By Aditi Nim

LOCAL small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the electronics sector have been urged to comply with the latest environmental regulations.

The plea came at a conference arranged by Spring Singapore for the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) held at Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel yesterday.

The conference aimed to provide local firms with updates on the latest developments in technical regulations - and ways businesses can implement them.

Recent regulations include the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), introduced by the European Union in 2003.

The directive, which came into effect in 2006, requires that electrical and electronic goods imported into Europe should be compliant with stringent regulations.

It particularly affects the electronics industry as it restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment.

The electronics industry is one of Singapore's key sectors, representing about 28 per cent of manufacturing output in 2008. Governments worldwide have targeted some of the environmental damage caused by the sector.

Spring chief executive Ted Tan said: 'Other than in the EU,environmental regulations are also gathering momentum in countries like China, Japan, Korea and the United States.'

Since demand for compliant products is set to grow further, he feels that companies here must maintain their competitive edge by keeping up with changes.

Industry experts, such as GE Healthcare's global regulatory manager, Ms Beth Hulse, were asked to share their insights. She said stringent self-regulation was the key to maintaining globally compliant products. GE Healthcare requires suppliers to provide declarations of compliance as well as additional test results to maintain the company's standards of environmental responsibility.

However, some conference participants were concerned at the high cost of this sort of testing. Ms Hulse raised the possibility of introducing industry-wide best practice and regulations. Consistent regulations within Singapore and worldwide would cut costs for all companies.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.