TIA has recently acquired a new tool that serves as a major benefit for our industry. EIATRACK is the global benchmark in environmental intelligence and product-oriented regulatory tracking for the electronics industry.

Global product requirements can directly affect how your company manufactures, distributes and sells products in an ever-changing market place.

EIATRACK systematically tracks, analyzes and reports on product oriented environmental legislation within Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and South America providing companies with a cost effective “early warning system” for monitoring and evaluating product related measures.

EIATRACK is without doubt an essential business tool for global companies working across borders, jurisdictions and countries. At a time when environmental sustainability and business profitability are becoming compatible goals, a new competitive landscape is emerging.

Lack of knowledge or ignorance about environmental policies and regulations could not only result in non-compliance and financial penalties, it is also likely to result in competitive disadvantage for slow to act companies. EIATRACK helps avoid such scenarios.As a user-friendly, on-line information resource, EIATRACK has benefits and features not even a fulltime in-house specialist can provide and maintain. EIATRACK is a subscription-based web service used to deliver environmental regulatory information in a timely and accessible manner.

EIATRACK provides:

• Question and Answer service: EIATRACK provides a unique service where a question will be responded to within ten working days or less.
  
• Alerts: Alerts are posted on the website and emailed to users on average three times a week. Users can opt to receive them immediately or in a weekly digest
• Special Reports: Each month lawyers and subject matter experts write special reports on significant legislative developments.

Service highlights:

• Covers key product compliance issues such as Take-back, Batteries, Restricted Substances, and Design for Environment and Packaging.
• Over 1500 pieces of legislation tracked from proposal through to implementation.
• Covers all major regions Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and South America.
• Accurate, up-to-date content provided by a wide range of internationally based legal and technical subject matter experts.
• WEEE and RoHS expertise in Europe and other jurisdictions.

EIATRACK covers:

• Product Take Back
• Design for Environment
• Batteries
• Restricted Substances
• Energy Efficiency
• Hazardous Waste
• Transboundary Waste Shipments

An EIATRACK trial account can be set up for demonstration purposes. Below is a small sample of information that comes in through the regulatory updates; feel free to check www.eiatrack.com for further details.

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The European Commission published a report on an on-line stakeholder consultation on the EU's energy labeling program. The report shows that stakeholders support an extension of the current energy labeling scheme for household appliances to include other energy-using products. The commission also published the minutes of a stakeholder workshop held on February 8, 2008, which confirms the findings of the on-line consultation, and a report on a study presenting an analysis of policy options in respect of the EU's energy labeling program.

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The commission has published notes on a workshop organized in the framework of the review of the WEEE Directive. The workshop was part of a study contract between the commission and the United Nations University, which is conducting the study in the context of the WEEE review. The workshop was aimed at bringing together technical expert stakeholders to exchange views on the researchers' key findings thus far, and on possible options for improvement, further development and simplification of the WEEE Directive.

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Sweden will soon implement the EU Directive on energy-using products (EuPs). Proposal 2007/08.36 on eco-design is currently under review before the Swedish Parliament. The law is scheduled to enter into force on May 1, 2008. In light of these developments, a Special Report on Energy using Products in Sweden has been prepared and is available now on EIATRACK.

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