EPEAT®-registered electronic products meet environmental measures referred to as criteria. All of the criteria used in EPEAT are based on ANSI-approved public standards, which provide technical details for every criterion and specify how a manufacturer must demonstrate compliance.*

Currently, EPEAT registration is based on the 1680 family of Environmental Assessment Standards. This includes the 1680 “umbrella standard,” which describes how products are registered by declaring their compliance to specific criteria, how they are rated based on the criteria they meet, how registration by country operates and how product declarations are verified. The related product standard 1680.1, 1680.2, and 1680.3 contain the specific criteria for “PCs and PC Displays,” “Imaging Equipment,”  and “Televisions,” respectively, upon which EPEAT registration and ratings are currently based.

As standards for new product categories are published by the IEEE or other standards bodies, EPEAT will adopt them as the basis for expanding registry coverage to additional types of electronic products.

* For more information about standards and their development, or if you are a manufacturer looking to register a product in EPEAT and need to purchase 1680 and 1680.1 (as required by EPEAT), please visit the IEEE site. Search for 1680 standards in the store.

How products qualify for EPEAT

Products are measured against both required and optional criteria. A product must meet all of the required criteria in its category to be added to the registry. It is then rated Bronze, Silver or Gold depending on how many of the optional criteria it meets.

What the criteria cover

EPEAT criteria reflect several categories of environmental attributes that cover the full lifecycle of electronic products. The “PC and Displays,” “Imaging Equipment,” and “Televisions” standards address:

  • Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials
  • Material selection
  • Design for end of life
  • Product longevity/life extension
  • Energy conservation
  • End-of-life management
  • Corporate performance
  • Packaging
  • Consumables (unique to Imaging Equipment standard)
  • Indoor Air Quality (unique to Imaging Equipment standard)

Most EPEAT criteria apply to the characteristics of individual products. For example, one criterion specifies that the product being registered contains no intentionally added cadmium. This type of criterion must be declared for each registered product.

Other criteria apply to corporate programs. For example, a manufacturer must demonstrate the public availability of a written corporate environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001. In order for their products to remain active in the registry, manufacturers must declare annually that all required corporate-level criteria are still being met.

Finally, EPEAT also includes a variety of service-related criteria. These focus on the takeback and responsible recycling of products, packaging and batteries, as well as the provision of extended warranties and other support services that can significantly reduce environmental impact.

If changes to design, services or supply chains enable a manufacturer to meet additional criteria for its registered products, EPEAT encourages the manufacturer to declare those additions. This enables manufacturers to take full advantage of their efforts to develop environmentally preferable products and helps ensure buyers have access to up-to-date ratings information for products in the registry. Similarly, if changes cause a manufacturer to be unable to meet a previously declared criterion, the manufacturer must update its declarations to help maintain accuracy.

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