Germane Systems believes that we all have a responsibility to minimize our impact on the environment. We are continuously striving to live out our environmental obligations by looking for new ways to be good stewards of the Earth. Germane’s efforts to date include designing energy efficient products, removing hazardous substances from our products, recycling, reducing packaging and encouraging our employees to conserve resources wherever possible.
Environmental stewardship is part of our daily process at Germane as we use our engineering and management expertise to protect the environmental through creating efficient products, extending product life, reducing product size, improving manufacturing processes, reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste and encouraging everyone to participate in becoming more environmentally aware.
Germane’s approach towards the environment can be summarized in the following areas:
Manufacturing Environmentally-Friendly Products
Reduced Environmental Footprint
Recycling
Work Environment
Reduction of Hazardous Substances
Manufacturing Environmentally-Friendly Products
Germane not only designs and builds world-class rugged computing solutions we also take great care to build products that help our customers with their environmental goals. Through the use of energy efficient designs Germane servers and storage solutions use less power and generate less heat. In addition to energy efficient designs we create computers that will last for years and that can be upgraded rather than replaced.
Below is a summary of the actions Germane has taken:
- Use of 92% efficient power supplies to reduce energy consumption
- Our designs use low power CPUs to reduce heat and power
- Custom BIOS enables software to reduce CPU cores used when work load is low
- Patent pending air flow management reduces air flow (reducing number of fans needed )
- Value added services extend product life reducing waste
o Upgrade path for products rather than replacement when technology changes
o Use of embedded components extending product lifecycle by years
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Reduced Environmental Footprint
We all have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the environment both as a business and as individuals. Building world class rugged computing systems requires a high degree of engineering skill and creativity. At Germane we encourage everyone to apply the same creative skill and passion to making ecologically sound decisions.
Below is a summary of the actions Germane has taken:
- Reduced unnecessary electricity consumption in our facilities
- Implemented e-business systems to reduce consumption of paper and ink
- Implemented virtual servers to save electricity consumption
- Provided all employees with reusable cups and containers for beverages
- Use of motion sensor light switches to reduce use of electricity
- Only use RoHS compliant parts in our products
- Minimized amount of packing materials required to ship products
- Designing our computing systems to use higher efficiency power supplies
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Recycling
How products are recycled when they are no longer useful is an important part of Germane’s environmental program. The improper disposal of the waste can damage the environment and our health. At Germane, we make sure our products are easily recyclable and are taken to the appropriate place for recycling.
Below is a summary of the actions Germane has taken:
- All packaging materials for incoming components and parts are recycled
- Excess electronic components metal and plastic are recycled
- The use of unbleached cardboard in our packaging increases the amount of paper/cardboard that can be recycled which also results in a better quality of recycled paper
- Custom packaging eliminated the need for plastic bubble wrap and Styrofoam in shipping packages
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Work Environment
Each member of the Germane team has a corporate and individual responsibility to better manage our resources, reduce waste and to find new and innovative ways to consume less. Germane is actively engaged in good environmental stewardship and continues to seek new opportunities to improve.
Below is a summary of the actions Germane has taken:
- Use of auto-sense light switches to turn off lights when a room is empty
- Installation of blinds on all windows to reduce air conditioning load on sunny days
- Distribution of reusable coffee cups and water bottles to reduce use of paper products
- Setting all printers to default of black and white to reduce ink usage
- Implementation of electronic systems and processes to reduce paper use
- Installation of recycling bins for paper, plastic and cans
- Employees are encouraged to shutdown computers and monitors when out of the office
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Reduction of Hazardous Substances
The use of toxic substances can cause problems for employees during the manufacturing process as well as they create serious challenges for proper disposal. Germane Systems has eliminated the use of toxic substances and hazardous solvents at our facility. Germane Systems meets the RoHS 6/6 Compliance level
Below is a summary of the actions Germane has taken:
- Restricting the use of hazardous substances in our products
- Compliance with the RoHS directive so all electrical and electronic products are below the mandated levels of
o Lead (Pb)
o Cadmium (Cd)
o Mercury (Hg)
o Hexavalent Chromium (Cr6+)
o Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB)
o Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE)
- Use lead free manufacturing processes
- Processes established to insure proper disposal of any hazardous items
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