The NCMS Sustainable Product Initiative SPI

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The NCMS Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI)

Multi-State Working Group Track B1 June 20, 2005
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What is the SPI?

• The NCMS Sustainable Product Initiative is
  intended for industry sectors for which the
  environmental impact of their products is
  comparable to or greater than the impact of the
  manufacturing processes they carry out.
• Examples
• automobiles
• building materials
• batteries
• medical devices
• many more

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Why SPI?

• Regulation of manufacturing processes
  generally, a success story
• Regulation of products, used by the consumer as
  intended, has proved to be more difficult
• Possible reasons
• processes carried out at known place and time
  products used anywhere, whenever
• easy to specify emission limits on a stack
  harder to develop fair and consistent
  environmental product standards
• companies dont vote consumers do

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SPI Auto Sector Program Elements and Issues

• Component Leasing
• Automotive Materials Design Guide
• IMDS Database Summary Data

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Component leasing basic concept

• Present system OEMs buy parts from suppliers
  and sell vehicle to consumers.
• New system Suppliers of components lease parts
  to integrator, who in turn leases vehicle to
  consumer. Revenue flows back to supplier (or
  owner of part) as long as part remains in
  service.
• Gives suppliers an incentive to design parts that
  last as long as possible.

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Component leasing market implications

• Vehicles can be provided to consumers at
  significantly lower monthly cost. Vehicles
  depreciate much more slowly. Vehicles are more
  reliable.
• Outer shell and high-tech items can be replaced
  to meet style and technology changes.
• Vehicles will be scanned periodically, as part of
  regularly scheduled maintenance. Parts will
  carry scannable identification tags (RFID). Can
  also scan for diagnostic information.

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Component leasing economic implications

• Barrier to entering market as integrator is
  lowered. Capital formation is decentralized.
• North American jobs picture De-emphasizes
  manufacturing of new parts (exportable), but
  creates jobs in sectors that are more
  conveniently done locally, and are thus more
  resistant to moving offshore. (Example parts
  clearinghouses.)

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Auto Materials Design Guide

• On-line resource for designers of auto components
  to aid in the choice of alternative materials.
• Basic objective to provide data and guidelines
  (and a convincing algorithm) for evaluating
  environmental consequences of alternative
  materials choices (typical for environmental
  design guides)
• Further objective to provide a means of
  evaluating potential economic consequences of
  materials choices

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IMDS Summary Data

• Objective convince stakeholders of
  International Material Data System (IMDS) to
  allow a trusted third party to develop aggregate
  data summaries
• Premise access to aggregate data would benefit
  both stakeholders and general public
• What IMDS data can and cant tell us

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For more information

• Paul Chalmer
• paulc_at_ncms.org
• [phone]