WEEE, RoHS and REACH

The electronics industry is subject to several directives and standards in order to reduce the impact on the environment. Most important are the EU directives WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of use of Certain Hazardous Substances), REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and REstriction of Chemicals) and the standard ISO14001: "Environmental Management Systems". The basic principle for these is Reduce-Reuse-Recycle.

 

The RoHS Directive requires that "from 1 July 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)". There are also customer-specific procurement standards in the industry that restricts even more substances.

 

The REACH Regulation became law throughout the EU on 1 June 2007 and has a phased program of implementation over 11 years. Described as the most ambitious chemicals legislation in the world, REACH will apply to about 30,000 chemical substances which are currently in use across Europe. The main aims of REACH are to "ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment as well as the free movement of substances, on their own, in preparations and in articles, while enhancing competitiveness and innovation". Nordic has its own REACH Statement, declaring non-use of the hazardous substances included on the initial SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) candidate list.

 

Halogen free/"Green"

In order to support our customers to comply with these environmental requirements, Nordic has introduced "green" package technology in its products. "Green" means that our products are halogen free in addition to RoHS compliant (free of Bromine, Chlorine and Antimony based flame retardants). A more detailed list of prohibited chemical substances can be found in Nordic's Warranty for non-use of prohibited chemical substances.

 

Conflict minerals

Conflict Minerals regulations have been passed in to US law (ref. Section 1502 of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act). The legislation requires publically traded companies whose manufactured goods contain Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten, or Gold to report annually to SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) if the minerals did originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries. Nordic uses the above mentioned metals in most of its semiconductor devices, as they are necessary for the function of the products.

Nordic is not required to report to SEC, and does not purchase these metals directly. Nordic cooperates with its suppliers to determine the origin of the smelters where the metals derive from. Nordic and Nordic’s suppliers’ policy is to only have part in trade where the respect of human rights are upheld, and where trade is not contributing to violent conflicts. Our suppliers state that to their knowledge these metals are not sourced in the DRC. The statements are available upon request.

 

ISO14001

Nordic Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company. Our subcontractors for wafer and assembly production are ISO14001 certified.