Be green! That's the message from the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC), a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive. The FEC encourages federal facilities like Fermilab to purchase greener electronic products, reduce the impact of their usage, and dispose of them in a manner that is safe for the environment.
A recent executive order by the federal government to establish leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance has decreed that by the end of FY2010, 95% of desktop and laptop purchases at the lab must be compliant with EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.
EPEAT is a tool to evaluate and compare electronic products based on their impact on the environment. A product that is EPEAT-registered meets the minimum standards in categories like energy efficiency, reduction of environmentally sensitive materials, and materials selected for use in the product. Products can be further categorized into Gold, Silver, or Bronze levels, depending on their performance across criteria beyond the minimum standards. At this point, EPEAT standards are available only for desktops, monitors, and notebook computers.
“All of the PCs I order have to be gold or silver,” says John Bellendir of the Windows Server Services group in the LSCS quadrant. “Even the A/C adapter you get can make a difference.”
The executive order establishes performance metrics that must be met by Fermilab and other federal facilities. In addition to the purchase of EPEAT-registered products, the order states that by the end of FY2010: our operating electronic equipment must have an average lifespan of at least four years; 100% of our non-reusable electronic equipment must be recycled using environmentally sound management; and 100% of our computers and monitors must have ENERGY STAR® features, which means they use 70% less electricity than computers without these features.
So what happens to our old desktops or laptops? If they're in working order, they may be given to a school as part of the Computers for Learning program. Others, including scraps or viable parts, are sold to local companies that sell or recycle various parts and materials. As with procuring new machines, disposal is a large piece of the pie.
Questions about EPEAT, ENERGYSTAR®, or other environmental matters may be addressed with Amy Pavnica, Division Senior Safety Officer.
~ Marcia Teckenbrock