TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 892/2008
By M Routley and S Pike
Background
This report reviews the status of the Eco-design of Energy-using Products (EuP) Directive (Directive 2005/32/EC, 2005) and provides an initial review of the estimated energy efficiencies associated with joining selected materials of interest to TWI Member Companies. It is the first report of a three year programme to develop a comprehensive view of environmental impacts of different joining techniques.
The European EuP Directive was adopted in 2005 and transposed into national law in Member States in August 2007. It affects producers of energy-using products other than transport. Manufacturers need to document their design choices with regard to environmental impacts throughout the life of the product, and justify the decisions made. Many TWI Member Companies will be affected by this, and related legislation, aimed at reducing environmental impacts of manufacturing and production. It was therefore decided to review the status and impacts of this legislation and investigate the energy impacts of various joining processes relevant to certain product groups to enable Member Companies to use this information for more environmentally conscious product design.
Objectives
The objectives of this report are to:
- Provide an overview of relevant environmental legislation, focussing particularly on the development of the EuP Directive, finalised within 2007, and highlighting forthcoming or proposed legislation related to this area.
- Develop generic guidelines for companies to review when in the design phase, to ensure that 'eco-design' has been considered.
- Identify a select number of products, with high environmental impact, using the EuP product categories and products of relevance to TWI Member Companies.
- Compare the energy efficiency of different joining technologies for different materials within the selected product categories.