Manufacturers of electrical and electronics equipment must comply with a growing array of strict environmental regulations. Regulations have already been implemented in the European Union and the United States, and more are pending in Japan, China, and other countries. The cost of compliance can be high, but the cost of noncompliance can be far greater.

SAP solutions for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) support the high-tech industry's requirements to predict and prevent financial, environmental, and trade risks; increase business performance; and drive competitive advantage. To meet these objectives and ensure corporate sustainability, SAP solutions for GRC unify corporate strategy, risk management, and control initiatives across the extended enterprise.

SAP solutions give you the capabilities you need to adapt your business to meet regulatory requirements – from product design to compliance reporting, from sourcing and procurement to service and repair. So you can avoid costly penalties and product recalls, optimize processes to comply with changing regulations, build trusted brands, and protect shareholder value.

Key regulations in the high-tech industry include the following:

• Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) – Starting next year, RoHS will apply to manufacturers of electrical and electronics equipment that do business in the European Union (EU). As of July 1, 2006, RoHS will prohibit the sale of electronics products that contain more than 0.01% of cadmium, mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl/ether (PBDE). Violations can result in stiff penalties, significant loss of sales, and a negative impact on brand perception in the environmentally conscious European market. SAP addresses these requirements through the SAP solution for environmental product compliance.
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive – WEEE establishes rules for the collection, treatment, recycling, and recovery of electronic waste in the EU. The directive states that electronics manufacturers and importers must manage and pay for the recycling of electrical and electronics waste. Member countries must meet WEEE recycling targets by the end of 2006. SAP addresses these requirements through the SAP solution for environmental product compliance.

RoHS and WEEE are the most pressing environmental regulations that electronics manufacturers face today. But other recently announced regulations – including EuP, IPP, EPP, and REACH – will have an even greater impact on core business processes. SAP solutions deliver the tight integration with core logistics and other key processes that will be necessary to comply with these emerging regulations.