EPEAT registered products will save more than 10 billion kWh of electricity, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 2 million metric tons and avoid 44 million metric tons of air emissions (including GHG emissions) and more than 93,000 metric tons of water pollutant emissions thanks to their Energy Star efficiency specs, according to the 2009 EPEAT Environmental Benefits report released by the Green Electronics Council.
EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, helps buyers identify environmentally-friendly computer equipment including desktops, laptops and monitors. The EPEAT registry makes it easy for purchasers to compare and select products based on their environmental attributes.
Since launching in 2006, more than 317 million EPEAT-registered products have been purchased, which have avoided more than 8,000 metric tons of toxic substances, reduced GHG emissions close to 9 million cars' annual releases and delivered associated savings to manufacturers and users of more than $6.5 billion.
According to the report, EPEAT registered notebooks, desktops, and monitors purchased worldwide in 2009 will, over their life, reduce use of toxic materials including mercury by 1537 metric tons, eliminate more than 29,000 metric tons of solid waste, and reduce hazardous waste disposal by 72,000 metric tons.
Over the past year, EPEAT has moved from a global registration to a country-specific registration model, which allows EPEAT "to more closely police registry claims and enables purchasers to more easily find locally available registered products," says Jeff Omelchuck, EPEAT Executive Director.