Our First Green Electronics Champions

Our First Green Electronics Champions



October 2007

 EPEAT is not yet a 
familiar name, but it could soon become familiar to companies that want to 
save money and lower greenhouse gas emissions from electronic equipment. 
EPEAT stands for the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, and 
it was launched in 2006 to help purchasers rank computer desktops, laptops 
and monitors based on their environmental attributes. 
The EPEAT criteria were developed during a three year long consensus-based 
process that brought more than 100 representatives from environmental 
groups, government officials, large volume computer purchasers, computer 
experts, electronics recyclers, and manufacturers to the table. The 
process was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 
All EPEAT certified products must meet strict mandatory criteria for 
environmental performance such as reduction or elimination of 
environmentally sensitive materials, energy conservation, packaging and 
end-of-life management. 
They are then identified as EPEAT-Bronze, EPEAT-Silver, or EPEAT-Gold 
depending on the number of optional environmental criteria incorporated 
into the product. 

Now that the system is structured, it is operated by the nonprofit Green 
Electronics Council, which just held the first annual awards ceremony 
recognizing EPEAT users as Green Electronics Champions. 
At San Jose City Hall on October 2, EPA Regional Administrator Wayne 
Nastri and Green Electronics Council Director Jeff Omelchuck presented the 
first awards to one state agency, two cities, and two giant health care 
providers. 
An award went to the California Integrated Waste Management Board and 
Department of General Services, which used EPEAT to help it comply with 
California’s 2003 e-waste legislation. 
The City of San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley, and the first city in 
the country to specify EPEAT-registered computers, was declared a Green 
Electronics Champion. 
The City of Phoenix was recognized as a Green Electronics Champion. Staff 
in the Phoenix Environmental Services Department wanted to buy greener 
computers when EPEAT launched in 2006, but the city already had a computer 
contract. So the city trained procurement staff to purchase 
EPEAT-registered equipment on the current contract where possible, and 
made sure all future purchases were EPEAT-qualified. 
Kaiser Permanente, the largest health maintenance organization in the 
country, used its market strength to demand green products. In 2006 Kaiser 
focused on IT technology, and changed its contract for computers and 
software to require EPEAT-registered equipment. Kaiser was the first in 
the health care community to make this commitment, earning it the title of 
Green Electronics Champion. 
McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 500 health services and consulting 
company based in San Francisco that was named a Green Electronics 
Champion. After learning about EPEAT in 2007, the company quickly adopted 
EPEAT registration as a criterion in selecting its PC vendor. McKesson 
currently integrates EPEAT-Gold level performance as a benchmark for 
future purchasing decisions. 
Within the past year, the five organizations collectively bought more than 
91,930 desktop computers and notebooks and 72,394 monitors - all 
registered with EPEAT. 
Their combined purchases reduced 4,800 metric tons of greenhouse gas 
emissions - equivalent to taking 3,800 cars off the road. They saved 
61,000 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 5,400 homes. 
They reduced the use of more than 12,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, and 
saved 243 million pounds of primary materials - the equivalent of 856,000 
refrigerators - and saved a combined total of $5.3 million. 
"By requiring EPEAT-registered products, the organizations recognized 
today are giving manufacturers a market-based reason to build greener 
products," said Omelchuck, of the Green Electronics Council, encouraging 
other purchasers to follow their lead. 
"We are pleased today to recognize these organizations who are leading the 
way in purchasing green computer products," said Nastri of the EPA. "These 
Green Electronic Champions are putting their environmental values into 
action - targeting their dollars to help protect the environment, and in 
turn, greening their bottom line." 
In January, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13423 
requiring federal agencies to purchase at least 95 percent 
EPEAT-registered products in all relevant electronic product categories. 
A searchable database listing all EPEAT-registered computer products is 
online at: http://www.epeat.net 

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