R2 – Responsible Recycling Certification Consulting

Understanding the Responsible Recycling (R2) Standard

R2 or the Responsible Recycling standard is specially designed for electronic recyclers and it sets forth the standards for environmental, health and safety and security requirements. R2 focuses on end-of-life electronics recycling with a special focus on the downstream of recycled materials.

Why Your Organization Needs an R2 Standards Certification?

Obtaining the R2 standards certification sends a positive message and reassurance among the customers of an electronic recycling company that the concerned company employs only the responsible recycling methods. The certification in a way verifies that the electronic recycling company is responsible about how end-of-life and used electronic equipment are managed by the company. At the same time, the standard helps the electronic recyclers highlight their performance and values to their customers.

R2 Certification Requirements

R2 certification requirements include compliance with employee safety standards and data security standards and based on ISO concept of Plan-Do-Check-Act. R2 is similar to ISO 14001 as it requires electronic recyclers to identify environmental, health and safety risk associated with given activities of the recycler.

Among the requirements, R2 certification requires electronic recyclers to:

• Develop and define the scope of environmental, health and safety management system (EHSM)
• Develop, document and implement procedures for managing environmental, health and safety
• Develop a recycling procedure based on ‘reuse, recover, dispose’ hierarchy
• Comply with all legal and other requirements
• Identify environmental, health and safety risks
• Develop, document and implement emergency preparedness procedure
• Communicate the policy and set procedures throughout the organization

Benefits of getting R2 certified

• Improved downstream due-diligence for customers’ with end-of-life electronics
• Improves recycler’s competitive edge
• Reduces cost by implementing preventive action procedures
• Improves public confidence through third party auditing
• Displays recycler’s compliance with domestic and international laws

For more information on R2 standards certification, training and compliance, please feel free to contact the R2 consultants at GlenView Group.