Disassembly and Recycling

For recycling purposes, it is necessary that the product can be easily disassembled and the materials be indicated on the parts themselves so they can be easily classified by type. EIZO Eco Products facilitate recycling because they are made so that they can be easily disassembled with a screwdriver or other commonly available tools. Furthermore, EIZO indicates the materials used on plastic parts, which constitute a large percentage of the total weight so they are easy to sort after disassembly. EIZO also labels plastic parts used for packaging such as buffer materials and sacks.

User's Manual

The paper used for user's manuals often contributes to environmental problems such as deforestation and the generation of toxic chlorine resulting from the bleaching process. The user's manuals for EIZO Eco Products, however, are made from chlorine-free, recycled paper, thus helping to preserve the forests and reduce paper waste. They are also bleached without the use of chlorine to prevent the generation of toxic chlorine compounds such as chloroform.

The ink used in printed materials contains petroleum solvents, which contributes to the generation of volatile organic compounds (VOC), consumption of limited petroleum resources, and the deterioration of the printing work process environment. To lower dependency on petroleum solvents, EIZO began the partial use of soy ink with the introduction of EIZO Eco Products 2004.

Energy Conservation

Energy consumption greatly affects environmental issues such as global warming. To conserve energy, EIZO Eco Products consume less than 1 watt of energy when turned off. They also comply with the internationally recognized EPA Energy Star Program of the American Environmental Protection Agency.

Toxic Substances Control

1. It is generally known that certain heavy metals, including chloroform, cause various health hazards when they are absorbed into the human body. In order to prevent this, steps are being taken worldwide to limit their use. The EU (European Union) issued the following two directives for electrical and electronic equipment in February 2003.
   
   - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
   - Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS).
   
   RoHS restricts the use four heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, lead, and hexavalent chromium) as well as PBB (polybrominated biphenyl) and PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers). EIZO Eco Products 2006 complies with the RoHS directive.
   
2. It has also been recognized that chlorine and bromine compounds added to plastics to act as flame retardants can generate harmful dioxins when incinerated. Any product carrying the EIZO Eco Products label does not contain such hazardous compounds in plastics used for the chassis that weight more than 25 grams.
3. The ozone layer protects us from the sun's ultra violet rays. An international treaty, the "Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" is an agreement that regulates the use of substances that damage the ozone layer like CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) used in air-conditioners, aerosol sprays and other common goods. EIZO Eco Products do not use any substances harmful to the ozone layer in the internal production process.

Environmental Label
Environmental labels serve as a guide to help customers determine the environmental performance of a product. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) classifies environmental labels into three types, (Type I, II, III), and has drawn up a group of standards governing how corporations present their labels to consumers.

Type I Label
With this label, a third party defines standards for certification, conducts examinations of products, and grants permission to use their label for products that fulfill their standards. Sweden's TCO'99, the U.S.'s EPA Energy Star Program, and Japan's PC Green Label and Eco Mark, recognized as global environmental labels for monitors, are examples of Type I labels. EIZO has continually sought and received approval to carry these and other Type I labels.

	TCO Established by TCO Development owned by the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees, TCO sets standards for office equipment in such areas as safety, visual ergonomics, energy consumption, electric and magnetic field emissions, and recycling.
	EPA Energy Star A program developed by the American Environmental Protection Agency to promote a voluntary partnership with manufacturers of office equipment to save energy and protect the environment.
	Eco Mark The Japan Environmental Association's label for household and office goods. This was the first environmental standard in Japan to cover information processing devices (personal computers).

Type II Label
With this label, the producer does not seek approval from a third party, but makes self-declared environmental claims. Type II labels are based on the ISO 14021 standard which defines the basis of a claim in order to ensure it does not contain exaggerations or misleading statements.

Type III Label
A product's environmental impact is based on a full life-cycle assessment, and the quantitative data is made public so consumers can evaluate it for themselves.

JEITA
JEITA is the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. JEITA established guidelines to limit emission levels of VOCs from PCs. The guidelines are a countermeasure against health hazards caused by VOC contaminants released from furniture, everyday objects, and building materials that accumulate indoors. EIZO carries out evaluations based on these guidelines.

RoHS and WEEE
The need to reduce hazardous materials and increase recycling in electrical and electronic equipment to protect human health and the environment has prompted the European Union to issue two directives.

The first directive is the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). The six restricted substances are lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBDE (polybrominated diphenylethers), and PBB (polybrominated biphenyls). RoHS went into effect in July 2006 and applies to most electrical and electronic equipment manufactured and imported into the EU. Since July 2005, EIZO has been phasing in compliance with RoHS. All EIZO monitors and accessories manufactured after June 2006 are RoHS compliant.

RoHS compliance depend on the date of manufacture. All RoHS-compliant models are indicated as such on the product packaging. For more details please contact the official EIZO distributor in your country.

The second directive is Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This directive requires producers of such equipment to provide for free collection and achieve recovery and reuse and recycling targets of 75% and 65% respectively. WEEE went into effect in August 2005. All EIZO products manufactured since June 2005 comply with WEEE.