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Government Electronics Procurement Guidelines
The Principles of Product Stewardship prescribe that a role of government is to provide leadership in promoting the practices of product stewardship through procurement and market development. These resources were developed to provide government agencies with resources that will assist them in the procurement of environmentally preferable electronics.
This guide provides government procurement officials with resources and recommendations that will facilitate the implementation of an Environmentally Preferable Procurement program for computers. The resources include: an overview of the potential impacts that computers have on human health and the environment; examples of initiatives that computer manufacturers have taken to reduce the environmental impacts associated with their products; and overviews of several successful government procurement initiatives. The guide also provides recommendations for starting a procurement program that is both effective and easy to implement.
Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
Since the publication of this PSI report in 2003, a procurement tool known as EPEAT has been developed that enables government purchasers to address many of the criteria that the report covers. The EPEAT system, which was developed in a national, EPA-funded stakeholder process involving government and private purchasers, manufacturers and recyclers, environmental advocates, recyclers and academics, is designed to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. In addition, EPEAT conducts recurring verification processes that assure the quality of the reported data, and provides an Environmental Benefits Calculator that enables buyers to assess the environmental benefits of purchasing EPEAT-registered products.
EPEAT addresses a total of 51 criteria – 23 mandatory and 28 optional – in eight categories:
- Reduction/Elimination of Environmentally Sensitive Materials (3 required; 8
optional)
- Material Selection (3 required; 3 optional)
- Design for End of Life (5 required; 6 optional)
- Product Longevity/ Life Extension (2 required; 2 optional)
- Energy Conservation (1 required; 3 optional)
- End of Life Management (2 required; 1 optional)
- Corporate Performance (3 required; 2 optional)
- Packaging (3 required; 4 optional)
For more on EPEAT, including model specifications, a list of RFPs that reference EPEAT, and a searchable database of all registered products, visit www.epeat.net
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