What is R2 Certification

Narendra Kumar

25 May, 2023

R2 Certification the issue of e-waste and safe disposal is attracting increasing attention globally. Across countries, many of the end-consumers have minimal knowledge of methods of disposing of electronic waste which majorly include old IT equipment like circuit boards, cathode ray tubes, batteries, computer monitors and terminals, old mobile phones, stereos, televisions, DVD players, etc. Most of this techno-trash make their way to local landfills or are exported to countries where the quality of life and labor is cheap. Here, the waste is generally either burnt, heaped in dumps or melted down.

Whatever is the way, electronic waste is harmful to live organisms as they contain highly toxic substances and heavy metals like mercury, lead, cadmium, lithium, nickel, palladium, rhodium, barium, polyvinyl chloride, chemical flame retardants and even precious metals like silver and gold. These toxins have the potential to cause serious health problems including birth defects, damage to the brain, spleen, liver, lungs, kidneys, nervous system, reproductive organs and even the skeleton. When these e-wastes are burnt, they produce cancer-causing poisonous dioxins that are released into the air that all living beings breathe. With landfills full of these e-wastes, years later, their harmful components penetrate deep down in the soil and reach the groundwater, thereby terribly affecting natural resources nearby.

By the year 2014, about 41.8 million metric tons of e-waste were produced in the entire world which has been predicted to grow up to 49.8 million metric tons by the end of 2018.

What is R2?

The world is slowly recognizing the criticality and its responsibility for saving and sustaining the environment. At the corporate level, CSR or corporate social responsibility is gaining importance and at the individual level too, consumers today are getting conscious about their role in recycling and protecting the environment from further degradation.

Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) which is a non-profit organization is actively involved in responsible recycling and reuse of electronic products. SERI has set up R2 Standard and released the first version of the R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices Standard) in 2008, the electronics recycling industry’s leading certification. The latest revised edition of the international standard is R2: 2013 which has been developed in accordance with the Essential Requirements for Due Process of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The R2 is a voluntary consensus standard that was developed by a conscious group of stakeholders from the recycling industry along with EPA (Environment Protection Agency) of the United States. Though not mandatory, it consists of a set of principles and guidelines that have been designed with the thought of promoting responsible recycling practices of electronic wastes. It not only focuses on managing the e-waste from the environmental aspects, but it also stresses on work practices that affect the health and safety of workers^[1], both locally and internationally.

Benefits of R2 certification

1. Helps minimize environmental and public health risks
2. It helps promote safer methods of recovery and reuse of electronic devices
3. It helps recycling units be compliant with local and international laws
4. It makes the OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers) responsible for practicing due diligence in the context of end-of-life electronics.
5. It implies that the organization is not illegally exporting outdated and end of life electronics material to other countries for disposal. With a certificate in hand, the customers know for sure that the company only ships out fully refurbished computers and other electronics items to other countries.
6. An R2 certificate also ensures that data security is given top priority by the organization.
7. An R2 certified company will also ensure that its down-the-line suppliers and vendors too are compliant with the highest industry standards and best practices especially in the areas of security of the data, exercising a fair sense of responsibility, safety in discarding and disposing of e-waste and tracking the same.

E-Waste Management Authorization

• Documentation
• Regular follow-up from associated government authorities
• Government fee submission
• Report monitoring

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Who should obtain the ISO R2 Certification?

This internationally recognized certificate is best suitable for the following industries:-

1. Electronics collectors
2. Electronics refurbishers
3. Electronics recyclers
4. Electronics resellers or brokers

In the United States, it is mandatory that the electronic wastes are disposed of by third-party recyclers who have the R2 or equivalent certification.

Obtaining the R2 Certification

As per international best practices, it is advisable that before obtaining the R2 certificate, the organization should get registered for ISO 14001 (effectual Environment Management System) and ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) certificates.

Getting certified for R2 involves multiple steps and process implementations.

Step No. 1: interested organizations are required to fill out an application form with SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International)as the preliminary step. The form would typically ask for basic information about the company and ask for a point of contact for further communication.

Step No. 2: once the form is filled and submitted, SERI will email a License Agreement to the organization.  It is important to note here that the R2 certification is not issued to individuals or organizations at their residential address – hence the minimum requirement for obtaining this certification is to have an appropriate business license at a commercial address.

Step No. 3: This step involves choosing a SERI approved certification body that will conduct the audit and issue the certificate. There are about seven approved bodies that are approved by SERI to certify companies to R2:2-13. The initial contract is usually a three-year commitment.

Step No. 4: The process of registration typically involves – conducting an initial internal review of the existing systems, operational procedures, materials management, and other processes to ensure conformance with laid down R2 standards. It also involves conducting gap analysis during the internal audit and improvising the system as per laid down rules and regulations. Many organizations hire experienced and qualified consultants at this juncture to help them with the certification process. It is advisable to check for relevant references, formal training that the consultant has completed is he qualified to validate data destruction processes, etc.

Step No. 5: Stage one audit, that is a formal audit is conducted to confirm conformity with required practices on a day to day basis. The audit is conducted by the certifying body – they will inspect the facility and review relevant documents.

Step No. 6: the interim report is generated after stage one audit. It will list out conformance and non-conformance to prescribed practices. In the case of non-conformance, the organization needs to take corrective action and the auditor will go through the supporting documentation to review the corrective measures.

Step No. 7: implementation audit or the stage-two audit is conducted where the auditor would interview heads of department and other personnel; conduct a detailed site visit to the facility to ensure compliance.

Step No. 8:  in the case of non-conformities the organization will have to take corrective actions.

Step No. 9: once the auditor gives the green signal after the completion of the stage-two audit, the organization or the recycler is considered to have passed both the audits successfully. The certifying body will now issue the R2:2013 certificate to the organization.

Once certified, the facility can display the logo of R2 on its website and other promotional and official documents. The initial certificate is issued for a period of three years with regular annual surveillance audits and checks every year. The organization needs to apply for recertification once the term period of the certification is about to expire.