UL Environment to Develop Sustainability Standards for Handheld Consumer Electronic Products

NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Environment, Inc., a global leader in environmental evaluation and certification, today announced a collaborative effort to develop sustainability standards for handheld consumer electronic products.  The initial standard requirements will focus on mobile phones, including basic models and "smart" phones.  These standards will assist manufacturers, consumers and retailers in identifying more sustainable options when purchasing these devices.  The standards will be based on environmental assessment of a product's entire life cycle, from raw materials to manufacture, use and disposal.

"Handheld electronics are increasingly popular in today's society, but not covered by existing environmental standards," said Stephen Wenc, president of UL Environment, Inc.  "We saw a real market need for developing a standard that guides manufacturers in creating more environmentally-friendly options for some of the most popular consumer technologies."

The UL Environment standard is expected to address energy efficiency, recycled content and packaging, among other elements.  

Development of the standards will draw upon input from UL Environment's Standard Technical Panels (STPs), comprised of stakeholders such as manufacturers, government entities, non-governmental organizations and consumer interest groups.  

UL Environment expects initial drafts of the sustainability standards to be completed in late 2010.  For more information, visit www.ulenvironment.com.

About UL Environment, Inc.

UL Environment (ULE) supports the growth and development of sustainable products and services in the global marketplace through standards development and independent third-party assessment and certification. ULE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, a global leader in conformity assessment that has been testing products and writing standards for more than a century. ULE currently offers Environmental Claims Validation (ECV), a service testing and verifying manufacturers' self-declared environmental claims, Sustainable Products Certification (SPC), a service testing and certifying products to accepted industry standards for environmental sustainability and Energy Efficiency Certification (EEC), a service testing and verifying product compliance with mandatory and voluntary energy efficiency regulations and programs. ULE is developing additional environmental standards, as well as training and advisory services to support organizations in the sustainable products and services industry.

SOURCE UL Environment, Inc.