NATIONAL REPORT—Due to the sheer volume of electronic products in hotels, energy consumption and e-waste are big issues, from both environmental and monetary standpoints. There are televisions in every room and lobby, computers throughout administrative offices and business centers, at least one giant copier at each location. That adds up to a lot of potential energy hogging devices plugged in at the same time. At the end of the product’s useful life, figuring out where to recycle 400 televisions can be a daunting undertaking.
Sustainability and purchasing professionals are faced with the Herculean task of finding cost-efficient, long lasting products that fit in with their company’s greening policies. They are presented with a never-ending supply of green choices, products claiming to be all-natural or better for the environment. While many of these claims are valid, even more are pure hyperbole and blatant greenwashing. Many of these claims are valid, but how to separate the truthful claims from the marketing gimmicks? Even if all of the claims were true, what is the best method of weighing tradeoffs between one product that is long lasting, another that includes less toxics, and a third that is more energy efficient? And who has the time and resources to take on these investigations for each product their company is buying?
Trusted, third party eco-labels are a great solution to these dilemmas, giving purchasers verified data about the products they are buying, often using a holistic lifecycle approach, combined into a simple rating system so that purchasers can avoid environmental tradeoffs. Clear environmental standards that are used widely by purchasers also incentivize manufacturers to show leadership in environmental service and design.
EPEAT Environmental Rating System
For electronics, the EPEAT environmental rating system for televisions, computers, displays, copiers, and printers (and more) gives purchasers thousands of products to choose from that are longer lasting, more energy efficient, less toxic, and easy to recycle. Run by the nonprofit Green Electronics Council, EPEAT combines comprehensive criteria for design, production, energy use and recycling with ongoing independent verification. It’s an easy-to-use resource for hotels looking for high-performance, environmentally preferable products. Furthermore, EPEAT is recognized by multiple hospitality environmental certification programs, including Green Key Global and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and has the support of the U.S. EPA. They provide a searchable database of thousands of qualified televisions, computers, monitors, printers, and copiers from more than 50 manufacturers, more than any other environmental rating system. Coverage for televisions, in particular, offers a unique opportunity for hotels, some of the largest institutional purchasers of TVs.
There are some key points purchasers need to look for when buying new electronics to save money, waste, hassle and the environment:
• Energy Efficiency: This one is simple. Efficient electronics save money on energy bills. Energy Star electronics and appliances, along with the move away from CRT televisions have cut energy bills dramatically. Many new electronics, particularly those on the EPEAT registry, exceed Energy Star requirements, include automatic switch to sleep mode, reduce the standby power, and provide for use of renewable energy accessories.
• Product Life Expectancy: A longer lasting product is a more cost-effective and sustainable product. EPEAT requires manufacturers to provide at least a three year warranty and requires products be upgradeable.
• Packaging and Product Take-Back: Manufacturers that participate in EPEAT must take steps to minimize the boxes, Styrofoam and plastic packaging that comes with new products, make them easier to recycle, and some even provide packaging take-back services. When your product’s useful life is over, the manufacturers must have a product take-back and recycling program in place and available to their customers.
EPEAT considers several categories of environmental attributes that cover the full lifecycle of electronic products. The system designates bronze, silver and gold ratings to products based on the number of required and optional criteria that can be met. When a product meets only the required criteria, it is given a bronze rating, and moves up in rating based on the number of optional criteria it can meet.
To learn more about sourcing environmentally preferable electronics, check out EPEAT’s website, or contact Andrea Desimone at (503) 279-9383 or andrea.desimone@greenelectronicscouncil.org.
