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Product Verification
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Product Verification

Verification Overview

In the EPEAT system, manufacturers add their products to the registry by declaring that the products meet specific individual criteria of IEEE 1680.  As with Energy Star and other voluntary declaration programs, there is no verification of this declaration at the time the product is registered, though manufacturers must be able upon request to produce the supporting evidence for product declarations spelled out in the IEEE standard. This ensures that new products appear on the registry as soon as they are released, with no delay in time-to-market, and also keeps the cost of operating EPEAT down.

In order to maintain the credibility of the declarations, EPEAT periodically selects products from the registry and verifies that they meet the criteria as declared. Verification is performed on a batch of products and criteria called a “round”.  The verification process may simply require the manufacturer to provide production reports, lab analysis or other data, but may also entail EPEAT independently obtaining products and inspecting them -- even performing detailed laboratory analysis or destructive disassembly.

All criteria of all products on the registry are subject to verification at any time. Criteria are selected for investigation by the Product Verification Committee (PVC) – based on random selection, environmental significance, or expectation that a criterion may be difficult to meet, among other factors.   Stakeholders are encouraged to contact EPEAT if they have good reason to doubt the veracity of a declaration; their concern can motivate an investigation of criteria or products in an upcoming verification round or on an individual basis.

While EPEAT will work with manufacturers to correct or clarify a declaration, if a manufacturer is found over time to be an untrustworthy user, they may be barred from using the EPEAT system.

More detail on the verification process

Verification reporting

The results of each round of verification are published in two forms:

1) A statistical report identifying the criteria that were investigated, the number of investigations performed, the guidelines with which products were selected, and the statistical results, and

2) A report that is distributed to purchasers and others who have signed up to receive it, that identifies the products that were affected by verification actions.

EPEAT Verification Round Reports

Current Verification Status

EPEAT was launched in July of 2006 and the first round of verification was initiated on 6 March 2007. As of June 2008, two full verification rounds have been completed and the results are contained in the verification reports listed below.

 

Verification Documents

    Round Four Documents  Verification Plan - a PVC-issued document that lists the criteria that are being verified and other details of Round Four.

    Round Three Documents (Verification Plan Outcomes Report)

    Round Two Documents (Verification PlanOutcomes Report)

    Round One Documents (Verification PlanOutcomes Report )

 

Standard Interpretations and Clarifications

Over the course of EPEAT’s verification rounds, the need for clarification and interpretation of some portions of the IEEE 1680 standard has become clear. In response, an IEEE Stakeholder Interpretations Group has issued some formal Interpretations of IEEE 1680, and the EPEAT Product Verification Committee (PVC) has issued statements clarifying how they will interpret and apply specific criteria during verification. A detailed Index of Standard Interpretations and Clarifications provides an overview of these items.

General Guidance Documents

    

 Verification Clarifications Reports

Clarifications Reports are documents issued by EPEAT and/or the PVC, usually in response to questions posed by subscribing manufacturers when they declare their products, that are intended to clarify how EPEAT and the PVC interpret certain requirements of IEEE 1680.

Verification Personnel

Two different independent parties are involved in EPEAT verification.

Product Verification Committee

The Product Verification Committee or “PVC” oversees the verification process, develops and approves the plan for each verification round, and makes the final decisions regarding each product’s conformance or nonconformance to each criterion.

The members of the PVC are independent experts on electronics and the environment and are contractors to EPEAT. Their pay is independent of their decisions, they are required to maintain independence from any EPEAT subscribing manufacturers, and they are generally blind to the identity of the products and manufacturers they are deciding.

Qualified Verifiers

Each specific investigation is assigned to a Qualified Verifier (QV). The QV obtains and evaluates the data and makes a recommendation of conformance or nonconformance for review by the PVC. QVs are independent experts on electronics and the environment on contract to EPEAT; they are required to maintain independence from EPEAT-subscribing manufacturers, and their pay is independent of their recommendations. QV’s usually communicate with manufacturers to obtain the information they need to complete verification processes.

Contacting verifiers: To maintain their independence, stakeholders are discouraged from contacting the Product Verification Committee or individual Verifiers directly regarding EPEAT and verification. They may be contacted through EPEAT if needed.

 

Verification Process Details

Verifications are typically performed in batches called “rounds,” so that they can be carefully planned to maximize the coverage within a given budget. Some products and criteria are selected essentially at random but many are selected because they are considered difficult to meet or are particularly environmentally important.  The selections are also influenced by the results of previous verifications and by credible input that we receive from purchasers or other interested parties.  Stakeholders are encouraged to contact EPEAT if they have good reason to doubt the veracity of a declaration.

When a round of verifications is launched a “snapshot” is taken of the product registry and verification proceeds to its conclusion based on the products and declarations on the registry at that time.  Each investigation (the checking of one criterion of one product) generally results in a finding of conformance or of non-conformance.  Manufacturers have opportunities to correct problems that are found, but ultimately if a manufacturer is unable to adequately demonstrate conformance they are compelled to correct the declaration.  This may result in the product becoming unregistered or may simply reduce the number of optional points toward EPEAT Silver or Gold for that product.  Results of verification investigations are publicly reported in a Verification Round Outcomes report, which includes information on the manufacturers and products investigated. If a manufacturer is found over time to not be a trustworthy user they may be barred from using the EPEAT system.