Mouser Electronics White Papers
Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1538287
Mouser Electronics White Paper Regulatory Compliance and Future-Proofing Another key issue is compliance with relevant governmental regulations. Designing for compliance today helps avoid costly redesigns tomorrow. A necessary precondition to compliance is staying ahead of evolving policies regarding factors such as hazardous substances and waste disposal. Specific policies and directives include the European Union's (EU's) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive regarding electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), which aims to prevent risks to human health and the environment from discarded equipment. 7 RoHS restricts the use of substances, including lead, cadmium, and mercury. The EU has also implemented the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to address the environmental issues surrounding discarded products. 8 The EU reports that in Europe in 2022, 14.4 metric tons of EEE were put on the market, and 5 million metric tons of e-waste were collected, amounting to 11.2kg per person. Rather than deal with specific toxic substances as the RoHS Directive does, the WEEE Directive addresses the total waste stream, requiring separate e-waste collection, even if all the components are RoHS-compliant. In addition, it sets targets for recovery and recycling, helps countries fight illegal WEEE exports, and aims to reduce the administrative burden through the harmonization of EEE registers and the reporting format. Other EU measures include the Substances of Concern in Products (SCIP) database, which is maintained by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). 9 The database helps ensure that information on products containing listed substances is available throughout the product's life cycle, including the waste stage. In addition, the ECHA identifies some per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (commonly referred to as PFAS) 10 as substances of very high concern (SVHC) and as candidates for the EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) list of hazardous substances. 11 The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that because thousands of PFAS chemicals appear in many different consumer and industrial products, their potential risks to human health are difficult to study. 12 Consequently, the worldwide regulatory regime for PFAS is uncertain and evolving, requiring the ongoing attention of product designers. A 2024 EU regulation now requires product manufacturers to support digital product passports (DPPs) and other forms of sustainability reporting by incorporating traceable material and energy data into their product documentation. 13 These DPPs will include details such as a unique product identifier, compliance documentation, and information on substances of concern. Also, aligning with open-data principles, the DPP will facilitate data sharing and collaboration to enhance the visibility and integrity of product information. Longevity and Material Optimization To minimize the WEEE generated each year, companies must use long-life-cycle components with manufacturer commitments to 10-plus years of availability, where possible. A component's longevity and availability ensure that function- and pin-compatible replacements continue to be available, reducing the need for costly redesigns and minimizing the overall carbon footprint. Designing for durability, repairability, and upgradeability will contribute to extended service life and reduced e-waste. Manufacturers can facilitate material optimization and simplify end-of-life handling by streamlining bills of materials (BOMs) and integrating systems-on-chip (SoCs). For example, to simplify BOMs, designers can choose highly integrated MCUs, which include analog circuit blocks, digital-signal-processing engines, and flexible connectivity options, thereby reducing the number of discrete circuit elements required. In addition, designing with recyclable, RoHS-compliant components that are free of halogens, lead, and antimony will help support safe disposal. Table 1 provides an overview of the essential sustainability measures designers should be looking to integrate.