EPEAT Green Certification Expands Globally
In an effort o meet the high demand for green electronic certification worldwide, EPEAT has expanded it’s certification to include products from 40 different countries. EPEAT is a certification that allows manufacturers, purchasers and consumers to examine how environmentally friendly an electronic product is. This expansion allows major countries throughout the world to determine with EPEAT certified products are available to them. Jeff Omelchuck, the executive director of EPEAT had this to say about the expansion of their certification:
We’re responding to a rapidly expanding demand in interest, but it also allows more specificity for manufacturers to see what is out there and available.
What is EPEAT?
EPEAT is a system that allows manufacturers to given their products a certification around a set of 8 environment performance categories and a total of 23 required criteria and a total 51 criteria. It headed by a 12 person unpaid board from backgrounds including environmental advocates, electronic recyclers, government policy professionals and manufacturers. All staff are contracted from the Green Electronics Council.
Each of the EPEAT criteria relate to how environmentally friendly a product may be. They range from the materials used to make the product, to how recyclable it is and even as far as the packaging of the product. At minimum, a product must meet the 23 required criteria to be certified. The more of the 28 optional criteria that are met, the higher the rating. EPEAT issues three levels of rating categories that products can fall into:
- Gold: Meeting all 23 required criteria and a minimum of 75% of the optional criteria.
- Silver: Meeting all 23 required and a minimum of 50% of the optional criteria.
- Bronze: Meeting the required criteria, but below 50% of the optional criteria.
Check out EPEAT’s website to get a full list of all categories and required and optional criteria that go into this certification.
In order to receive this certification, all manufacturers must sign an agreement ensuring their accuracy in all declarations. So what happens if the manufacturer doesn’t quite the truth? Well not only would they look bad, but they will be removed from the registry if the error is not corrected.
The fact that EPEAT is so comprehensive, it’s a win-win for both manufacturers and consumers. Manufacturers can change their business practices and have a positive impact on the environment. It’s tough to tell whether an electronic product is environmentally friendly, even with extensive research. This certification allows consumers to be much more informed about how environmentally friendly the electronics we buy are.
With this new expansion, all standards mentioned above will remain the same. This new change moves EPEAT towards being the global standard for assessing electronics for environmentally friendliness. Be sure to check out their website for further details and a comprehensive list of all products and manufacturers covered under the certification.
Comments
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