Product-related environmental protection
WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG has established a comprehensive management system to ensure compliance with product-related environmental protection issues. Below are explanations of the most common topics.
1. Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 (REACH)
As a manufacturer of measuring and control instruments we do not produce any substances/chemicals ourselves. The amount of substances/chemicals required to manufacture our products does not exceed one ton per year. As a downstream user, we are exempt of the registration obligation. However, according to Article 33 of the REACH Regulation, we are required to provide information on substances in articles. We hereby declare that our products and packaging do not contain any substances in concentrations above 0.1 percent by mass that are included in the candidate list, with the following exemptions.
We expect that all our products using metals (steel, aluminium and copper alloys) and electronic components contain more than 0.1 % lead, CAS No 7439-92-1, EC No 231-100-4, which is listed as SVHC according to REACH.
2. EU directive RoHS (2011/65/EU, 2015/863/EU)
We have successfully implemented the EU Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS) in our company and have established a corresponding management. The electrical and electronic products meet the requirements, which we confirm in an EU Declaration of Conformity.
The substance amendment of Annex II, which was added by Directive 2015/863/EU, will apply to category 9 (monitoring and control instruments) from 21.07.2021. Mechanical products, such as manometers or thermometers, are not subject to RoHS 2011/65/EU, i.e. we are not allowed to issue an EU Declaration of Conformity. If, however, you require confirmation that a mechanical product also complies with the RoHS material limits, we can issue it.
3. WEEE (2012/19/EU)
The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive aims to reduce waste in Europe. The strategy is to increase the re-use of materials.
Our European subsidiaries are already registering for the WEEE to meet the formal requirements of the directive. Therefore we are comprehensive and fully compliant with the WEEE.
Old WIKA devices can be returned to us at any time and we take care of the recycling. Place your inquiry to the following e-mail address: info@wika.com.
4. Ship recycling (Regulation (EC) No. 1257/2013, RESOLUTION MEPC. 269(68))
The Hong Kong Convention was adopted by the International Maritime Organization in May 2009. This is an agreement for the worldwide improvement of environmentally friendly ship recycling. An IHM certificate (International Certificate on Inventory of Hazardous Materials) is required. The EU has adopted Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2013 to speed up the ratification of this agreement. Ship-owners are thus requested to carry a hazardous material inventory of all components on board.
Most of the listed materials are not present in WIKA products. You can request a corresponding material declaration from us.
5. Conflict commodities
The enactment of section 1502 of the US American Dodd-Frank Act commits companies listed on the US stock exchange to provide proofs of origin for the raw materials tantalum, gold, tungsten, and tin and furthermore to put far-reaching auditing requirements for suppliers and material flows into practice. The objective is to reveal the global supply chains in order to ensure that no conflict commodities are contained in end products.
Such a product-specific disclosure and supply chain protection of the entire product portfolio of WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG from commodities to the end product, i.e. a certification of each procurement and manufacturing step, is not reliably feasible. Our sources of supply consist of qualified and well-known suppliers, without exception.
WIKA has already obtained confirmations from its major suppliers. These certify to this day, without exception, that no raw materials from such countries that are mentioned in the cited US-American Dodd-Frank Act are used. It is not possible for WIKA to make a general statement or fill out customer-specific questionnaires for the reasons stated above.