Green IT Accreditation Goes International

A bit over a year ago, we talked about U.S.-based EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, which is a non-commercial program that rates how environmentally friendly new IT equipment is according to three tiers of environmental performance which they mark with bronze, silver, and gold.

EPEAT ranks computers, monitors, and (soon) TVs based on 23 required attributes and 28 additional optional attributes. The criteria range from energy use to elimination of hazardous materials. EPEAT is essentially the only green IT product accreditation program in the world. The big green IT news this week is that the program has now expanded to 40 countries (PDF) worldwide including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the 27 countries of the European Union.

What's new is that the EPEAT registry is searchable by country so consumers can identify certified green IT products in specific locations. EPEAT criteria will be largely standardized between countries, except for five optional criteria that are specific to the product management laws of specific countries, for instance restrictions on the types of packaging that each country allows. The searchable registry is currently still only available in English, but will eventually be localized in other languages.

The program has now been embraced by nearly all the major information technology original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and because so many large-scale corporate and government buyers have made EPEAT certification a purchasing requirement, there is vigorous competition among OEMs to have their products rated and listed in the EPEAT registry. To date, three departments of the U.S. government, which include NASA, the Department of Defense, and the General Services Administration require that all new computer purchases meet EPEAT bronze, silver, or gold certification standards

What is truly great about EPEAT from my point of view is how it has expanded its environmental compliance from the program's launch in 2006 to include things like measuring how easy products are to recycle and how well they lend themselves to life-cycle extension (refurbishment and reuse).

Here are the current criteria categories that EPEAT products are measured by:

• Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials

• Materials selection

• Design for end of life

• Product longevity/life cycle extension

• Energy conservation

• End of life management

• Corporate performance

• Packaging

The program has been very skillfully built and grown by the nonprofit Green Electronics Council, based in Portland, Oregon. Learn more about EPEAT accreditation and make sure your organization is buying greener IT equipment in the future.