EPEAT

EPEAT stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

EPEAT helps public and private sector purchasers evaluate, compare, and choose computers, notebooks, and monitors based on enviornmental attributes.

EPEAT standards summaryEdit

The IEEE Standard 1680 describes EPEAT criteria in detail. Criteria can also be found in this PDF. In summary, EPEAT criteria include:

restrictions on hazardous substances in compliance with the European RoHS Directive for cadmium, mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium, and certain brominated flame retardants
batteries must not contain lead, cadmium, and mercury
use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated plastics is also limited
recycled plastic content criteria
ability to be disassembled for recyclablility
warranty criteria
upgradability
energy conservation criteria
end of life criteria, such as a product take-back program or battery recycling
corporate guidelines, including an environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001, an environmental management system, and corporate reporting
reduction/elimination of toxics in packaging
recycled packaging content, and packaging that can be reused or recycled

EPEAT certifies products at three different levels:

Bronze - product meets all 23 required criteria
Silver - product meets all 23 required criteria plus at least 50% of the optional criteria
Gold - product meets all 23 required criteria plus at least 75% of the optional criteria

Visit the EPEAT website for a list of certified products grouped by manufacturer.

According to the Green Electronics Council's EPEAT 2007 Environmental Benefits report (PDF), the following savings were realized in 2007:

42.2 billion kwh of electricity were saved
174 million metric tons (including 3.31 million metric tons of greenhouse gas) were eliminated
365,000 metric tons of water pollutant emissions were eliminated
Financial savings for companies will total more than $3.6 billion over the life of EPEAT products sold in 2007, primarily from reduced energy usage