EPEAT
From Green Wiki
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.
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[edit] EPEAT standards summary
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
[edit] EPEAT Levels
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
[edit] Certified Products
Visit the EPEAT website for a list of certified products grouped by manufacturer.
[edit] Benefits and Savings
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
