United Nations Highlights Growing Significance of Reman Industry

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published a report titled “Green Economy and Trade: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities”. This study details the environmental benefits of remanufacturing and the growing significance of this new industry in certain fields and global regions, such as China and Africa.

According to the report, remanufactured products can save consumers “typically in the order of 30 to 40 percent on the cost of comparable new products.” Remanufacturing also brings opportunities of export and new national business ventures to developing countries. The report states that remanufacturing is becoming more important in certain fields, such as laser toner cartridges, electrical data and communications equipment, as well as motor vehicle components.

UNEP thinks that remanufactured products can meet the criteria for new goods and will not have to meet additional quality and safety requirements which the refurbished products should offer anyway. Further, some countries agree that remanufactured products should not be limited by import restrictions and should be treated in the same way as new products.

The report shows that it is still difficult for remanufacturing to have the active cooperation from OEMs as well. Since there are incessant taxes on product disposal, remanufacturing can help OEMs to save costs of replacing equipment for value chain modernization by creating new business models.

The report mentions that worldwide remanufacturing operations now  save about 10.7 million barrels of oil each year and also conserve water and raw materials. Therefore, remanufacturing can enable governments to clean up municipal waste, save energy in domestic industry, and create jobs.

The aim of this report is to find out where international trade opportunities exist that arise from developing a green economy, how industries can pursue these opportunities and what industries need to establish a green economy through sustainable trade. The report also promotes remanufacturing as a chance for creating green trade opportunities.