IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2015 - 51

The EPEAT program has expanded beyond the U.S. government
agencies. EPEAT is currently registering products in 42 countries, including many in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific region.
Federal agencies are required to purchase these products to the
maximum extent practicable without jeopardizing the intended
use of the product. Today, the EPEAT program has standards
and a registry for consumer-based equipment such as computer
desktops, notebooks, integrated systems, thin clients, workstations, displays, televisions, and imaging equipment.
Computer servers, the new class of products that will be
EPEAT qualified, are defined in the proposed IEEE and NSF
by the Energy Star product specifications for computer servers.
The definition encompasses multiple attributes from operating
systems, applications, performance, processor sockets, and
form factor to types of customers. Exclusions are many. The
clear distinguishing criterion for servers in this program is that
they must have no more than four processor sockets.

VALIDATION OF GREENER DESIGNS
THROUGH STANDARDS
One objective of the EPEAT standard for computer servers will
be to provide a set of clear, consistent, and quantifiable performance criteria that will allow government agencies and other
purchasers to find and purchase servers demonstrating environmental leadership. Without a standard, consumers may be confused by the varying marketing information available and claims
made. With a standard like EPEAT, there is little room for variations because manufacturers must adhere to the same exact criteria. The definitions and requirements are common across all
products in the program, and a certification body is employed to
conduct audits, which can aid in maintaining uniform execution.
Uniformity and harmonization of the criteria allows consumers
to better evaluate products before purchasing and make informed
purchasing decisions. The registry allows for the ease of comparison of electronics.
As with EPEAT standards for other products, servers will be
evaluated against both the required and optional criteria. Under
other existing EPEAT standards, a product must meet all required
criteria to be registered. A product is rated bronze, silver, or gold
in the program depending on how many optional criteria, in addition to the required criteria, the product meets. Rating the products according to bronze, silver, or gold allows the manufacturers
to present greener designs and match these products with prospective consumers. The registered products are assumed to have
a reduced environmental impact across the life cycle.

IEEE EPEAT STANDARDS FOR SERVERS
Historically, the IEEE has written other EPEAT standards in a
series under IEEE 1680, Environmental Assessment of Electronic Products. This umbrella standard describes the product registration, compliance declaration, rating, and verification process.
IEEE 1680.1, released in 2006, covers the specific product criteria for consumer-type products such as personal computer products and displays. IEEE 1680.2, released in 2012, has specific
product criteria for imaging equipment, and 1680.3, also
released in 2012, contains criteria for televisions.

With a standard like EPEAT,
there is little room for variations
because manufacturers must
adhere to the same exact criteria.
A committee is now drafting criteria for the new IEEE standard 1680.4. Generally, the criteria will address the product life
cycle, from the reduction or elimination of environmentally sensitive materials, material selection, energy efficiency, design for
end of product life, product longevity, and corporate environmental performance to packaging environmental attributes. The
IEEE has not yet published draft criteria. It is expected that some
or all of the draft criteria will be available by mid-2015. The
IEEE anticipates finalizing and publishing its standard in 2016.

NATIONAL SANITATION FOUNDATION STANDARD
The National Sanitation Foundation has published draft criteria,
and it is anticipated that it may finalize its criteria by mid-2015.
The proposed standard includes the required and optional criteria for energy efficiency, substances of concern, preferable materials use, product packaging, design for repair, reuse and
recycling and product longevity, life cycle assessment and greenhouse gas emissions, end-of-service and end-of-life product
management, and corporate responsibility.
At this time, there are 28 required and 34 optional criteria.
The energy criteria cover the allowable temperature and humidity specifications, power supply efficiency, and logged server
activity metrics. The criteria for substances of concern include
an inventory of declarable substances and reduction of bromine
and chlorine content in plastic parts. Preferable material examples cover postconsumer-recycled content, reduction of surplus
parts, and external enclosure material selections. Product packaging includes recyclable materials; elimination of chlorine,
lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium; and elimination of individual packaging. Design for repair, reuse, and
recycling and product longevity have many criteria such as
product marking, product user and reuse information, and
reports for product preparation for reuse and recycling. The lifecycle assessment and greenhouse gas emissions category has
only optional criteria such as conducting a life-cycle assessment.
Product take-back is a required criterion in that category. Corporate responsibility includes an Environmental Management System, environmental reporting, public disclosure of the use of
conflict minerals, and compliance with Occupational Health and
Safety standards.
In 2016 and beyond, it should be feasible to purchase
EPEAT-qualified servers, which are a critical piece of the
infrastructure for cloud computing. There is more to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debra A. Horn (dnh@us.ibm.com) is with IBM Systems,
Rochester, Minnesota.

july 2015

IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

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