THE ELECTRONICS SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT POWERED BY SERI

This month we wanted to start with some big and exciting news – SERI is thrilled to announce it has acquired the E-Reuse Conference and will rebrand it as the Electronics Sustainability Summit for an October 2024 launch. Our intent is to build upon what has become a keystone event for our industry and expand it even further to bring in more voices, more thinking, and more collaboration, all around the topic of electronics sustainability for the entire electronics value chain.

Speaking about the opportunity, said SERI CEO Corey Dehmey, “For years we’ve been strong supporters of the E-Reuse Conference and have enjoyed watching Sarah Kim grow and evolve the conference to become the premier event for the electronics reuse community. We envision the Electronics Sustainability Summit as taking the best of ERC and expanding it to include an even wider audience, bringing together all aspects of the full electronics lifecycle, from design to repair to reuse and recycling. The Summit will create a space for all the various stakeholders who are critical to making electronics sustainable to
collaboratively engage, within one event. We are very excited for this opportunity.”

Sarah Kim, who has been the driving force of the E-Reuse Conference,will remain an integral part of planning and executing the Summit to realize this vision.Said Kim, “For the past few years, I have felt that the ERC was ready to take the next big step in its evolution, and SERI is the right organization to help the conference become an even bigger, more impactful and inclusive event for our industry. We have a shared vision for the Summit, and I cannot wait to see it come to life this October.”

The first Electronics Sustainability Summit will be held October 22-24 in Austin Texas. You can find more information on the conference and take the content survey, here. Join the conference mailing list to stay updated on the latest news and information as it is released.

SUSTAINABLE ELECTRONICS INDIA

January has been a busy month for SERI in India as we’ve been working to expand our local team, exhibited at the MRAI International Materials Recycling Conference January 24-25 in Kolkata, and launched ourSustainable Electronics India project and website India.SustainableElectronics.org

The new website is meant to be a central hub for the latest news,articles, resources, and events around E-Waste and electronics sustainability for India. We look forward to continuing to broaden our support of R2 in India, as well as the new national E-Waste regulations.

PV MODULES APPROVED FOR INCLUSION IN R2

After three years of intensive and scrutinized work to carefully craft the requirements and language for Appendix G, the draft revisions to the R2 Equipment Categorization (REC), and new definitions in the R2v3 Standard, the SERI Board of Directors has voted to approve the addition of photovoltaic modules (PV Modules also more commonly known as solar panels) to the R2 Standard, and ANSI (a standards development oversight body) has approved its inclusion. These are the final big steps of what has been a long, deliberate, and collaborative process to add PV to R2.

What this means is that we now have a clear runway to leverage the power of over 1,100 R2 Certified facilities in 40+ countries around the world as a network to dramatically increase the capacity for the safe reuse and the environmentally sound management of solar panels.

“I’m proud of the collaborative and thorough process we undertook to first understand if this was a good fit for R2 and then to explore all the intricacies of this materials stream to determine what would be best
practices for handling used PV modules.”  – Mike Easterbrook, SERI Chief of Global Standards

Said Mike Easterbrook, SERI’s Chief of Global Standards, “I’m proud of the collaborative and thorough process we undertook to first understand if this was a good fit for R2 and then to explore all the
intricacies of this materials stream to determine what would be best practices for handling used PV modules.”

“I also want to thank the R2 TAC, the PV experts’ group, those who provided feedback during the public comments period, and all the other individuals who contributed their time and knowledge to the creation of
Appendix G.”

As far as next steps, SERI will now work to publish the updated Standard and REC, along with the translations; create implementation support documents and training; as well as incorporate Appendix G into the R2 Certification program. We expect facilities will be able to start certifying to Appendix G in the second half of 2024. Only those R2 Facilities that accept PV modules will have to certify to Appendix G,
and they will have until January 31st, 2027 to be audited.

And as part of our commitment to transparency, we are releasing the second round of anonymized public comments, as well as responses and actions taken by the R2 TAC. See the link below!

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS [6]  [7] ESG STANDARDS UPDATE:

SERI ANNOUNCES THE PROJECT TEAM

As the work on the new SERI ESG Reporting Standard for Electronics begins, we wanted to introduce the team that SERI has assembled to lead the effort.

