EPEAT Product Sales Rose in 2009 Despite Tightened Registration Rules

U.S. sales of EPEAT registered products in 2009 grew 10 percent over the previous year to 44.5 million units, the certification body said in a 2009 “benefits” report released Tuesday. Canada saw a 25 percent increase to more than 3 million products, it said. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool program now covers desktops, laptops, integrated systems, displays, workstations and thin client devices. EPEAT is devising standards for TVs and imaging devices, including printers, faxes and copiers which it expects to publish in 2011.

A total of 80.5 million EPEAT products were sold worldwide in 2009, EPEAT said. It started an international registry in August 2009 that covers 40 countries. EPEAT products accounted for more than half the notebooks sold in the U.S. and 23 percent in Canada, it said. Combined 2009 purchases of EPEAT notebooks and desktop computers, including integrated systems, made up 42 percent of total sales in the U.S. and about 17 percent of worldwide sales, it said. Growth of EPEAT product sales in 2009 was most rapid in the notebook segment, with U.S. sales growing 40 percent over 2008 and Canada reporting a more than 100 percent sales increase, it said. Worldwide sales of notebooks increased by more than 25 percent, it said.

Environmental benefits from 2009 sales of EPEAT products included reducing use of primary materials by 19 million metric tons and cutting use of toxic materials, including mercury, by 1,537 metric tons, the report said. EPEAT product sales also helped avoid disposal of 72,000 metric tons of hazardous waste. Because EPEAT products meet the latest Energy Star specifications, 2009 sales resulted in savings of 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and avoidance of 44 million metric tons of emissions, it said. By the end of December 2009, 37 device makers had registered 1,400 products, including 483 Gold-rated products on EPEAT in the U.S., with some 8,300 products registered in other countries.

The U.S., Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore have government EPEAT purchasing criterion, the report said. Many U.S. states and Canadian provinces also have contracts requiring EPEAT purchases, it said. In the private sector, Kaiser Permanente, Marriott International, Fairmont Hotel Group, consulting firm KPMG and other companies are EPEAT purchasers, it said. Amazon.com began displaying products’ EPEAT status on its U.S. website in 2009, it said.

The 2009 results are “significant” because EPEAT tightened its registration and sales reporting requirements, said Executive Director Jeff Omelchuck. The move last year from global registration to a country-specific model was made to ensure “consistent quality control throughout the EPEAT system,” he said. “This allows us to more closely police registry claims and enable purchasers to more easily find locally available registered products.”