Green Practices at Ross

Our Environmental Commitment

 
At Ross Video we try to be good corporate citizens in a number of ways starting with the way we treat our customers, business partners and employees. Occasionally, we are asked about what we are doing as a company to minimize the impact of our business on the environment. Over the past number of years, we have consistently improved in this respect. Following are some of the things that our team here at Ross has done to reduce the impact of our business on the environment.

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

 
Ross Products are now manufactured in compliance with RoHS directive 2002/95/EC. This directive was adopted by the European Union in 2003 and bans 6 substances from the manufacture of electronic goods including: Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Cadmium (Cd), Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). Meeting this legislation within the required timeframes required a significant effort and expense to source and document compliant parts, revamp manufacturing processes (most notably moving to lead free soldering processes) as well as big investments to update and retool manufacturing equipment. In addition to this, many products had to be redesigned to eliminate non-conforming components.

China RoHS Hazardous Substances

 
Ross Video Limited has reviewed all components and processes for compliance to, “Management Methods for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products”, also known as China RoHS.

View our China RoHS Hazardous Substance Tables…

Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE)

 
Ross is compliant with European Union WEEE directive 2002/95/EC and register annually with countries in the European Community. Our products are clearly labeled to indicate that they should be recycled and not sent to a landfill. Ross electronic equipment sales in Europe are reported every year and Ross pays in advance fees that will cover the cost of recycling the product when it reaches the end of its useful life. We also supply dismantling instructions for WEEE that indicate the material content of the component parts so that recyclers can efficiently do their work. Ross continues to monitor the new legislation as it comes into law in all of the countries we serve. We look forward to providing recycling options for our end of life products wherever we do business.

Ross Manufacturing Processes and Environment

 
Ross strives continually to be a “Best-in-Class” manufacturer. From product design to shipping, we keep our environmental impact in mind. Where possible we source heavy and/or bulky materials (i.e. metal, packaging, circuit boards) used in manufacturing with local, fully qualified suppliers, thereby reducing transit waste. We’ve also engaged our larger suppliers in our consigned inventory program, meaning they stock parts on our premises allowing consolidation of shipments and deliveries. Forecast and Purchase Order management is largely paperless, and we continue to improve our processes which will reduce our paper consumption further. We’ve reduced our manufacturing facility waste to less than 40% of prior levels over a three year period. All soldering is lead-free and uses the finest no-clean solder paste and fluxes, meaning we do not use more caustic fluxes that require a water wash. This means that there is no waste water created by any Ross Video manufacturing process, and we do not outsource any of our solder work. From completely lead-free soldering, to low-energy fluorescent lighting, to painting our facility with zero VOC paints, to planning facility expansions to minimize our carbon footprint, we are continually on the lookout for ways to help the cause.

Recycling at Ross

 
We strive to reduce, reuse and recycle. Company recycling programs in both Iroquois and Ottawa cover commonly recycled materials such as paper, corrugated cardboard, metal cans and plastics. In addition, we recycle all electrical and electronic waste, including batteries, CRT screens, cell phones and industrial electronics, and offer these options to employees for home electronic waste.

Employee Commitment

 
Ross provide hooks or shelves on the walls of our lunchrooms for employees’ coffee mugs and tea cups. We encourage the use of real dishes to eliminate disposable items in the landfill.

Ross has showers available at both our Ottawa, R&D center and Iroquois factory, for those that bike, jog, or walk to work. Many of our employees live close to the facility, and carpool or use the transit system.

Carpooling is encouraged between Iroquois and Ottawa locations for those that have to periodically attend face to face meetings. This extends to members of our Senior Management Team who carpool between locations on a regular basis.

Office Practices

 
We use refillable toner cartridges in printer, fax and photocopy machines. We print hard copies only when absolutely necessary and recycle all of our waste paper. Our purchasing department is on the lookout to purchase products made of recycled material whenever possible.

Product Demos, Training and Commissioning, and other Business Travel

 
While we still travel to perform onsite product demonstrations and training for customers, we are now doing more and more remote demos via web conference. The use of this technology provides our clients with a high quality demonstration experience without the high cost and environmental impact of travel.

Brochures

 
Product brochures are printed at much lower volumes than in the past. Product brochures and ordering guides are always available electronically in .PDF format and our focus has shifted to Internet and where necessary, memory stick delivery of our product documentation.

Product Design

 
We design with the environment in mind – from design goals of reducing the number of power supplies in the unit, to not choosing parts with harmful elements in them. New products are recyclable, have long product life cycles, and have upgrade paths rather than forcing customers to completely replace a product when technology changes. Ross consistently offers a much longer support window on products we manufacture, allowing customers to keep them in service for a greater length of time. Our products are packaged with the environment in mind, using completely recyclable (and recycled) materials wherever possible. We use on-line design reviews to reduce the use of paper and print as little as possible. We ensure that equipment in labs are turned off when not in use, and on high demand electricity days we reduce the number of lights in the facility.

In many Ross products, product manuals are produced in .PDF format and shipped on CDs along with the product. This eliminates the use of a tremendous amount of paper as well as reducing product shipping weight. Customers are free to copy or print the .PDF files as required.

Continuous Improvement

 
We apply our Ross Video Continuous Improvement Philosophy to every aspect of our business including minimizing our impact on the environment. Our WOMBAT – Well Oiled Machine, Better All the Time – Continuous Improvement Processes are part of the fabric of Ross Video. This system invites input from any of our employees, customers or suppliers, that see opportunities for us to get better as an organization to improve our products and services as well as the way in which we utilize environmental resources.