Under the direction of SERI’s Chief of Global Standards Mike Easterbrook, Emily Farrant will lead the development of the Standard by the new ESG TAC (Technical Advisory Committee). Supporting Mike and
Emily are longtime R2 facilitator Jody Erickson, as well as former SERI Board Chair Rick Goss as a Senior Advisor. Bloom ESG Consulting will also contribute their ESG expertise as technical advisors.

Look for upcoming announcements of our first appointments of volunteer ESG TAC members.

R2 TIP: YOUR FM MANAGEMENT PLAN NEEDS TO REFLECT YOUR UNIQUE OPERATIONS

Remember, in Core 8 for the development of an FM Management Plan, the R2Facility should be able to demonstrate what is necessary to process each type of electronic equipment both onsite and throughout the recycling chain. This means that the R2 Facility needs to start at the electronic equipment level.  For instance, a laptop is received at the R2 Facility and evaluated for reuse, if reusable it is directed to reuse processing onsite in accordance with Appendix C –Test and Repair and sold as functional equipment. If it is not capable of reuse or fails testing, it is dismantled onsite to the component level such as plastic, metal,circuit board, battery, hard drive, LCD screen, etc. and components are sent downstream in accordance with Appendix A.

The components containing FMs and FM’s themselves–circuit boards, batteries, and cold cathode fluorescent lights from LCD screens (mercury) may all be sent to different downstream vendors. The FM
Management Plan should show the processing capabilities of all respective downstream vendors for different types of FMs.

ON E-PLASTICS

Earlier this month, SERI sent a notice to all R2 Certified Facilities clarifying their responsibility on the topic of e-plastics and legal compliance. A copy of that can be found in the link below.

AVAILABLE R2v3 TRAINING CLASSES

NEW TO R2: INTRO TO R2 WEBINAR

If you want to learn more about R2, join us on our Intro to R2 Webinars. They are held 3-4 times per month and are offered to accommodate time zones on all continents.

INTRO TO R2 SIGN UP  [11]

R2 AUDITOR TRAINING CLASSES

Looking for in-depth, online, and interactive training on R2v3? These classes are open to auditors, consultants, and facilities. Space is limited so sign up for the class today!

R2 AUDITOR SIGN UP  [12]

EVENTS:

CHAMPIONING ELECTRONICS SUSTAINABILITY AROUND THE WORLD

Each month, we let you know where we’re going and what conversations we’re having for two reasons. First, we simply hope you’ll catch up with us if you are planning to be in the same places. But even more importantly, we want everyone to know how and where we are sharing our message, talking about electronics sustainability for a global circular economy and, in many cases, how R2 fits as a part of the puzzle. We see educating all the decision-makers to make better choices as a big part of the journey to electronics sustainability.

  In January, R2 Guru Roger Greive participated on a panel discussing R2 Certification at the virtual disposITion24. Chief Executive OfficerCorey Dehmey was in Salzburg, Austria at ierc2024 sharing SERI programs,including the ESG reporting standard and R2U. The SERI team also exhibited and helped promote the value of R2 Certification and the role that R2 can play in helping meet new national e-waste regulations in India at MRAI’s International Material Recycling Conference in Kolkata.

Where we’re headed next:

•  RLA Annual Conference & Expo, Las Vegas, NV, February 6-8 – [13] Corey will be on a media panel analyzing the best ways to balance security and sustainability with data storage, and we will have an R2 booth in Vegas as well. We’re happy to talk electronics sustainability, R2, ESG, the new Electronics Sustainability or anything else on your mind. 
•  EnergyBin Insights, Virtual, February 20 – [14] Chief of Global Standards Mike Easterbrook will provide valuable insight on the new R2v3 Appendix G for Photovoltaic Modules and give an update on the process of adding Appendix G to the R2 Standard.
•  Recommerce, Delhi, India, February 27-28 – [15] The SERI team will be engaging with organizations in India about the importance of R2.Certification and how R2 can support e-waste regulations.
•  NREL PV Circularity Workshop, Denver, CO, March 3-6 – [16]Mike will participate on a panel about standards in the PV industry, talking about how the new R2v3 Appendix G will fit into the landscape.

  HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

Let us know what questions you have or what resources you would find valuable. The SERI Team is here to help!

CONTACT US

The R2 Update newsletter is a publication of SERI, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to create a world where electronic products are reused and recycled in a way that promotes resource preservation, the well-being of the natural environment, and the health and safety of workers and communities.