The development of EPEAT was prompted by a growing demand by institutional purchasers for an easy-to-use evaluation tool that allows the comparison and selection of electronic products based on environmental performance. The electronics industry welcomed EPEAT as a tool to provide a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products.
How EPEAT Will Work
The EPEAT system will evaluate electronic products according to three tiers of environmental performance – Bronze, Silver and Gold. The complete set of criteria includes 23 required and 28 optional criteria in 8 performance categories. To qualify for EPEAT, a product must conform to all the required criteria, while manufacturers can pick and choose among the optional criteria to boost their EPEAT total “score” to achieve a higher ranking level as follows.
- Bronze: Product meets all required criteria
- Silver: Product meets all required criteria plus at least 14 optional criteria
- Gold: Product meets all required criteria plus at least 21 optional criteria
The three-tier system provides purchasers with the flexibility to select equipment that meets the minimum performance criteria or to give preference to models with more environmental attributes by specifying a higher EPEAT qualification level. For manufacturers, EPEAT provides flexibility to choose which optional criteria they would like to meet to achieve higher levels of EPEAT qualification.
Before listing their products on EPEAT, manufacturers will sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that commits them to provide accurate product and company information and provides for remedies should inaccuracies be discovered. The assessment tool will be structured to allow manufacturers to self-declare, via a web-based interface, that their specific products meet EPEAT requirements. For each criterion, producers must, on request of the EPEAT organization, provide a specified set of verification data in order to demonstrate EPEAT conformance.
The web-based interface is currently being developed by DN America with funding from the Mid-Atlantic Recycling Center for End-of-Life Electronics (MARCEE) project. A description of the Web Site and Database/System Specifications work is avaliable. DN American Proposal.pdf
A mock up of the web site showing how data may be accessed is availble. It is only a mock-up for review at this point. http://ripley.dnamerican.com/epeat/
Most criteria refer to environmental performance characteristics of the specific product, and the manufacturer declares to those product criteria for each product of their choice. Some criteria refer to general corporate programs, such as a Corporate Environmental Policy, and the manufacturer declares to those criteria in a report that is provided annually. To ensure that the self-declaration system functions in a transparent and verifiable manner, the EPEAT organization will randomly select a subset of qualified products each year to verify their qualification.
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EPEAT Performance Categories
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Summary List of Criteria
Key: R = Required Criterion, O = Optional Criterion
1. Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials
1.1 Reduction of use of hazardous substances
R 1.1.1 Compliance with provisions of European RoHS Directive upon its effective date
1.2 Cadmium
O 1.2.1 Elimination of intentional use of Cadmium
1.3 Mercury
R 1.3.1 Reporting on amount of mercury used in light sources
O 1.3.2 Low threshold for amount of mercury used in light sources
O 1.3.3 Elimination of intentionally added mercury used in light sources
1.4 Lead
O 1.4.1 Elimination of intentionally added lead in certain applications
1.5 Hexavalent chromium
O 1.5.1 Elimination of intentionally added Hexavalent Chromium
1.6 Flame retardants and plasticizers
R 1.6.1 Elimination of intentionally added Short Chain Chlorinated Paraffin flame retardants and plasticizers in certain applications
O 1.6.2 Large plastic parts free of certain flame retardants classified under European Directive 67/548/EEC
1.7 Batteries
O 1.7.1 Batteries free of lead, cadmium and mercury
1.8 Polyvinyl chloride and chlorinated plastics
O 1.8.1 Large plastic parts free of polyvinyl chloride
2. Materials selection
2.1 Total recycled plastics content
R 2.1.1 Declaration of post-consumer recycled plastic content
O 2.1.2 Minimum content of postconsumer recycled plastic
O 2.1.3 Higher content of postconsumer recycled plastic
2.2 Renewable/biobased plastic materials
R 2.2.1 Declaration of renewable/biobased plastic materials content
O 2.2.2 Minimum content of renewable/biobased plastic material
2.3 Dematerialization
R 2.3.1 Declaration of product weight
3. Design for end of life
3.1 Design for recovery through recycling systems that utilize shredding
R 3.1.1 Identification of materials with special handling needs
R 3.1.2 Elimination of paints or coatings that are not compatible with recycling or reuse
R 3.1.3 Easy disassembly of external enclosure
R 3.1.4 Marking of plastic components
R 3.1.5 Identification and removal of components containing hazardous materials
O 3.1.6 Reduced number of plastic material types
O 3.1.7 Molded/glued in metal eliminated or removable
R 3.1.8 Minimum 65 percent reusable/recyclable
O 3.1.9 Minimum 90 percent reusable/recyclable
3.2 Design for recovery through disassembly
O 3.2.1 Manual separation of plastics
O 3.2.2 Marking of plastics
4. Product longevity/life cycle extension
4.1 Manufacturer warranty/service agreement
R 4.1.1 Availability of additional three year warranty or service agreement
4.2 Upgradability
R 4.2.1 Upgradeable with common tools
O 4.2.2 Modular design
4.3 Product life extension
O 4.3.1 Availability of replacement parts
5. Energy conservation
5.1 Power management system
R 5.1.1 ENERGY STAR®
O 5.1.2 Early adoption of new ENERGY STAR® specification
5.2 Use of renewable energy
O 5.2.1 Renewable energy accessory available
O 5.2.2 Renewable energy accessory standard
6. End of life management
6.1 Product Take-Back
R 6.1.1 Provision of product take-back service
O 6.1.2 Auditing of recycling vendors
6.2 Rechargeable battery recycling
R 6.2.1 Provision of a rechargeable battery take-back program
7. Corporate performance
7.1 Corporate environmental policy
R 7.1.1 Demonstration of corporate environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001
7.2 Environmental Management System
R 7.2.1 Self-certified Environmental Management System for design and manufacturing organizations
O 7.2.2 Third-party certified environmental management system for design and manufacturing organizations
7.3 Corporate reporting
R 7.3.1 Corporate report consistent with Performance Track or Global Reporting Initiative
O 7.3.2 Corporate report based on Global Reporting Initiative
8. Packaging
8.1 Toxics in packaging
R 8.1.1 Reduction/elimination of intentionally added toxics in packaging
8.2 Recyclable packaging materials
R 8.2.1 Separable packing materials
O 8.2.2 Packaging 90% recyclable and plastics labeled
8.3 Recycled content
R 8.3.1 Declaration of recycled content
O 8.3.2 Minimum post-consumer content guidelines
8.4 Take-back option
O 8.4.1 Provision of take-back program for packaging
8.5 Reuse option
O 8.5.1 Documentation of reusable packaging
