Behind the Scenes of Chemical Management at ASUS

Aug 07, 2024

Chemical substance management and compliance with related laws and regulations plays an important role for ASUS as a technology leader committed to sustainability. Chemical management serves as the foundation of producing sustainable products, and it affects corporate social responsibility performance, environmental impacts, and the wellbeing of our workforce throughout the supply chain. ASUS understands that up to 80% of a product’s impact on the environment is determined in the design phase. Hence, integrating the concept of circular economy in our products’ design phase produces better, more environmentally friendly results. Using fewer hazardous chemicals contributes to safer product disposal, more effective recycling and reuse, and reduced pollution to the environment.

Eco labels such as EPEAT are earned through meeting sustainability evaluation standards. A detailed walkthrough of eco labels on ASUS products is available here. EPEAT Gold products must meet the strictest requirements for eco-friendliness. Some of the metrics used for evaluating EPEAT Gold qualification relate closely to chemical management, including substance management on reduction of chemicals, environmentally friendly material selection, green packaging material design, end of life management, and corporate environmental impact. One of our newest ASUS AI PCs is an EPEAT Gold laptop: Zenbook DUO (2024) is a groundbreaking dual-screen laptop offering four usage modes, and it is ENERGY STAR® certified.

To better assess potential risks and improve management of chemicals used in our products, we use Full Material Disclosure (FMD), which is a method to enhance transparency. Detailed information such as breakdowns of substances used in the making of products, and whether the used chemical amount stays within the range that regulations permit are gathered and clearly listed with FMD. To obtain this data, we work closely with our suppliers throughout the supply chain. The response rate from our suppliers regarding FMD investigations for our EPEAT Gold products exceeds 90%.

Halogens used in laptop parts such as printed circuit boards (PCB) and batteries include chlorine and bromine. These chemicals are popular because of their good electrical insulation, compatibility with electronic materials, strong flame resistance, and more. Although halogens are not directly harmful to the human body, they can emit toxic fumes when ignited, and they are more difficult to recycle.

To decrease the potential impact and increase recyclability of products, ASUS has transitioned to using halogen-free hard drives and batteries since 2019. The removal of halogen from electronic products has been a gradual process because materials used for its replacement often degrade performance. However, we have managed to produce halogen-free batteries for our laptops without compromising capability – our first ever ASUS Copilot+ PC - ASUS Vivobook S 15 has a large 70 watt-hour all-day battery that lasts up to 18 hours.

Since 2021 ASUS has started to use halogen-free PCB substrate, which serves as a foundation that printed circuit boards are built on. PCB substrates define the PCB’s thermal and electrical conductivity, making it a fundamental element in laptop and PC manufacturing. We also abide by the IEC 61249-2-21 standard, which is the standard of which the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defines “halogen-free”, and we aim to achieve the potential goal of halogen-free for all our products in the future.

Chlorine bleaching can cause irritation to the skin and eyes of workers, and being exposed to it for extended periods can cause cancer. Since 2018, ASUS has banned the use of chlorine in the bleaching process for paper packaging of our products to ensure safer manufacturing.

ASUS has required our suppliers not to use mineral oil, which can clog pores in soil and cause degradation, as a raw material for printing on our packaging. To learn more about how ASUS achieves sustainable packaging, read this article.

Since 1999 ASUS abided by hazardous substance control regulations and has established internal policies to monitor chemicals and ensure product safety. ASUS has adopted the ISO 9001 Quality Management System since 1999, supplemented by the IECQ QC 080000 Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) system, which covers environmental directives such as EU RoHS and REACH, click here to read more on our legal compliance. Since 2002 the ASUS Hazardous Substances Free (Hazardous Substances Free, HSF) standard has been in place. Considering potential risks which underlie in face of the rising standards of obligatory international regulations, our HSF technical standards currently far exceed mandatory requirements.

Chemical management is a collected effort between ASUS and our partners. After over two decades of continuous effort invested in better chemical management, in 2023 ASUS already has over 450 chemical substances under restriction. We also achieved IEC 61249-2-21 standard compliance for over 91% of our products. Finally, zero mineral oils usage in packaging printing is another significant milestone reached as we continue to pursue improved chemical management. Click the button below to learn more about how we manage a sustainable supply chain.