Sustainable products 33
• Underwriters Laboratories UL – UL 880 sets sustainability requirements for manufacturing
organizations by measuring governance, environmental management, workforce, customers and suppliers, and community engagement. The UL standards development process encourages innovation
and excellence by establishing a baseline level for environmental performance, as well as a tiered approach that rewards environmental leadership.
3.2.3 Best environmental practices
Consideration should be given to “circular economy” CE or “cradle-to-cradle” C2C principles such as those being advanced by organizations such as the Ellen McArthur Foundation:
www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.orgaboutcircular-economy .
These principles encourage steps that move from today’s largely linear “take, make, dispose” model towards models with “close loops”, i.e. where the “waste” from one process can be usefully used as input
or “nutrient” to another process, thereby removing waste and increasing efficiency.
Two companies from another sector that are widely recognized as having made significant progress towards sustainable processes and good environmental practices are InterfaceFLOR and Desso. Further information
is available here:
• www.desso.comCradle_to_Cradle_Brochure_EN.pdf
. •
www.interfaceflor.eusustainability. Tackling e-waste should be as high on the agenda as energy and carbon reductions are today. The following
sources provide additional structure to existing business models to help aid e-waste cost-benefit analysis. •
BS 8886 and BS 8887 •
“The Five Capitals” model, see: •
www.forumforthefuture.orgprojectfive-capitalsoverview .
• “The Natural Step”, see:
www.biothinking.comapplysdnatural.htm .
3.3 Smart usage
3.3.1 Scope
This section covers issues and concerns relating to the deployment and operation of CPE at consumer premises. Examples include: efficient operation, cooling, ancillary equipment needs and usage,
maintenance and repair.
3.3.2 General references to other standardswork streams
The main references for the operation phase are related to the energy efficiency requirements, definition of targets, and guidelines for testing, which include:
• DoECalifornia Energy Commission – Appliance Efficiency Standard for Battery Charging Systems.
• Energy Star Eligibility Criteria for Home Networking Equipment.
• ETNO – Requirements for performing benchmark activities on home gateways GREEN benchmark
requirements. •
ETSI ATTM – Standard series ES 202 874 related to Common Power Supplies for Customer Premises Equipment: requirements and implementation specifications.
34 Sustainable products
• ETSI EE – On-going activities on test method definition for energy efficiency measurements on
customer premises equipment. •
European Code of Conduct for Broadband Equipment – Version 4. •
European Code of Conduct for Digital TV Systems – Version 8. •
EU Integrated Product Policy – Energy Efficiency Index for Mobile Phones. Home Gateway Initiative – Requirements for an Energy Efficient Home Gateway.
• Home Gateway Initiative – Requirements for Common Power Supplies for Home Networking
Equipment. •
International Energy Efficiency Mark. •
Recommendation ITU-T G-Supplement 45 – “GPON power conservation,” and Recommendation ITU-T G.987.3, “10-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks XG-PON: Transmission convergence TC layer
specification,” clause 16.
• Voluntary Industry Agreement for Energy Efficiency of Complex Set-Top Boxes.
3.3.3 Best environmental practices
Energy efficiency
With reference to energy efficiency, the most important distinction is to be made between products that must always remain on due to their service requirements and others that can be switched off. In the first
case, a number of measures to implement low power mechanisms can be adopted, while in the latter automatic power-down mechanisms in case of inactivity can be implemented, as well as remote wake-up
solutions. Another key consideration is that many CPEs use external power supplies, which may introduce additional energy consumption. The external power supply may not be designed as efficiently as the actual
product since it may be required to operate with multiple products. A user may also forget to turn off or disconnect the power supply if the CPE no longer requires its use or is disconnected. In this instance,
although not active, the power supply may continue to draw a certain amount of ‘no-load’ energy.
• Target energy consumption limits must be fixed e.g. following the codes of conduct per product
category when the product is in full operation state “ON” mode. •
Mechanisms to enter low power states when possible, with respect to the needs for supporting services, must be implemented, so that the periods of low activity will correspond to a significantly
reduced power usage. Also in this case, for specific low power states that can be defined per product category e.g. home gateways, the codes of conduct can help to identify target power values to be
adopted as reference.
• Power profiles allowing users to specify a particular combination of performance and energy usage.
• Equipment that can be switched off should implement internal mechanisms that will enforce a shut-
down after a specific time of inactivity. •
Equipment that can be switched off should implement protocols enabling the equipment to “publish” the actual power state, so that remote or local energy management systems can be aware of it.
• Equipment that can be switched off should also implement mechanisms for receiving a command
capable of enforcing specific power consumption states from low power to off. •
Equipment that can be switched off should implement a mechanism for being switched on when needed e.g. wake-on LAN.
