Buying Green Computers: Innovation and Effectiveness Through Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Eric Friedman Massachusetts 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
Per capita paper consumption in 748 lbs in U.S. vs. 25 lbs. in India and China. Less Paper Use Paper consumption has increased six-fold over Efficiency the past 50 years. and speed Simplicity The Computer Promise Reality Computers and office equipment use electricity = 7 million households each year Technology is cleaner than manufacturing Smaller means less waste CO2 emissions equivalent to 6.4 million cars on the Few health or environmental road impacts from use
Manufacturing Impacts 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
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 # of computers worldwide rose fivefold to over 500 million since 1988 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 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 plastics River dumping of acids Manual extraction of metals No protective gear for workers
Possible Solution Include 1) Regulatory Initiatives 2) Manufacturer Voluntary Efforts 3) Institutional Specifications 4) Multi-Stakeholder Market Based Solution
But each has problems Regulations May create local maze Place burden solely on manufacturers Do not necessarily reduce toxics in manufacturing Voluntary Efforts No consistency across manufacturers How to determine which computer is greener Manufacturers control agenda and verification May not encourage innovation Institutional Specs Computers are global and not produced for local markets Differing criteria difficult for manufacturers Thousands of institutions to convince
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 system 2. Meet minimum set of criteria to be EPEAT approved 3. Receive points to be approved at higher levels 4. Standard Covers toxics, energy, materials, longevity, end of life, etc. 5. Products certified at one of three levels 6. Buyers access website to identify which products are certified at which level and specify EPEAT certification 7. 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