Has anyone of the readers of this article ever heard of the term "environmental JIS"?
The "environmental JIS" means the Japanese Industrial Standards "JIS" as they relate to environment and recycling of resources. In particular, it now attracts public attention as the standard that specifies criteria and specifications for eco-friendly products in promoting three Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and ensuring public health and security.
A good case in point is the JIS for "eco-cement" that was noticed through the Japanese Official Gazettes on July 20, 2002. No official quality standards have been authorized for the "eco-cement," the main material of that is ash produced when municipal waste is incinerated. A number of local governments including Tokyo Metropolitan Government have been strongly requesting Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to prepare the JIS from the viewpoint of expanding demand of eco-cement because of the shortage of disposal sites of municipal solid wastes. It should be the very first in a series of JIS to come of the "environmental JIS."
An approach taken on the governmental level to the "environmental JIS" is clearly identified as a measure for creating and expanding need for eco-friendly products in the "Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management and Structural Reform 2002" as decided at the Koizumi's Cabinet.
This paper gives the concept and definition of the "environmental JIS." At the same time, it overviews the "Action Program for Promoting Formulation of Environmental JIS" formulated by Japanese Industrial Standards Committee in April 2002 and a future course of action to be followed.
Japan's environmental policy has been directed toward the following areas. First of all, it has established and put in place various sets of rules, including the world's top class waste and recycling laws: Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources, Law for Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, Home Appliance Recycling Law, Energy Conservation Law and so forth.
Secondary, it has promoted research and development programs carried out by National Institute of Advanced Industrial and Science and Technology (AIST), and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Further, it has provided enterprises and businesses with supports through granting subsidies, financing at low interest rates, and preferential tax treatment when they tried to invest in development of environment-related technologies and equipment and facilities contributing to three Rs.
However, a critical issue that must be addressed, still remains. That is, we should build and expand environmental standards for promoting expansion of demands for eco-friendly products, such as those oriented toward three Rs. More specifically, we must evaluate products in terms of qualification, whether they are qualified enough for us to prompt users to buy them and give adequate information along this line. There are mounting expectations for a systematic approach toward environmental JIS as a tool for meeting those requirements.
We recognize significance and role of standardization for environment and recycling of resources as follows: First, we can expand the market of eco-friendly products by providing users with product information and evaluating eco-friendly products in terms of qualification. Second, we can also build and improve infrastructure for environmental conservation measures by providing technical standards and test methods for products in regulatory requirements, and public procurement standards. Third, there is already an existing system working in standardization processes with JIS, in which a committee that is made up of three interest groups; the group of producers, the group of users and the mediators such as scholars. JIS will therefore be used as a tool for the policy toward environment and recycling of resources that requires every stakeholder to take part in.
The "standardization strategy" formulated by the standard working group of Japanese Industrial Standards Committee in August 2001 picked out standardization contributing to environmental conservation as an area of prime concern. The standardization strategy for environment and recycling of resources formulated by Technical Committee on Environment and Recycling Policy. It proposed that a systematic approach toward environmental consciousness through JIS contributing to environmental conservation be promoted in the following manner. That is, it should be promoted by taking into consideration ISO Guide 64 (JIS Q 0064 "Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards"), when formulating or revising JIS in the future, thereby securing a balance between the functions inherent in the product and the environmental aspects throughout different stages of lifecycle of the product.
In light of this, Technical Committee on Environment and Recycling Policy set up the strategy WG in November 2001. Through strenuous deliberations, it then formulated the "Action Program for Promoting Formulation of Environmental JIS" in April 2002
This program may be summarized into the following four key points:
The program stresses a need for seeking an approach, in which JIS contributing to environment and recycling of resources should be formulated based on the current plan that consists of about 130 standardization themes.
Importance is identified of internationally standardizing environmental technologies, including the standards as they relate to three Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), based on international trend including Europe and the North America. Precisely, recommendations are made for the necessity of formulating environmentally conscious standards that reflect Japan's unique technologies by making use of ISO Guide 64 (Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards).
Draft recommendations, the contents of which are mainly (1) and (2) above, are made to each technical committee.
Proposed are (a) precisely incorporating consumer needs through seminars or social events (Japanese Standards Association (JSA)), (b) coordination with international standardization activities (ISO·IEC), and (c) coordination with research development programs (NEDO, AIST, etc.).
