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EPEAT for Individual Consumers

Looking for an EPEAT Retail Outlet?  Click here.

EPEAT was developed for “institutional purchasers” -- organizations that buy IT equipment on large purchase contracts -- so participating manufacturers have focused on registering business-line products that are usually bought by these organizations.

However, EPEAT may be used by anyone, including individual consumers, as an effective way to identify environmentally preferable electronic products.

The following background and guidance is provided for those consumers who want to use EPEAT to buy greener computers and monitors.

EPEAT Fast Facts

Consumer products and EPEAT

Most of the products registered in EPEAT are products intended for business use for two main reasons:

1. Some consumer-oriented products may not meet EPEAT standards

Computers and monitors that are designed for consumers tend to have more entertainment and media features than the typical office PC or laptop, including:

        • High-end video and sound;
        • Faster processors;
        • More RAM (to enable better pictures and video);
        • Larger and more hard disk drives;
        • More connectivity (USB, firewire, etc.);
        • Larger displays;
        • Different operating systems.

Because of these features, home computers often consume more energy than business computers, and may contain components that do not meet EPEAT criteria on hazardous materials or recycled content.

2. Consumers have not historically shown an interest in greener electronics.

Consumers are historically very sensitive to price, performance, and flashiness, and have not expressed any clear preference for environmentally friendly electronics, so manufacturers have generally designed accordingly. For example, a high-efficiency power supply can reduce the life-cycle cost and environmental impacts of a computer but adds a few dollars to the up front retail price, so a high-efficiency power supply has rarely been part of the configuration of consumer oriented PCs.

Lastly, some computer manufacturers have very distinct consumer vs. business product lines and models. Because of EPEAT’s focus on institutional purchasers, manufacturers with distinct product lines have generally EPEAT registered their business line products and not their consumer line. As a result, consumers may find fewer of these manufacturer’s EPEAT-registered products in consumer retail settings.

EPEAT Retail Outlets

EPEAT is working to improve consumer access to EPEAT-qualified products through retail outlets. At this time, Buy.com and TechDepot are the only general retailers providing a purchasing portal for EPEAT products and identifying products as EPEAT Bronze, Silver and Gold. If you are looking for a greener laptop, desktop, or monitor we recommend that you visit:

Buy.com      TechDepot.com

The power of consumer demand

Consumers may find that the home computers that they want are not EPEAT registered, and that EPEAT registered products are hard to find in retail settings apart from the pioneering retail outlets listed above. In the short run, dedicated green consumers may decide to purchase EPEAT-registered business-line products to ensure they are getting the greenest options available.

But consumer demand can also create market incentives for environmentally preferable products, and EPEAT provides a means to channel and focus that demand.

If consumer interest in EPEAT registered products is clear, manufacturers will increasingly respond by redesigning at least some consumer products to meet the EPEAT standard - a process that has already begun.

Therefore, interested consumers should ask sales people at retail outlets or online retailers to provide information on products' EPEAT ratings and be prepared to steer the sales people to www.epeat.net for more information. Happy shopping! 

NOTE: Before buying an EPEAT registered computer as an individual consumer, you should be aware of several important factors:

1.      Not all the EPEAT criteria currently apply to products bought by individual consumers.  For instance, the requirements to offer product, packaging and battery take-back services apply only to institutional purchasers. However, many manufacturers already offer these services to consumers (it just isn’t an EPEAT requirement), so check with the individual manufacturer. 

2.      Your selection of options and components may be limited: as mentioned above, business equipment registered to EPEAT may have fewer bells and whistles than a consumer model. Only the registered product is required to meet all the applicable criteria. If you change the configuration from the registered model - for example adding a souped up processor -  your product may no longer meet all those criteria, particularly with regard to energy efficiency.