Jacques Mohr | Environmental Officer, NXP Sustainability Office, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
There is a major program underway to identify the exact ingredients of every single component in our catalog of . more than 20,000 products. According to Jacques Mohr, the Environmental Officer at NXP‘s Sustainability office in . The Netherlands, “It‘s increasingly important for us - and for our customers - to know exactly what materials and chemicals are required to make our products.”
The more we learn about various substances used in our processes, the easier it is for us to look for alternatives that are less harmful to our environment. In a project that ran from 2005 to mid-2006, for example, we eliminated lead from our products and processes that aren‘t legally exempted from using it. We also reduced our use of potentially toxic . flame-retardants.
Says Jacques, “We lead the field in our industry in embracing environmental awareness, and we intend to keep that lead.” The substance-identification program includes an ongoing review of the 3,000 substances and materials used in our products and processes, and the findings are shared with others.
One way we use the information is in awareness training held at our design centers, so our developers can stay focused on “green” issues. It‘s part of our EcoDesign process, which emphasizes sustainability in product development. “We‘re committed to ensuring that our new, greener products are built using the knowledge we are accumulating,” explains Jacques, “and, where possible, phasing out substances of high concern.”