The Green IT Revolution Green Electronics Made Easy Viccy Salazar US Environmental Protection Agency

2 Topics to Cover 1.Why Focus on Electronics? 2.Buying Greener Equipment 3.Procurement and End-of-Life Management

Why Focus on Electronics?

4 Energy use/costs Major contributor to solid waste stream Can contain toxic and/or hazardous substances - potential harm to public health and the environment if disposed improperly Big purchasers have big influence on market All stakeholders wanted to collaborate

5 Use Facts U.S. has more than 180 million computers in use, which consume nearly 58 billion kWh/year, or about 2% of the U.S. annual electricity use PCs and monitors consume between 5 to 13% of all the electricity use in the office Office equipment wastes significant energy by sitting idle in an “active” mode

6 End-of-life Facts U.S. homes and businesses discard an average of 130,000 PCs a day In 2005, approximately 360,000 tons of consumer electronics were recycled (15%) Certain types of electronic equipment contain materials such as lead, mercury, and other toxic constituents Potential adverse effects on human health and the environment if improperly managed during disposal

7 The Federal Electronics “Footprint” The Federal government is spending approximately $68 billion annually in IT products and services While computer hardware is generally expected to last 7 years, federal equipment is normally used for an average of 3 years The Federal government disposes of an estimated half a million computers yearly!

Buying Greener Electronics

9 What is EPEAT®? »An easy-to-use purchasing tool to help organizations compare computer desktops, laptops and monitors based on their environmental attributes. Consists of: –Set of voluntary environmental performance criteria (IEEE 1680 American National Standard for the Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products) –System for identifying and verifying products meeting the criteria (

10 Requirements for Feds to Buy EPEAT Registered Electronics Acquisition of EPEAT registered electronic products is required by: –Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section –E.O Compliance measured in: –OMB Environmental Stewardship Scorecard EPEAT requirements are also being integrated into OMB IT Optimization Plans

11 EPEAT Bronze– Meets the 23 required criteria EPEAT Silver– Meets 23 required criteria and at least 50% of the optional criteria EPEAT Gold– Meets 23 required criteria and at least 75% of the optional criteria Recognizing Higher Performance

12 How Can I Use EPEAT ?

13 Feds Using EPEAT Federal agencies meeting the goal of 95% or higher EPEAT purchasing in their 2008 IT acquisitions* Department of Veterans Affairs Department of the Treasury Department of Energy Social Security Administration Department of the Interior Department of State Department of Commerce NASA Tennessee Valley Authority Office of Personnel Management General Services Administration US Environmental Protection Agency Department of Labor * Other agencies are using EPEAT, but are not yet at 95%

14 Buying EPEAT Registered Products 1.New/existing BPAs, contracts or leases: –Use model contract language to reflect new FAR requirement –Use list of EPEAT registered products at in market research, to determine EPEAT level to requirewww.epeat.net –Require vendors to report number of EPEAT registered products purchased quarterly –Block non EPEAT registered products on e-catalogs 2.Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) (NASA SEWP IV, NIH ECS III) –Specify you want EPEAT products in every task order –Ask them to block non-EPEAT registered products in e-catalogs –If not possible, ask them to identify EPEAT registered products in e- catalogs

15 Required Language for New Contracts (FAR) (b) Under this contract, the Contractor shall deliver, furnish for Government use, or furnish for contractor use at a Government- owned facility, only personal computer products that at the time of submission of proposals were EPEAT Bronze registered or higher. Bronze is the first level discussed in clause 1.4 of the IEEE 1680 Standard for the Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. (c) For information about the standard, see OR Alternate I: Require Silver registered instead of Bronze

16 Recommended Language for New Contracts Suppliers are required to block non-EPEAT registered products on their electronic catalogs that customers may buy from through this contract.

17 EXAMPLE Recommended Language for New Contracts Suppliers are required to provide quarterly reports quantifying the number of EPEAT registered products purchased under this contract. The information must be reported in a matrix providing the following data for the current quarter, the fiscal year, and the duration of the contract Integrated Systems Monitors Laptops Desktops TotalGoldSilverBronzeUnregistered

18 Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator Translates EPEAT purchase into quantifiable environmental benefits and cost savings

19 Sample Data from Calculator –Agency achieved the following environmental benefits: –X kWh of energy use reduced –X pounds of GHG emissions reduced –X pounds of toxic materials & hazardous wastes reduced –X pounds of non-hazardous materials reduced –X pounds of air & water emissions reduced –X pounds of waste diverted from landfills –X dollars of costs reduced or saved Purchase 1,000 EPEAT © -registered products

20 Extend life on 1,000 products Enable your Energy Saving Features on 1,000 products Recycle 1,000 products And of course, buy only what you need. Do you really need 1,000 products? Don’t forget the rest of the lifecycle

21 If I…. 1) Purchase 1,000 EPEAT© Silver desktops w/LCDs & 500 EPEAT © Silver notebooks 2) Reuse 200 desktops, 200 CRTs 3) Recycle 800 desktops, 800 CRTs Then, I prevent… Energy* 2.7 million kWh237 households/yr GHG Emissions*211 MTCE168 cars off road/yr Primary Materials*1,620 tons12,542 refrigerators (by wt) Toxic Materials158 kg (all)79 bricks (all toxics) 6 grams10 Hg thermometers Hazardous Waste17.3 tons8,673 bricks (by wt) MSW 34.7 tons 18 households/yr Cost Savings*$233,281 Measuring Environmental Impact

22 EPEAT Next Products Imaging Equipment (printers, copiers, MFDs) Underway – expected mid TVsUnderway -expected mid ServersBegin after first two standards completed Cell PhonesBegin after first two standards completed

End of Life Management Federal tools to properly manage electronics assets

24 “You’ve got waste…” EO13423 Sec. 2(h)(iv): (iv) “uses environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of agency electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful life.” Your agency is responsible for figuring out how to do that: –Transfer or donate materials for reuse –Find a credible recycler –Conduct “due diligence” that standards are met

25 Comprehensive Tools The Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) developed guidance and checklists for both the reuse and recycling of electronics

26 Guidance & Checklists For Reuse, Recycling, Donation

27 Options to Reduce Due Diligence Use the Recycling of Electronics and Asset Disposition (READ) Services Contract, Use UNICOR Use manufacturer take-back services for electronics recycling associated with EPEAT

28 The Law and Exports Different states and local governments have approached e-waste differently Federal Universal Waste Rule applies EPA’s CRT Rule requires exporters of CRTs to Notify us, and we have their names online

29 Electronics Stewardship Links FEC: Plug-in to eCycling: gin/ gin/ Plug-in’s Cellphone Takeback Campaign: R9’s eCycling website (with ‘local’ FAQs): x.html x.html

30 On the Horizon “Responsible Recycler” (R2) best management practices have been developed and are online –Implementation is still a work in progress

31 Where Can I Get More Info? EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program: Federal Electronics Challenge: ENERGY STAR: EPEAT:

32 EPA Contacts FEC –Cate Berard, EPEAT –Holly Elwood,

Questions?