by jbs011410 j3 — January 18, 2010—The EPEAT green electronics rating system capped a successful year on January 2 by archiving all EPEAT-registered products that do not meet the current ENERGY STAR 5.0 standards. This is the second time EPEAT has ratcheted up on the ENERGY STAR requirement for registered products, and this time–due to a revision of the underlying IEEE 1680 standard–the change will be permanent, says the organization.
EPEAT originally contained a “grace period” that allowed previously listed products to remain on the registry for up to six months following the effective date of a new ENERGY STAR specification. From now on all EPEAT products must meet the most recent ENERGY STAR specification immediately to remain on the EPEAT registry.
In the past year the EPEAT system, a program of the Green Electronics Council, expanded to 39 additional countries worldwide. Thin client devices and workstations were added to the covered product categories, and development work began on new standards for televisions and imaging equipment. EPEAT is now a purchasing requirement for all U.S. federal agencies, and is integrated into hundreds of government, education, health care and enterprise IT contracts worldwide.
EPEAT currently includes over 40 manufacturer participants of all sizes registering more than 1000 environmentally preferable products in 41 countries worldwide. (Registered products met a record-breaking 1500 late in 2009 prior to the ENERGY STAR change.) For key purchaser profiles, the participating manufacturer list, EPEAT criteria and environmental benefits, visit the EPEAT Web site.
