explosive, toxic, corrosive, and biohazardous. Among them are oxidizers,
asphyxiates, pathogens, and allergenics. In short, like a hazardous material,
a dangerous good is any solid, liquid, or gas that has the potential to cause
harm to humans, animals, or the environment, alone or through other factors
or agents.
Dangerous goods are divided into nine classes, some of which include sub-
classes according to the nature of the harm they can cause.
Class 1: Explosives
Class 2: Gases
Class 3: Flammable liquids
Class 4: Flammable solids; substances liable to spontaneous combustion;
substances that in contact with water emit flammable gases
Class 5: Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides
Class 6: Toxic and infectious substances
Class 7: Radioactive material
Class 8: Corrosive substances
Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles
You might wonder why hazardous materials and dangerous goods are catego-
rized and regulated by different laws if they are mostly the same? Well, actu-
ally, so do we. But the real point is that at the end of the day, all of these
substances, chemicals, articles, and items must be managed, tracked, and
reported on.
Realizing the Benefits of Compliance ........................................................
The current global market presents more challenges than ever to today’s
businesses, especially those that are working in the design and manufacturing
industries. The total product output of some companies can consist of liter-
ally hundreds of thousands of materials and substances. To guarantee their
environmental, health, and safety compliance demands massive effort, to say
nothing of money. Ad hoc and manual approaches no longer present viable
solutions, because they are largely as expensive as they are inefficient, with a
high percentage of them increasing the risk of non-compliance. Instead, com-
panies must build infrastructures to ensure environmental and product
compliance whose foundations lie in collaborative supplier and customer
relationships. These solutions must be adaptive, as well; as products change,
so, too, do market demands, and with them related environmental legislation.
222 Part III: Going Green
