At an official ceremony in Brussels yesterday, EU healthcare trade association COCIR and environmental consultancy ENVIRON signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environmental policy.  Building on previous initiatives on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directives, ENVIRON and COCIR are now expanding their partnership to the Energy Using Products Directive (EuP) and the REACH and RoHS compliance.  In particular, REACH substance declaration requirements are placing increasing pressure on the electronics supply chain to disclose information on hazardous substances. 

The first REACH Candidate List of 15 substances was notified on 9 October and is expected to be published at the end of October. All manufacturers and suppliers will then be required to comply with the substance disclosure requirements.  COCIR and ENVIRON’s cooperation includes a new web application, BOMcheck, to reduce the costs of REACH and RoHS compliance by compiling a centralised master database of substance declarations from suppliers.  In addition, a detailed Guide to REACH requirements for component suppliers and equipment manufacturers is available free-of-charge from www.BOMcheck.net and www.cocir.org.  

COCIR member Siemens Healthcare is the first company to join BOMcheck.  “BOMcheck is an open initiative which will benefit not just the medical device industry but the whole electronics industry, by enabling suppliers to upload their substance declarations to one location for access by all participating manufacturers” said Dr Freimut Schröder, Chair of COCIR Environmental Focus Group.     

BOMcheck’s primary purpose is to enable suppliers to comply with their REACH obligations in a cost-effective way.  The online declaration tool explains where the REACH Candidate List substances are commonly found in electrical and electronic equipment and highlight available alternatives. 

The European Commission congratulated COCIR for leading this initiative, which is one of several elements in COCIR’s proactive strategy to reduce environmental impact.

Media Contacts:

Nicole Denjoy

COCIR

Secretary General

Tel: +32 (0)2 706 8961
denjoy@cocir.org      

Kathryn Sheridan

COCIR

Communications Advisor

Tel: +32 (0)496 116198
press@cocir.org

Aidan Turnbull
ENVIRON
Head of EcoDesign
Tel: +44 (0)1225 748420
aturnbull@uk.environcorp.com

NOTE FOR EDITORS

About COCIR

Founded as a non-profit trade association in 1959, COCIR (www.cocir.org) represents the radiological, electromedical and healthcare IT industry in Europe.  As such, our members, leading European healthcare and IT industries and national trade associations play a driving role in developing the future of healthcare both in Europe and worldwide. COCIR encourages the use of advanced technology to support healthcare delivery worldwide. COCIR’s key objectives include promoting free worldwide trade of medical devices and maintaining the competitiveness of the European health sector. 

About ENVIRON

An international consultancy, ENVIRON works with clients to assess and manage potential environmental, sustainability and health issues associated with their activities and products, both locally and globally. The company currently employs over 1,200 individuals across a network of more than 70 offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

 
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For press questions please contact:

Kathryn Sheridan
COCIR Communications Advisor
00 32 (0) 496 116198
press@cocir.org