05/26/2006
Source: LOHAS Weekly Newsletter
Author: GreenBiz.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Institute for
Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association, has announced a
new voluntary environmental performance standard to help large computer
buyers make environmentally sound purchases.
The announcement was made last week at the annual International Symposium
on Electronics and the Environment in Burlingame. The new IEEE standard --
IEEE 1680TM, "Standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer
Products" -- was initiated by a group of manufacturers, environmentalists,
and purchasers, and developed with support from the EPA.
"Determining which computers are environmentally preferable is a
challenge for companies, government agencies and other organizations," said
Jeff Scott, the EPA's waste division director for the Pacific Southwest
region. "This standard will change the marketplace and measurably reduce the
environmental impacts of computers. It is an excellent example of
government, industry, environmentalists and academics collaborating to
address an issue and improve the environment."
IEEE 1680 is the first U.S. standard to supply environmental guidelines
for institutional purchasing decisions involving desktop and laptop
computers and monitors. It offers criteria in eight categories -- materials
selection, environmentally sensitive materials, design for end of life,
end-of-life management, energy conservation, product longevity and
life-cycle extension, packaging, and corporate performance. The new standard
will encourage manufacturers to design their products to be used longer, be
more energy efficient, easier to upgrade and recycle, and contain less
hazardous materials.
"IEEE 1680 will foster green product design by setting challenging, yet
realistic criteria for environmental performance," says Larry Chalfan,
co-chair of the IEEE 1680 Working Group and Executive Director of the Zero
Waste Alliance, which ran the process to develop the standard. “It creates
mechanisms for identifying and verifying that computer products meet these
criteria without delaying time to market. It also rewards leading product
designs by giving manufacturers a low-cost way to promote product
environmental performance.”
“This standard will provide institutional purchasers with a critical tool
to help ensure their IT needs are met while at the same time making the IT
marketplace more environmentally smart and economically sound,” said Ed
Pinero, the White House's Federal Environmental Executive.
The standard was developed by a working group composed of representatives
from the electronics industry, environmental advocacy groups, state and
local purchasing officials, electronics recyclers, and academics. It was
approved through the consensus-based IEEE standards development process,
recognized by the American National Standards Institute.
IEEE 1680 and its product registration and verification system are part
of the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool or EPEAT, which is
managed by the Green Electronics Council under a grant from the EPA. The
council will maintain a registry of computer products that meet IEEE 1680
criteria online starting in
June 2006. The Council will verify that the information provided by
manufacturers is accurate and up to date.
“This comprehensive standard responds to a strong call from purchasing
agents who want consistent environmental criteria for comparing and
selecting computers and monitors,” says Jeff Omelchuck of the Green
Electronics Council. “The standard provides for a registry of products that
comply with IEEE 1680, and the means to verify compliance, so purchasers can
find computer products that meet their IT needs and have less of an effect
on the environment.”
Federal agencies and private purchasers have already referenced the new standard in more than $21 billion of IT equipment contracts or requests for proposals. Most state an intention to buy EPEAT registered products as soon as they become available.
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