Social Responsibility
Kingston is proud to be the first memory manufacturer to launch an electronics recycling program.
Kingston is proud to be the first memory manufacturer to launch an electronics recycling program.
Thanks to Kingston's partnership with ERI® (Electronic Recyclers International, Inc.), the largest electronics waste recycler in the US, you can recycle your computer memory, Flash drives, SSD drives and other electronics without worry.
Rest assured that all information stored is completely destroyed and certificates of destruction can be supplied.
For your convenience, the programme offers an easy-to-use post-back feature and an automated phone system.
Visit ERI to get started.
Learn more about ERI and their electronics waste recycling at electronicrecyclers.com
Kingston Technology commissioned an emissions audit by an outside company to determine the amount of carbon dioxide being generated at the Orange County facility.
The results of the audit indicate that most of our GHG emissions are indirect emissions from purchased electricity (99.5165%), with the balance (0.4889%) in direct emissions from company vehicle usage and production.
Calculations were determined using the IPCC methodology and the USEPA methodology.
The data reflects the period 01/01/2009 to 31/12/2009 for all facilities reported here.
Environmental considerations are set to become an integral part of the professional conduct, practice and ethical considerations that Kingston Technology professionals will bring to this organisation.
ISO 14001 Compliance Statement
Environmental Management System
In response to the growing need to identify and reduce the impact our products and services have on the environment, Kingston's management team has committed to the investment and implementation of Environmental Management Systems for each of our worldwide manufacturing sites.
These systems are modelled to be in compliance with the ISO 14001 standard, which assists companies in the creation and maintenance of an Environmental Management System.
Certification to the ISO 14001 standard demonstrates Kingston's commitment to proactively addressing our impact on the global environment.
ISO 14001 is the internationally recognised standard for Environmental Management Systems.
The ISO 14001 standard seeks to synchronise valuable environmental principles and practices with a goal of helping companies determine the environmental issues associated with their activities, and to manage them successfully.
While the standard does not contain specific performance requirements, it does include requirements for commitment to the management of hazards and risks, as well as compliance with regulatory requirements.
More importantly, it recognises a company’s positive impact on the environment, achieved through managed performance and continual improvement.
To view Kingston's Quality, Environmental, Health and Safety Policy, please click
here.
Kingston adheres to all local, regional and national regulatory requirements regarding our environmental practices.
RoHS/WEEE Compliance Statement
RoHS 2 Directive (2011/65/EU)
Directive 2011/65/EU was passed into law on 21 July 2011. The Directive is a recast of the current Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS 1) Directive that was passed into law by the European Union (EU) in 2003. The recast addresses the same elements from the 2003 Directive: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chrome, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). However, the scope now includes the assessment of new hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). RoHS 2 is mainly aimed at developing better regulatory conditions and increasing the level of legal clarity. It also provides for a gradual extension of the RoHS requirements to all EEE, cables and spare parts with a view to full compliance by 22 July 2019. RoHS 2 also includes marking (CE marking) and declaration of conformity requirements. RoHS 2 comes into effect on 2 January 2013.
Kingston has worked diligently to ensure that all of Kingston’s products and their packaging materials sold to Europe are fully RoHS 2-compliant. A Declaration of RoHS 2 Compliance can be provided upon request.
As per the Directive requirements, Kingston creates and compiles technical documentation (Decision No 768/2008/EC) which is maintained for a period of ten (10) years.
Upon request, the technical documentation will be made available to national regulatory authorities in order to demonstrate conformity.
If you have questions regarding the RoHS compliance of our products, please contact your distributor or reseller.
WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC)
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) applies to companies that manufacture, sell, and distribute electrical and electronic equipment in the EU. It covers a wide range of large and small household appliances, IT equipment, radio and audio equipment, electrical tools, telecommunications equipment, electrical toys, etc.
The Directive aims to reduce the waste arising from electrical and electronic equipment and improve the environmental performance of everything involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment.
This is translated into the following requirements:
- Producers (manufacturers or importers) of electrical and electronic equipment will be required to register in their countries.
- Private households will be able to return their WEEE to collection facilities free of charge and producers will be responsible for financing these facilities.
- Producers will be required to meet a series of demanding recycling and recovery targets.
