EPEAT Requirements

EPEAT is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products.

Click Here to visit the EPEAT selection tool to help you evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their "greenness".

Bronze Meets all 23 required criteria
Silver Meets all 23 required criteria plus at least 50% of the optional criteria
Gold Meets all 23 required criteria plus at least 75% of the optional criteria

A   All Criteria     R    Required Only     O    Optional Only 

4.1 Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials
   R  4.1.1.1   Compliance with provisions of European RoHS Directive upon its effective date 
   O  4.1.2.1   Elimination of intentionally added cadmium
   R  4.1.3.1   Reporting on amount of mercury used in light sources (mg)
   O  4.1.3.2   Low threshold for amount of mercury used in light sources
   O  4.1.3.3   Elimination of intentionally added mercury used in light sources
   O  4.1.4.1   Elimination of intentionally added lead in certain applications
   O  4.1.5.1   Elimination of intentionally added hexavalent chromium
   R  4.1.6.1   Elimination of intentionally added SCCP flame retardants and plasticizers in certain applications
   O  4.1.6.2   Large plastic parts free of certain flame retardants classified under European Council Directive 67/548/EEC
   O  4.1.7.1   Batteries free of lead, cadmium and mercury
   O  4.1.8.1   Large plastic parts free of PVC

4.2 Materials selection
   R  4.2.1.1   Declaration of postconsumer recycled plastic content (%)
   O  4.2.1.2   Minimum content of postconsumer recycled plastic
   O  4.2.1.3   Higher content of postconsumer recycled plastic
   R  4.2.2.1   Declaration of renewable/bio-based plastic materials content  (%)
   O  4.2.2.2   Minimum content of renewable/bio-based plastic material
   R  4.2.3.1   Declaration of product weight (lbs)
 
4.3 Design for end of life
   R  4.3.1.1   Identification of materials with special handling needs
   R  4.3.1.2   Elimination of paints or coatings that are not compatible with recycling or reuse
   R  4.3.1.3   Easy disassembly of external enclosure
   R  4.3.1.4   Marking of plastic components
   R  4.3.1.5   Identification and removal of components containing hazardous materials
   O  4.3.1.6   Reduced number of plastic material types
   O  4.3.1.7   Molded/glued in metal eliminated or removable
   R  4.3.1.8   Minimum 65 percent reusable/recyclable
   O  4.3.1.9   Minimum 90 percent reusable/recyclable
   O  4.3.2.1   Manual separation of plastics
   O  4.3.2.2   Marking of plastics

 4.4 Product longevity/life cycle extension
   R  4.4.1.1   Availability of additional three year warranty or service agreement
   R  4.4.2.1   Upgradeable with common tools
   O  4.4.2.2   Modular design
   O  4.4.3.1   Availability of replacement parts
 
4.5 Energy conservation
   R  4.5.1.1   ENERGY STAR®
   O  4.5.1.2   Early adoption of new ENERGY STAR® specification
   O  4.5.2.1   Renewable energy accessory available
   O  4.5.2.2   Renewable energy accessory standard

4.6 End of life management
   R  4.6.1.1   Provision of product take-back service
   O  4.6.1.2   Auditing of recycling vendors
   R  4.6.2.1   Provision of rechargeable battery take-back service
 
4.7 Corporate performance
   R  4.7.1.1   Demonstration of corporate environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001
   R  4.7.2.1   Self-certified environmental management system for design and manufacturing organizations
   O  4.7.2.2   Third-party certified environmental management system for design and manufacturing organizations
   R  4.7.3.1   Corporate report consistent with Performance Track or GRI
   O  4.7.3.2   Corporate report based on GRI
 
4.8 Packaging
   R  4.8.1.1   Reduction/elimination of intentionally added toxics in packaging
   R  4.8.2.1   Separable packing materials
   O  4.8.2.2   Packaging 90% recyclable and plastics labeled
   R  4.8.3.1   Declaration of recycled content in packaging
   O  4.8.3.2   Minimum postconsumer content guidelines
   O  4.8.4.1   Provision of take-back program for packaging
   O  4.8.5.1   Documentation of reusable packaging

Energy consumption during use phase is a very important aspect of computers’ and monitors’ overall environmental performance. For this reason, American National Standard IEEE 1680, which forms the basis of EPEAT, includes a criterion (4.5.1.1) that requires that every EPEAT registered product meet the current version of the applicable ENERGY STAR standard. Therefore, all EPEAT registered products are also ENERGY STAR qualified.

On July 20, 2007, a year after EPEAT’s launch, ENERGY STAR released a new standard for computers -- ENERGY STAR 4.0, a much tougher and more complex standard than the previous ENERGY STAR 3.0. To allow transition to the new standard, IEEE 1680 allowed those products registered in EPEAT before July 20, 2007 using the ES 3.0 standard to remain on the EPEAT registry for 6 months as manufacturers adjusted their design to comply with ES 4.0.

On January 21, 2008 all computers that did not meet ENERGY STAR 4.0 were removed from the EPEAT registry. All computers in the EPEAT registry after January 22, 2008 meet the ENERGY STAR 4.0 requirement.