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The Environmental Impact of Photography

The Environmental Impact of Photography. Chris Smith, April 2009. Have you ever considered the environmental impact of your photography?. How would you benefit from knowing?. As environmental industry regulations increase; could there be regulations for photographers on the horizon

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The Environmental Impact of Photography

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  1. The Environmental Impact of Photography Chris Smith, April 2009

  2. Have you ever considered the environmental impact of your photography?

  3. How would you benefit from knowing? • As environmental industry regulations increase; could there be regulations for photographers on the horizon • Government C02 reduction targets for UK of 80% by 2050 on 1990 levels will effect virtually every area of business • Can lead to positive action • Useful for marketing; sell yourself as a ‘green photographer’ • Personal ethics, for your conscience?

  4. Learning Outcomes • Awareness of environmental impact of photography • Awareness of industry initiatives and drivers for change • Knowledge of PCA approaches to sustainability in Photography • Ideas for Improvements – what can we do as individuals, as a course/college • Understanding advantages of being environmentally aware/good practice • Examples of photographers approaching subject in practice and/or images

  5. Task 1 • What do you know about the environmental impact of Photography? • Complete the SITE mindmap 1 (www.thesite.eu)

  6. Pollutants from film photography: • chemicals/silver in processing • energy in processing machines/ energy in enlarger use • chemicals/silver in paper manufacture & film production • emissions from paper & film production • consumption of paper (pulp) & gelatin (film) • energy in paper & film production • energy in paper & film shipping • energy in camera production • energy in camera shipping • emissions from heavy metals or plastics use in camera body production • number of film cameras scrapped?

  7. Pollutants from Digital Photography: • heavy metals, plastics, chemicals in production of memory cards, sensors, LCD displays, micro processors, camera bodies • energy in production of above • energy of shipping of above • chemicals in printer inks • energy in production of printer inks • energy in production of printer paper • emissions from paper production • energy in paper shipping • energy in computer use • energy & emissions from computer production & shipping • energy in software production/shipping? • upgrade of memory • upgrades of camera • number of digital cameras scrapped? • number of computers scrapped?

  8. The average 24 kg desktop computer with monitor requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals to manufacture, much more materials intensive than an automobile or refrigerator, which only require 1-2 times their weight in fossil fuels. • Researchers found that manufacturing one desktop computer and 17-inch CRT monitor uses at least 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1,500 kg of water – a total of 1.8 tonnes of materials. • Source (2006) http://update.unu.edu/archive/issue31_5.htm

  9. 1999: 72.5 Million Cameras Sold Worldwide (5.5 Million digital to 67 Million Film) (50 million digital, 57 Million analogue in 2003)2009: 109 Million Cameras sold Worldwide(Down from 117 Million 2008 due to global recession)Source: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0401/04012601pmaresearch2003sales.asp

  10. Environmental Legislations For Photographic Industry • RoHS • Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS) took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and become law in each member state. • The RoHS Directive restricts the use of six hazardoussubstances in electrical and electronic equipment: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominateddiphenyl ether (PBDE).

  11. REACH • REACH is a new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007. • The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. At the same time, innovative capability and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry should be enhanced. The benefits of the REACH system will come gradually, as more and more substances are phased into REACH. • The REACH Regulation gives greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers will be required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances, which will allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. The Agency will act as the central point in the REACH system: it will manage the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinate the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and run a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information. • The Regulation also calls for the progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified.

  12. WEEE • The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive(WEEE Directive) is the European Community directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) which, together with the RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, became European Law in February 2003, setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods. • The directive imposes the responsibility for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment on the manufacturers of such equipment. Those companies should establish an infrastructure for collecting WEEE, in such a way that "Users of electrical and electronic equipment from private households should have the possibility of returning WEEE at least free of charge". Also, the companies are compelled to use the collected waste in an ecologically-friendly manner, either by ecological disposal or by reuse/refurbishment of the collected WEEE.

  13. ISO 14001 • ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about significant environmental aspects. It applies to those environmental aspects that the organization identifies as those which it can control and those which it can influence. It does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria • ISO 14040:2006 describes the principles and framework for life cycle assessment (LCA) including: definition of the goal and scope of the LCA, the life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) phase, the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase, the life cycle interpretation phase, reporting and critical review of the LCA, limitations of the LCA, the relationship between the LCA phases, and conditions for use of value choices and optional elements.

  14. Canon • It appears that, whilst net sales have almost doubled, (2,696.4 billion to 4,4813 billion) Canon’s environmental burdens has only increased slightly (6,112 tons CO2 to 6,484 lifecycle co2 emissions) since 2000. • Under phase 2 of our zero landfill waste campaign, we have set a goal of reducing landfill of general waste produced by business activities by 20% against 2004 levels. In 2007, we were able to reduce this amount by 53% against 2004 • In 2007, we attained a 27% reduction in emissions of controlled chemical substances compared to 2000 figures, but this represented an increase over the previous year to 907 tons as a result of growth in manufacturing volumes.

  15. From the development and design stages, Canon strives to attain 65% recyclability and 75% recoverability for its products, as stipulated by the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEEDirective)* • mercury in fluorescent lamps for printers andthe lead in scanner lenses are currently exempted from the EU RoHS. However, Canon has been substituting parts and materials containing these substanceswith those not containing designated chemical substances,in anticipation of a future strengthening ofregulations. • We are promoting inverse manufacturing (IM),in which used products collected from customers aredisassembled and sorted and their parts reused.

  16. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-uphttp://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up

  17. What About Me?The Photographers Response

  18. Artists With an Environmental Message Process Orientated • Heather & Dan Ackroyd • Ecotopia (book) • Jamie House: • http://www.pinholelitterproject.com/ • Rosemary Horn: • http://www.photogirl.co.nz/chlorophyll.html Landscape/Environmental: • Olaf Otto Becker • http://www.olafottobecker.de • BJP – April Issue 2010 • Richard Misrach • John Ganis • Mitch Epstein • Edward Burtansky • Emmet Gowin

  19. Ways to Consider Your Environmental Impact as a Photographer: • Your camera; do you need that upgrade? Which manufacturer/model is most ‘green’ • Your computer; ‘green’ model ?, energy use • Materials; print, film • Your energy use on shoots; travel, electricity • Your ‘voice’; as an artist, as a consumer

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