Digi-Key Environmental - Conservation, Education & Waste Reduction

A Message From the President

As a major employer in Northwest Minnesota, Digi-Key has long been aware of its potential impact on our shared resources and, therefore, its responsibility to be a good environmental steward. As Digi-Key continues to grow, our commitment is to minimize the impact of our business on the environment while continuing to provide the best customer service in the industry.

Dave Doherty
President, Digi-Key Electronics

Environmental Policy/Mission Statement

Digi-Key is committed to minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment and to abiding by all applicable and relevant national and international environmental laws and regulations. To accomplish this Digi-Key will maintain an Environmental Management System that will:

Include Efforts to Maximize the Efficient Use of Corporate Resources, Prevent Pollution, and Reduce Waste.
Increase Environmental Awareness Among Customers, Suppliers, and Employees.
Be Fully Supported and Reviewed Annually by Executive Management.
Monitor and Assure Compliance to all National and International Laws and Regulations.
Identify and Monitor Key Environmental Metrics.
Provide Continuous Improvement.

Green Mug Program

Through Digi-Key's continued efforts to reduce its use of plastic, we have a mug program for new employees. Every employee receives a new mug when they begin their career with Digi-Key. Each break room comes equipped with multiple ice and water machines. Instead of purchasing a bottle of water, employees have the option of filling their mug with either water or coffee without having to use a plastic bottle or disposable cup. With 3,300 employees, this is a significant amount of plastic and Styrofoam that is kept out of landfills.

RoHS Statement

Digi-Key is aware of and supports the European Union’s RoHS2 Directive 2011/65/EU. As an authorized distributor, Digi-Key is able to provide information and documentation made available to us by the manufacturers regarding the material content of the product we sell or the manufacturing processes used to make these products.

Digi-Key will display RoHS statuses on our website, quotes, pack lists and invoices. We also offer a RoHS Verification Tool that can be used to obtain the RoHS status of a single or multiple parts.

RoHS Compliant - These parts are compliant with the RoHS 2011/65/EU Directive – including parts that are compliant under an exemption as part of the directive.

RoHS Non-Compliant - These parts are not compliant with the 2011/65/EU Directive.

RoHS BYEX & RoHS N/A - These parts are not subject to the RoHS directive as they fall outside of the scope. This includes most batteries, tools and development/evaluation kits/boards.

As of January 1, 2013, products listed as RoHS Compliant in our system are compliant with the RoHS 2011/65/EU Directive, to the best of our knowledge. RoHS status information supplied by Digi-Key is based solely on information provided to Digi-Key by the manufacturer. Digi-Key is not responsible for the accuracy of this information.

Digi-Key distributes a very wide selection of products, including RoHS Compliant and RoHS Non-Compliant.

Customers must take an active role in understanding environmental compliance of product and selecting products accordingly.

For additional information regarding the RoHS2 Directive, please see European Commission website.

Please direct specific questions regarding RoHS2 to Environmental@DigiKey.com

REACH Statement

Digi-Key is aware of and supports the European Union’s REACH Regulation (EC No 1907/2006). As an authorized distributor, Digi-Key is able to provide information and documentation made available to us by the manufacturers regarding the material content of the product we sell or the manufacturing processes used to make these products.

We are actively surveying our suppliers to gain awareness of their compliance with the REACH Regulation.

Digi-Key will display REACH status icons and dates to indicate which SVHC (substance of very high concern) update the product was identified as being compliant. The icons and explanation of the REACH statuses are explained below. A status date alongside the icon will be noted when applicable. REACH status information supplied by Digi-Key is based solely on information provided to Digi-Key by the manufacturer. Digi-Key is not responsible for the accuracy of this information.

REACH Unaffected - The product and its packaging does not contain any substances of very high concern (SVHCs) as identified by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

REACH Affected - The product does contain a substance of very high concern (SVHC) as identified by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and may require consideration prior to ordering this part.

N/A REACH - The product has not yet been classed for REACH status.

Digi-Key distributes a very wide selection of products, and not all the products we sell have a REACH status at this time.

Customers must take an active role in understanding environmental compliance of product and selecting products accordingly.

