFE recognizes environ mental considerations as on par with other objective and constraints--such as economic, technological, and market structure--not as superseding or dominating them. Nonetheless, if properly implemented, DFE pro grams represent a quantum leap forward in the way private firms integrate environmental concerns into their operations and technology. It is useful to think of dFE within the firm as encompassing two different groups of activities as shown in Fig 111.2. In all cases, DFE activities require inclusion of life-cycle considerations in the analytical process. The first, which might be styled"generic DFE, involves the implementation of broad programs that make the companys operations more environmentally preferable across the board. This might include, for example development and implementation of"green accounting"practices, which ensure that relevant environmental costs are broken out by product line and process, so that they can be managed down. The standard components lists maintained by many companies can be reviewed to ensure that they direct the use of environmentally opropriate components and products wherever possible. Thus, for example, open relays might be deleted from ch lists, on the grounds that they"cant swim,", and thus might implicitly establish a need for chlorinated solvent, as opposed to aqueous, cleaning systems Contract provisions can be reviewed to ensure that suppliers are being directed to use environmentally preferable technologies and materials where possible. For example, are virgin materials being required where contracts,standards, and specifications clearly call for the use of recycled material where they meet relevant performance requirements? Likewise, customer and internal standards and specifi cations can be reviewed with the same goal in mind o The second group of DFE activities can be thought of as"specific DFE". Here, DFE is considered as a module existing product realization processes, specifically the"Design for X, or DEX, systems used by many electronics manufacturers. The method involves creation of software tools and checklists, similar to those used in Design for Manufacturability, Design for Testability, or Design for Safety modules that ensure relevant environmental considerations are also included in the design process from the beginning. The challenge is create modules which, in keeping with industrial ecology theory, are broad, comprehensive, and systems-based, yet can be defined well enough to be integrated into current design activities. The successful application of dfe to the design of electronic systems requires the coordination of several design and data-based activities, such as environmental impact metrics; data and data management; design optimization, including cost assessments; and others. Failure to address any of these aspects can limit the effectiveness and usefulness of DFE efforts. Data and methodological deficiencies abound, and the challenge is great, yet experience at world class companies such as AT&T, Digital, IBM, Motorola, Siemens Nixdorf, Volvo, and Xerox indicate that it can be done. aT&T, for example, is testing a draft dFE practice; baselining the environmental attributes of a telephone at different life cycle stages to determine where meaningful environmental e 2000 by CRC Press LLC
© 2000 by CRC Press LLC in sectors outside electronics, such as a poorly coordinated, polluting, or even non-existent disposal and material recycling system in some areas of the world. Moreover, it is important to realize that DFE recognizes environmental considerations as on par with other objective and constraints—such as economic, technological, and market structure—not as superseding or dominating them. Nonetheless, if properly implemented, DFE programs represent a quantum leap forward in the way private firms integrate environmental concerns into their operations and technology. It is useful to think of DFE within the firm as encompassing two different groups of activities as shown in Fig. 111.2. In all cases, DFE activities require inclusion of life-cycle considerations in the analytical process. The first, which might be styled “generic DFE”, involves the implementation of broad programs that make the company’s operations more environmentally preferable across the board. This might include, for example, development and implementation of ‘‘green accounting” practices, which ensure that relevant environmental costs are broken out by product line and process, so that they can be managed down. The “standard components” lists maintained by many companies can be reviewed to ensure that they direct the use of environmentally appropriate components and products wherever possible. Thus, for example, open relays might be deleted from such lists, on the grounds that they “can’t swim”, and thus might implicitly establish a need for chlorinated solvent, as opposed to aqueous, cleaning systems. Contract provisions can be reviewed to ensure that suppliers are being directed to use environmentally preferable technologies and materials where possible. For example, are virgin materials being required where they are unnecessary? Do contracts, standards, and specifications clearly call for the use of recycled materials where they meet relevant performance requirements? Likewise, customer and internal standards and specifi- cations can be reviewed with the same goal in mind. The second group of DFE activities can be thought of as “specific DFE”. Here, DFE is considered as a module of existing product realization processes, specifically the “Design for X”, or DFX, systems used by many electronics manufacturers. The method involves creation of software tools and checklists, similar to those used in Design for Manufacturability, Design for Testability, or Design for Safety modules that ensure relevant environmental considerations are also included in the design process from the beginning. The challenge is to create modules which, in keeping with industrial ecology theory, are broad, comprehensive, and systems-based, yet can be defined well enough to be integrated into current design activities. The successful application of DFE to the design of electronic systems requires the coordination of several design and data-based activities, such as environmental impact metrics; data and data management; design optimization, including cost assessments; and others. Failure to address any of these aspects can limit the effectiveness and usefulness of DFE efforts. Data and methodological deficiencies abound, and the challenge is great, yet experience at world class companies such as AT&T, Digital, IBM, Motorola, Siemens Nixdorf, Volvo, and Xerox indicate that it can be done. AT&T, for example, is testing a draft DFE practice; baselining the environmental attributes of a telephone at different life cycle stages to determine where meaningful environmental FIGURE 111.2 Examples of DFE activities within the firm