How EPEAT^™ Works

EPEAT is a system in which manufacturers declare their products’ conformance to a comprehensive set of environmental criteria in 8 environmental performance categories. The operation of EPEAT and the environmental criteria are contained in a public standard IEEE 1680.  For more information about IEEE 1680 and the environmental criteria click here.

Before a manufacturer can use the EPEAT system to declare their products they must sign an Agreement with EPEAT that requires them to be accurate in their declarations, and they must pay an annual fee.  

In order to maintain the credibility of the system EPEAT regularly selects products from the registry and verifies that the declarations are accurate. If EPEAT finds that a declaration is not accurate, the manufacturer must correct it or the product will be removed from the registry. The results of verification are published. For more information and to view the published reports about product verification, please visit the Product Verification page.

EPEAT periodically reports on the environmental benefits from the purchase of EPEAT-registered products.  The first EPEAT Environmental Benefits Report was published in July 2007.

The Development of EPEAT^TM

The EPEAT system and the environmental criteria for computers and monitors were originally developed in a 2-year multi-stakeholder process that was facilitated by the Zero Waste Alliance on a grant from the US EPA.  For more information about the development of the EPEAT system and IEEE 1680 see  http://www.zerowaste.org/epeat/index.htm .

What Purchasers Use EPEAT^TM?

Institutional purchasers are encouraged to require EPEAT-registered products in their purchase specifications.  For a current list of purchase specifications that cite EPEAT click here.  Visit Purchasers Resources for suggested contract language to use in purchasing specifications.

In addition, EPEAT is increasingly being used by individual consumers.

EPEAT^TM Management and Governance

EPEAT is incorporated as a 501(c)(4) “social benefit” not-for-profit organization in Portland, Oregon, USA.  EPEAT Inc. has a fiduciary Board of Directors that ensures the proper legal and financial management of EPEAT. The current members of EPEAT’s Board of Directors are identified below.

EPEAT is managed and operated by staff contracted from the Green Electronics Council.  The GEC is part of the International Sustainable Development Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) “charitable” not-for-profit organization also located in Portland . EPEAT staff members are identified on the Contact Us page.

EPEAT is primarily overseen by the EPEAT Board of Advisors, an unpaid 12-person advisory board whose membership is a balanced representation of the stakeholders who developed EPEAT: environmental advocates, institutional purchasers, manufacturers, government policy professionals, researchers, and electronics recyclers.  The current members of the EPEAT Board of Advisors are identified below.  The EPEAT Board of Directors has legal authority over EPEAT but they are substantially guided by the recommendations of the EPEAT Board of Advisors.  The Board of Advisors operates on a consensus decision-making basis.

The Board of Advisors meets by teleconference quarterly and in-person annually.  Non-members are generally welcome at the meetings and can generally share in the discussion but cannot vote.  Please contact Jeff Omelchuck of the EPEAT staff to make arrangements to attend a meeting.

EPEAT^TM Management and Governance Documents

• Current Members of the EPEAT Board of Directors
• Current Members of the EPEAT Board of Advisors
• EPEAT Operational Policies, as recommended by the Board of Advisors and approved by the Board of Directors