Technical Committee on Environment and Recycling Policy approved these specific details and recycling of resources held on April 16, 2002.
Technical Committee on Environment and Recycling Policy made recommendations of the details described in (3) above to 26 technical committees in JISC on May 1, 2002. Each technical committee has been thereafter making efforts to take an approach to standardization in accordance with the environmental JIS medium-term plan and formulate sector-specific guides for environmentally conscious standards.
Most of the technical committees in JISC have decided to formulate sector-specific guides for environmentally conscious standards and some have already started actually formulating it.
Different approaches are being made in different fields. Technical committee on Consumer Life Products formulates a sector-specific guide for each of different fields, such as bicycles, textile, and stationery. Technical committee on Chemical Analysis and Technical committee on Chemical Products, on the other hand, jointly formulate a sector-specific guide. Technical committee on Electricity Technology, Technical committee on Electronics, and Technical committee on Information Technology plan to set up a joint working group covering electronic and electric apparatus and business machines. Technical committee on Aircraft and Space Vehicles, Technical committee on Chemical Analysis and Technical committee on Chemical Products, have started their efforts with the preparation of "checklist for environmental consciousness" adopted in the sector-specific guides relating to environmental consciousness by European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
For coordination between the research development programs and environment JIS with "(4) Tasks to be accomplished", the following consideration should be taken into account in the future. Many of these items are also highly significant in terms of putting results of research development projects conducted by NEDO and AIST into practical use.
The "environmental JIS" strongly advocates policy significance of achieving a social goal through utilization of standards as the role to be played by JIS in the future. For example, the amendment to the Building Standards Law approved in the current session of the Diet intends to take measures against the "sick house" syndrome. It assumes that the amount of formaldehyde released from building materials is incorporated in JIS and cited in regulatory technical standards.
It is also expected that the "environmental JIS" will be cited as a technical basis for criteria and items of consideration that must be taken into account for Green Purchasing Law. The standards are used, in this manner, as an encouragement that softly induces industry to form a market of eco-friendly products in the worldwide market.
Environmental standards are indispensable to building a society based on recycling of resources in the world. Therefore, Japan should make more concrete proposals to ISO and IEC aggressively through environmental standards "environmental JIS.
I believe that establishment of various environmental standards contribute to solve the worldwide environmental issues in the 21st century.
Eco-cement/ Molten slug fine aggregate for concrete/ Molten slug for road construction/ Test methods for VOC concentration in interior ambient air/ Precast unreinforced concrete products/ Test method for chemical composition of slug/ Test method of recycled wood and plastic construction materials/ Non-CFC plastic foam heat insulation material / Eco-gypsum board/etc.
Classification standard of Magnesium and Magnesium Alloy Scraps/ Testing method for lead-free soldering/ Dimethylether (DME) for fuel/ Method for presentation of using rate of recycled aluminum material/ Test method for formaldehyde in paint/ Classification standard of Copper and Copper Alloy Scraps (to be revised)/Testing method for performance of photocatalysis products/etc.
Test method for fuel consumption of hybrid vehicle/ Cast polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film for packaging/ Plastic flat pallets (to be revised)/etc.
Reciprocating internal combustion engines ? Exhaust emission measurement / Crushing machine for concrete block restoration/ Filtration performance evaluation method for filtration materials/etc.
Environmental testing method - Electrical and electronic technology - Solder performance testing method for surface mounted device (SMD) employing lead-free solder paste/Guide for environment-friendly design of electrical and electronic equipment (development of new DfE Guide proposal)/ Guide for development of material disclosure checklist for electrical & electronic equipment (revision of IEC Guide 113)/ Test method for chemicals released by office equipment/etc.
Adhesives for wallpaper and wallcoverings for decorative finish (to be revived)/ Method for nitrogen oxide emission concentration for gas-fueled home water heater for outdoor use/ Plastics rulers (to be revised)/ Apparel in general with attention to recycle/etc.
Refuse derived fuel/ Testing method for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) molding material/ Testing method for organic tin in industrial water and waste water/ Measurement method for trace chemicals in recycled materials and products/ Testing method for nonylphenol in industrial water and waste water/ Automatic monitors for particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air / Testing methods for determination of greenhouse gas in flue gas /etc.
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