U.S. Government Is Buying Green
In January 2007, the U.S. federal government took a giant step toward environmental protection with an Executive Order (EO) entitled Strengthening the Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management. The EO set goals for energy, conservation, green purchasing, toxin reductions, recycling and electronics stewardship.
For computers and other electronic products, the goals were tied to the Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT). Developed by the Zero Waste Alliance under the sponsorship of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EPEAT has become the green standard for computers.
The EO set a procurement goal for federal agencies of 95 percent EPEAT-registered equipment purchases. By December 2007, EPEAT requirements were embedded in federal acquisition policy and regulation.
How EPEAT Helps the Environment
EPEAT-registered computers have less cadmium, lead and mercury than traditional machines, and they are more energy efficient. In addition, their manufacturers must offer safe recycling when the equipment is no longer usable.
Using conservative assumptions, EPA has estimated that purchases of EPEAT-registered computers over a five-year period will save enough energy to power 6 million homes and eliminate more than 13 million pounds of hazardous waste.
Spreading Consensus on Standards
Many EPEAT requirements are also mandated in the European Union (EU), specifically the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations. Most U.S. states are likely to implement these approaches as well. CSC’s vendor partners are building for all of these markets. Lenovo, Dell, HP, NEC, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Viewsonic all are well represented in the EPEAT registrations.
- Computers earn Bronze, Silver or Gold registration through assessments against EPEAT criteria
- EPEAT is a principal means of complying with EO 13423, which mandates environmentally sound practices for federal agencies.
Green IT Is Good Business.Intelligent decisions in technology investment support both social and business goals. CSC has a legacy of providing IT Infrastructure solutions and managed services provider spanning decades of experience. CSC has implemented Green Data Centers and obtained ISO14000 certification for a number of our England data centers.
CSC is the largest IT service provider to EPA, which is a key agency in advancing both Energy Star and EPEAT efforts in the federal government. Green IT thought leadership and solutions are a focus of extensive efforts in CSC’s Leading Edge Forum. They are also extensively researched, tested, and validated in our Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to enhance and expand our offerings to respond to dynamic needs of our public sector clients. Our service delivery business case analyses are guided by ITIL, with focus on a comprehensive (heuristic) solution approach that ties mission, costs, regulation, strategies, architectures, and services.
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