- Producers will be required to mark their products with the ‘crossed out wheeled bin’.
- This symbol indicates that the equipment carrying this mark must NOT be thrown into general waste but should be collected separately and properly processed under local regulations.
The WEEE directive has been transposed into each EU member state’s legislation and so the exact timing and details will vary slightly from country to country, but the above principles will apply.
In particular, the arrangements for the separate collection of WEEE will vary in each country but might include for example:
public collection points, retailer take-back schemes, collection from households, etc. The Directive encourages reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery in order to prevent WEEE.
Users of electrical and electronic equipment in the EU can therefore play an important role in reducing WEEE and helping the environment by separating out WEEE and disposing of it properly.
Consumers can ask the supplier from whom they purchased the electronic & electrical equipment about local arrangements for the disposal of WEEE.
Business users are advised to ensure that WEEE which is not suitable for reuse or recycling can be disposed of properly via approved authorised treatment facilities.
The producer in your country may be able to assist you.
In the UK, The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 3289) were laid before parliament in December 2006. Kingston Technology Europe Limited and Kingston Digital Europe Limited have registered with UK compliance schemes in order to discharge their obligations as producers in the UK which arise as a result of their importing EEE products into the UK.
The UK EEE producer registration numbers for each company are:
Kingston Technology Europe Limited WEE/ED0057TS and Kingston Digital Europe Limited WEE/BD1072RT.
However, please be aware that these UK EEE producer registrations will only provide compliance for EEE products purchased via Kingston Technology Europe Limited and Kingston Digital Europe Limited in the UK and which remain in the UK.
Any person who is responsible for importing any Kingston products into any EU member state (or other country) will have to ensure that they comply with any WEEE or other laws applicable in their country.
Kingston is dedicated to minimising the impact our products have on the environment and to complying with the WEEE Directive.
Information for operators of treatment facilities
In general, re-use and recycling of EEE is preferable to disposal.
If disposal is necessary then this should only be undertaken by an approved authorised treatment facility (“AATF”).
Any AATF in Europe requiring further information on Kingston’s products is advised to contact the Compliance Officer at Kingston Technology Europe Limited / Kingston Digital Europe Limited.
Kingston REACH Implementation
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, EC 1907/2006) is the European Union’s chemical regulation that came into force on 1 June 2007 and will be phased in over an 11 year period (until 2018).
Kingston does not produce, import or supply any substances subject to this provision and Kingston abides by all restriction requirements provided in Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation.
Kingston supports the basic objective of REACH to further improve the European Union’s chemicals regulatory system, including the intent to advance public health and safety and protect the environment.
EU manufacturers and importers are required to register chemical substances they produce or import in quantities over 1 ton per year.
As Kingston has offices in Europe, we recognised our obligation as defined in REACH and pre-registered the chemicals in our products that met the criteria set by ECHA.
Kingston does not produce or import chemicals into the EU; therefore, Kingston has no further obligations for registration at this time.
Information on Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)
Suppliers of articles must provide recipients with information on Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) if those are present above a concentration limit of 0.1% on an article level.
SVHC will be defined through the list of candidate substances for authorisation that will be produced by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
SVHC candidate lists have been published that currently include 138 substances.
Kingston products have been reviewed for SVHC at the article level and no SVHC are present above the concentration limit of 0.1% (by weight).
Kingston will continue to review the SVHC candidate lists that are released by ECHA for additional substances.
Our customers and the European Chemicals Agency will be notified of any changes, if applicable, to comply with this and any future REACH requirements.
PFOS Compliance Statement
Declaration of Conformity — PFOS Restriction for Environment Protection
Kingston Technology does not use perfluorooctyl sulfonates (PFOS) in any of its manufacturing processes.
A limited number of wafer fabrication operations of Kingston’s die component suppliers use PFOS in some critical applications in the photoresist coatings of their photolithography process of wafer manufacturing. However, such uses are within the exemptions provided for photolithography processing in accordance to EU Directive 2006/122/ECOF restricting the use of PFOS.
Based on the supporting data provided by Kingston’s suppliers, our understanding is that PFOS does not remain in the product of any manufactured die components supplied to us, and PFOS is not contained in any Kingston product.