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Buying Green Computers:
Innovation and Effectiveness Through Electronic Products Environmental
Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
Eric FriedmanMassachusetts Director of State Sustainability
&Member of EPEAT Development and Implementation Teams
September 28, 2005
Today's Talk
● Environmental and health impacts of computers
● Options ● EPEAT as a procurement & market
based solution● What next
● Technology is cleaner than manufacturing
● Smaller means less waste
● Few health or environmental impacts from use
The Computer Promise
• Less Paper Use
• Efficiency and speed
• Simplicity
The Computer
Reality
● Per capita paper consumption in 748 lbs in U.S. vs. 25 lbs. in India and China.
● Paper consumption has increased six-fold over the past 50 years.
● Computers and office equipment use electricity = 7 million households each year
● CO2 emissions equivalent to 6.4 million cars on the road
● Silicon Valley has 29 Superfund sites - more than any other area in the country
● 18 are tied to the computer chip industry
● A 2 gram-32 megabyte microchip needs 72 grams of chemicals, 32,000 grams of water, 1,200 grams of fossil fuels
Manufacturing Impacts
Toxic Impacts
A traditional computer contains– 4 lbs of lead in CRT– Mercury, in batteries,
switches– Cadmium in chips,
semiconductors– Brominated flame
retardants on plastics, cables, circuit boards
Potential Impacts – Central nervous system
– Child brain development
– Kidneys
– Endocrine system
Accumulates in food chain through releases during manufacture, incineration and other disposal
Material Impacts
Computers weigh about 40-60 lbs and contain on average
14 lbs of plastic
12 lbs of iron
8 lbs of aluminum
4 lbs of copper
# of computers worldwide rose fivefold to over 500 million since 1988
Approx 75% of U.S. computers in basements, garages
Need for new equipment now every 2-3 years
Disposal Impacts
40% of heavy metals in landfills from electronics
Emissions and leachate into surface and ground waters
Costs localities millions to handle
Fewer than 10% are recycled
Over 50% of computers destined for recycling in U.S. End up overseas
Common overseas practices include: Open burning of plasticsRiver dumping of acidsManual extraction of metalsNo protective gear for workers
1) Regulatory Initiatives
2) Manufacturer Voluntary Efforts
3) Institutional Specifications
4) Multi-Stakeholder Market Based Solution
Possible Solution Include
Regulations…
● May create local maze
● Place burden solely on
manufacturers
● Do not necessarily reduce toxics in
manufacturing
● May not encourage innovation
Voluntary Efforts
•No consistency across manufacturers
•How to determine which computer is greener
•Manufacturers control agenda and verification
Institutional Specs
• Computers are global and not produced for local markets
• Differing criteria difficult for manufacturers
• Thousands of institutions to convince
•But each has problems…
Market Based Solution – EPEAT
The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool is
a multi-stakeholder process that is working to design and implement a
simple and easy-to-use tool for evaluating the environmental
performance of electronic products.
How EPEAT Will Work
1. Manufacturers submit products via web based system2. Meet minimum set of criteria to be EPEAT approved3. Receive points to be approved at higher levels4. Standard Covers toxics, energy, materials, longevity, end
of life, etc. 5. Products certified at one of three levels6. Buyers access website to identify which products are
certified at which level and specify EPEAT certification7. Sample products verified by EPEAT organization each
year
System works like a hybrid of EnergyStar and LEED
Why EPEAT Will Work
1) Multi-Stakeholder Approach• up-front buy-in
2) Comprehensive Environmental + Health• toxics, materials, energy, end of life
3) Flexible• minimum + optional criteria, variable rankings
4) Market Based• uses buyer demand, encourages competition
5) Simple & Consistent• same criteria for everyone / national standard
6) Independent & Credible• Transparent and independent
EPEAT’s Next Steps
● Interviewing possible host organizations● Hoping to be up and running in 2006● Looking to be the green standard for
institutional computers ● Potential to move to additional electronic
products and/or consumer market
In the Meantime…
● Ask OEMs about their environmental programs● Ensure that computers are recycled properly –
conduct due diligence on where computers end up● Upgrade equipment instead of buying new● Use LCD screens instead of CRTs or avoid new
monitors entirely● Purchase only EnergyStar computers and make sure
they are activated● Education to users about computer impacts● Ask for EPEAT computers when available
For More Information…
www.EPEAT.net
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