I apologize in advance for my complete noobishness on this topic, but i really have no idea where else to turn.

I work for a small company who makes commerical electronic equipment for scientific applications. We are ISO 9000 compliant, but that is extent of our compliance collection. We export a great deal of this equipment. Our dealer in Japan just sent us a letter stating they are now ISO 14001 compliant, and are asking for a chemical breakdown for all our products, by element/chemical by mass by location!

Is this really what ISO 14001 is about? Is this a realistic expectation that we would know chemical composition to this level of detail? If i started today, it would take years to figure this out for all our products. I don't even know how i'd go about it even if we did decide it was necessary information. Are there places we can send products for chemical analysis?

I want to save the environment as much as the next person, but fail to see the value added in this. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

As always, miscommunication might be an issue. ISO 14001 does not require that, but the way you described the situation leads me to believe that this might be connected to the RoHS - Reduction of Hazardous Substances - Directive in Europe. I believe that Japan has also subscribed to it or has an equivalent protocol.

The (potential) connection with ISO 14001 is the fact that they, the dealer, are required (DUH) to comply with all regulatory requirement. RoHS or a Japanese equivalent might be forcing them to impose this requirement to all of their suppliers.

Good luck.