Handling of Environmental Related Requirements : Awareness and Ability to Act at Small and Medium Sized Electric and Electronic Companies

Abstract: Environmental related product requirements are increasing worldwide from government authorities, customers and other stakeholders. For small and medium sized companies manufacturing electric and electronic products it is more difficult compared to bigger companies to meet new product related requirements due to smaller budget, resources and knowledge. This research studies the awareness and ability to act upon changes when small and medium sized companies in Sweden face environmental related requirements. The result is compared to previous conducted studies in a number of Asian countries. The study has been conducted through face-to-face interviews (12 companies), phone interviews (6 companies), and questionnaires (50 companies). After a preliminary literature study and targeting of objective companies interviews were made at first with the questionnaire study based on results from the interviews. In total, respondents from 68 companies participated in this research. Results from the study reveal that companies both in Sweden and Asia experience the same directives from EU and that WEEE and RoHS have had the biggest impact upon companies. Outside the EU market, companies do not comply with the legislations in the same way. There is a difference in how Swedish companies choose to treat environmental related product requirements as compared to electric and electronic companies in Asia. Furthermore, legislations are a very effective form to affect companies’ environmental work and adaptations, especially if it is imposed directly on the product itself. Both Swedish and Asian companies feel they need more education, more information about environmental related product requirements and more support from government authorities in order to cope with increasing demands from customers and legislations.