For additional information regarding the REACH Regulation, please see ECHA website.

Please direct specific questions regarding REACH to Environmental@DigiKey.com

California Proposition 65

Digi-Key is aware of the update to the CA Prop 65 regulation that takes effect in August 2018. We are currently reviewing the updated regulations and working with our supply chain to ensure our continued compliance with all applicable CA Prop 65 regulations.

Digi-Key will continue to pass on any CA Prop 65 information and warnings that the manufacturers supply to us, in compliance with the current CA Prop 65 regulation. If applicable, the CA Prop 65 Warning information will appear on the part detail page on our website, and will be passed on with the part when it ships.

Additional information regarding CA Prop 65 can be found: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/

Please direct specific questions regarding California Proposition 65 to Environmental@DigiKey.com

Catalog Reduction

In April of 2010, Digi-Key made the decision to cease production of its paper catalog. In 2008, Digi-Key printed 4.5 million catalogs. At 4.5 lbs. per catalog, this has reduced paper usage by 20,250,000 lbs., and in turn reduced tree consumption by over 172,000 each year. In place of the paper catalog, we now offer our user-friendly Online Catalog. The Online Catalog is updated daily, providing our customers up-to-the-minute access to the latest products available at Digi-Key.

Smart Packaging/Environmental Packaging

In 2008, Digi-Key was working to overcome challenges associated with incredible business growth - a great challenge to have, but one that needed to be conquered. One of these challenges was package size. Our most popular box size was a 9" x 9" x 4". It would typically work for around 65% of our orders, gave great package security strength, and had next to zero claim frequency. There were some apprehensions, however, to whether we could reduce the size again, yet still hold onto package integrity, low claim frequency, and customer satisfaction.

The answer was yes. Working with our corrugated supplier, we were able to create a box that could be shipped anywhere in the world, still maintained our package integrity, yet was reduced to a dimension of 9" x 9" x 2". This is a multifaceted victory because we were able to increase our package density on our carriers by 40%, while reducing the number of feeder aircraft and trailers required to move the 13,000 packages that we ship per day. As a function of this redesign, we were also able to implement increased recycled material into the boxes, garnering Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification without sacrificing the quality of the box. The biggest victory gained from this reduction was the savings we were able to pass on to all of our customers who require air or international service by reducing typical size from a dim weight factor of 2lbs. down to 1lb.

Digi-Key also uses a product called Geami for our inner packaging protection. Geami is a sustainable protective packaging solution that is 100% recyclable, compostable and biodegradable, and is SFI certified, as well.

Both the environment and our customers were winners from this initiative, and Digi-Key will continue to improve our efficiency and environmental awareness.

Conflict Minerals Statement

Digi-Key is aware of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act, Section 1502 regarding Conflict Minerals. Conflict Minerals include the following minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and surrounding countries:

Casserite (Tin)
Columbite-Tantalite (Tantalum)
Wolframite (Tungsten)
Gold

As an authorized distributor, we are able to provide the Responsible Minerals Initiative Conflict Mineral Reporting Templates (RMI CMRTs) when made available by the manufacturers.

Digi-Key is unable to make any claims of material content regarding the product another company manufactures or to certify to the RMI CMRT.

Links to CMRTs from ECIA Member companies can be found: https://www.ecianow.org/industry-issues/conflict-materials/member-company-information/

Please direct specific questions regarding Conflict Minerals to Environmental@DigiKey.com.

Mercury

As an authorized distributor, Digi-Key is able to provide information and documentation made available to us by the manufacturers regarding the material content of the product we sell or the manufacturing processes used to make these products.

Digi-Key does not intentionally add or expose the products we sell to Mercury.

Digi-Key does carry products that contain Mercury, and those products are designated as CONTAINS MERCURY on our website, quotes, pack lists and invoices and include a note regarding proper disposal.

Please direct specific questions regarding Conflict Minerals to Environmental@DigiKey.com.

Material Composition Statement

Examples of Material Composition information include:

Full Material Declarations
Rare Earth Elements
Halogen
Latex
Red Phosphorus
Asbestos

Please direct specific questions regarding Material Composition to Environmental@DigiKey.com