![]() ![]() Make no mistake, as much as I found the e-Steward Standard to be a valuable operational business tool, it does put environment first - and doing so puts customers first. I found this tool to be worth the cost of certification. Improving operations usually led to improved performance and revenue. A review of the EMS allowed me to find areas we could improve upon. The EMS manual contains operational details on the downstream, procedures and protocols within the business, location of critical documents and a history of changes made within the operational side of the business. That is a critical tool for any business. I stressed its importance to my staff with the rather morbid example of, “What if I walk out the door and get hit by a bus?” If the EMS manual is up to date, the business can carry on. Every operational detail about the business was contained in the EMS Manual. Having the ISO Environmental Management System (EMS) in place allowed me to build a documented system that would help with business continuation issues. Who in business doesn’t want to constantly improve? At the heart of ISO 14001 is the concept of constant improvement. The ISO system is also logical ¬¬– and just good business. The e-Stewards certification uses ISO 14001, an internationally recognized environmental management system, as the framework for proper eWaste management. If a company operates several sites, but not all are required to be audited, there is nothing to stop the company from sending costly (and toxic) material to the unaudited site and then overseas or even to local landfills. The flaw in that system is clear, and one of the main reasons my company did not certify to R2. This is a huge difference between e-Stewards and R2 certifications: R2 allows a company-wide certification without every site being audited. A certified e-Steward must have every site within its company audited and approved. There are no loopholes, no easy ways out in the e-Steward Standard.Īn e-Steward certification is not a company “blanket” certification. ![]() Using good MBA procedures, an e-Steward can track and prove where every item processed ends up. You keep control of your own materials and those that your downstream handles through Mass Balance Accounting (MBA). ![]() As an e-Steward, you must have control and knowledge of your downstream. I chose to be an e-Steward because that first certification covered all the “hot” topics. The reality is the two standards are very different. We wanted a true certification that our customers could be proud of. My organization and I chose to go with the e-Stewards certification rather than the R2 certification, and that was an easy choice for us. Those early efforts gave way to the more formal certification programs. We made the decision to research BAN’s efforts and become part of the e-Steward’s Pledge program. Back then, we were just trying to do the best we could with very little knowledge, and, as I looked for answers, I became aware of BAN and the idea of e-Stewardship. I worked as a director of a nonprofit recycling organization for 14 years before coming to work for e-Stewards as the Enterprise Director. My work in electronics recycling began before I had ever heard of Basel Action Network (BAN) or the e-Stewards idea. ![]()
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