ENGLEWOOD, Colo.– Arrow Electronics, Inc., (NYSE:ARW) announced that it has certified its São Paulo, Brazil, facility to several quality and environmental industry standards for electronics asset disposition. It is the first South American location certified to the R2 Responsible Recycling standard. In addition to R2, the facility holds the following certifications: Recycling Industry Operating Standard…
Though 3D printing is winning attention among designers and manufacturers alike, you have to wonder what the environmental implications might be. Hold on. I know what you're going to say. The buzz around 3D printing points to all sorts of “Oh, happy day” scenarios. (Source: MakerBot) As IBM said in a Global Business Services report…
It could be said that ever since the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives were adopted by European Union (EU) member states years ago, the electronics industry has transformed itself. Once primarily focused on manufacturing quality electronics products at low prices, the industry today has elevated its…
Mac Observer columnist Bryan Chaffin recently wrote an impassioned and well-informed retort to an accusation of greenwashing leveled against Apple CEO Tim Cook. In it he explains how Cook's business rationale for greening Apple's supply chain is perfectly logical and a clear win for shareholders. Chaffin is right and any results-oriented activist should read his…
Paper is not a thing of the past in distribution centers, but it probably should be. More importanlty, the reasons go well beyond simply saving trees (a laudable goal) to an even more compelling arguement: It's just better business all around. In a 2005 Inbound Logistics article, Leslie Hansen Harps wrote that the speed through…
The distributor element14 put out the call for ideas for smart appliances and devices that would bring home control into new innovation. The response to the Smarter Life Challenge was enormous. In all, 138 designers threw their hats into the ring. From those, 17 designers were chosen to receive a Cypress PsoC 4 Pioneer Kit…
As the US shale gas boom grabs more headlines and its impact is being felt by all segments of the transportation industry, now may be a good time for supply chain managers to starting tuning into this phenomenon. Sure, a lot of the mainstream conversation currently still focuses on how this new energy source is…
The time when artificial intelligence (AI) was only part of sci-fi movies and books is over. Day after day we encounter new robotic integration in every industry and as a logical consequence, in their supply chains as well. Award winner in 2013 for Best of Waste Management, ZenRobotics Recycler (ZRR) is the world's first robotic…
One of our readers from last month's article Make a PCB with your laser printer raised an interesting concern about the disposal of chemicals used to make a homemade PCB. In that particular article, we discussed making your own PCB using ferric chloride, which cannot be disposed of by simply pouring it down the drain,…
You wake up in your chilly San Francisco apartment (or any chilly place for that matter), and your first instinct is not to crank up the thermostat several notches (too expensive!). Instead you go to your closet, rifle through an array of sport coats and collared shirts. You pull out your favorite sweater, slide it…