White House Council on Environmental Quality Recognizes Manufacturers of "Environmentally Preferable" Computers.Manufacturers Help Federal Agencies Comply With Presidential Executive Order Requiring 95% of Federal Computers to be Registered as Meeting the EPEAT EPEAT Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool Environmental Computer Standard WASHINGTON -- Officials from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Federal Environmental Executive today recognized computer manufacturers for making more environmentally preferable computers and monitors. The manufacturers make products meeting the new EPEAT green computer standard. President Bush recently mandated that at least 95 percent of federal agency computer purchases be EPEAT registered. "President Bush's executive order speaks for itself. Federal agencies must buy EPEAT registered products when the products meet agency needs," explained Edwin PiSero, the Federal Environmental Executive. "Highly advanced, affordable, and environmentally-preferable computers are already being sought by the Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States , NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and , and the Executive Office of the President." Jeff Omelchuck, Director of the Green Electronics Council, which oversees EPEAT implementation, thanked both the manufacturers and President Bush. "The manufacturers represented here today make it possible for federal agencies and other IT purchasers to meet their computing computing - computer needs while reducing their environmental footprint. We thank President Bush for his commitment to green computers. We are thrilled to see federal purchasing power Purchasing Power 1. The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you'd be able to purchase. 2. promoting significant environmental improvements in the electronics industry. We are even more thrilled to see how aggressively manufacturers are working to meet and exceed strong environmental standards." Participating Manufacturers Seven of the fifteen manufacturers of EPEAT registered computer products participated in the recognition event: Apple < NEC Dell < Sony Electronics Inc. HP < Toshiba Lenovo < President Bush's Executive Order Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, requires that federal agencies "when acquiring an electronic product to meet [agency] requirements, meets at least 95 percent of those requirements with an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)-registered electronic product." A copy of the complete text of the executive order is available on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html. About EPEAT Registered Products Compared to traditional computer equipment, all EPEAT-registered computers have reduced levels of cadmium cadmium (kăd`mēəm) [from cadmia, Lat. for calamine, with which cadmium is found associated], metallic chemical element; symbol Cd; at. no. 48; at. wt. 112.41; m.p. 321°C;; b.p. 765°C;; sp. gr. 8. , lead, and mercury to better protect human health and the environment. They are more energy efficient, which reduces emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases greenhouse gas n. Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. greenhouse gas . They are also easier to upgrade and recycle re·cy·cle tr.v. re·cy·cled, re·cy·cling, re·cy·cles 1. To put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment. 2. To start a different cycle in. 3. a. . In fact, manufacturers must offer safe recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. options for EPEAT-registered products. All EPEAT registered products meet 23 required environmental criteria, including U.S. Energy Star and European RoHS requirements. The 28 optional criteria are used to determine if a product receives EPEAT-Bronze, Silver, or Gold recognition. A list of the almost 400 EPEAT-registered products from 15 manufacturers and additional details on the EPEAT program are available online at www.epeat.net. Calculating the Environmental Benefits The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, using conservative assumptions, estimates that the federal government's purchase of EPEAT-registered computers over a four year timeframe will generate the following savings: * Save $71.4 million in energy costs. * Reduce energy use by 824 GWh, enough to power 72,630 households for a year. * Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 64,700 metric tons of carbon equivalent, which is equal to removing 51,317 cars from the road for a year. * Reduce material use by 1.47 million metric tons. * Reduce toxic materials by 75.1 metric tons, the equivalent of 37,550 standard size bricks. * Reduce hazardous waste Hazardous waste Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes. by 2,820 metric tons, the equivalent of 1.4 million standard size bricks. * Reduce mercury by 5.7 kilograms, the equivalent of 9,368 mercury thermometers. About the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive - The mission of the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE OFEE Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (US government) ) is to promote sustainable environmental stewardship The integration and application of environmental values into the military mission in order to sustain readiness, improve quality of life, strengthen civil relations, and preserve valuable natural resources. throughout the federal government. OFEE uses Environmental Management Systems (EMS) as the primary management approach to determining, prioritizing, implementing, and improving upon those environmental issues that will lead to sustainable environmental stewardship. Specifically, OFEE focuses on the practices of Sustainable Buildings, Waste Prevention and Recycling, Green Purchasing, and Electronics Stewardship. Learn more at www.ofee.gov. About Green Electronics Council - The Green Electronics Council partners with environmental organizations, government agencies, manufacturers and other interested stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. to improve the environmental and social performance of electronic products. In January 2006, it received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote and implement the EPEAT green computer standard. Visit www.greenelectronicscouncil.org for additional information. |
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