R2 Guidance & Knowledge Base
Other locations or external processes to be included in Scope
Q. Requirement 1.(a) indicates that an R2 Facility must include in its certification “any external processes, activities, and locations under the control of the R2 Facility and associated with its certification…” Does this mean that if a company certifies one facility, all of the company’s facilities must be certified?
R2 Certification is facility specific, so a company would not necessarily need to certify all of its facilities. It must however, ensure that all R2 certifiable activities related to the operations of the R2 Facility are covered within its scope, which may include off-site activities.
As indicated in the Introduction on page 3, the scope of certification must include any external activities that “while not at the same facility, are required activities to fulfill the electronics recycling processes of the R2 certified facility.” This section additionally notes that: “certification is not company-wide unless all facilities are R2 Certified.”
As a result, an R2 Facility must ensure that all processes and activities under its control and related to its certified operations are included in the certification, including where applicable off-site facilities and operations such as collection points and warehouses. But, an organization is not required to certify separate locations that operate independent of the R2 Facility.
Q. How does it affect a facility’s R2 Certification if some of its R2-related activities are conducted at a different location, such as an extra collection site or a separate refurbishing site that is controlled by the facility?
In some situations, R2 Facilities can perform some R2 related activities remotely or at a separate site as part of a campus or group certification. What is important is that the R2 Facility clearly identifies and includes in its scope of certification all R2 related activities that are required to fulfill the electronics processing operations, including those performed at its facility, as well as any external activities that are under its control.
