Greener electronics for the globe

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The US based non-profit Green Electronics Council is trying to make the electronics industry more environmentally friendly. Sarah O’Brien (pictured) is the communications director of the council, she speaks with anchor Lisa Mullins about efforts to green the electronics industry. Download MP3
O’Brien is also the guest in our online Science Forum discussion.

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LISA MULLINS: There’s a US-based non-profit organization that’s also trying to make the electronics industry more environmentally friendly. It’s called The Green Electronics Council and it’s based in Portland, Oregon. The Council rates companies based on their environmental footprint to help consumers and businesses make informed choices when buying computers and other gadgets. Sarah O’Brien is the Council’s communications director. Sarah, you just heard Clark Boyd’s story. Based on what you heard about United Pepper and its production of computer gadgets, would this company’s products hold up to your standards for greenness?

SARAH O’BRIEN:  Lisa, I believe that they are doing some really important things in pursuing bio-based materials that are sustainably produced, in looking at fair trade and worker safety and protections. The EPEAT standard that The Green Electronics Council manages, rates products on a wide variety of criteria. So there are 51 criteria in all.

MULLINS:  Now, EP stands for what?

O’BRIEN: EP originally stood for the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool.

MULLINS: That’s E-P-E-A-T and what does it take into consideration?

O’BRIEN: It takes into consideration 8 general areas. Reduction of toxics, looks at material selection, things like bio-based materials, recycled content. Looks very importantly at design for end-of-life. Is the product easy to disassemble and recycle in a positive way? Energy efficiency is very important. We address that. We address end-of-life management with a manufacturer takeback and recycling set of criteria. And we look at options for greener packaging. So there’re over 50 criteria in all, but those are the buckets that they fall into.

MULLINS: Do you think, though, that you folks are prominent enough to provide an incentive for companies who can probably make notebooks or work stations cheaper by being less green?

O’BRIEN: Well, I think the results speak for themselves. I mean we have seen companies competing very strongly, large leading global companies like Apple, Dell, HP, and many others. We have 50, over 50, participating manufacturers. We’ve seen them competing very strongly to claim the mantle of the greenest, the most [INDISCERNIBLE] products in the EPEAT system, and so forth. So we think that having a central yardstick against which everyone can be measured really does perform a very significant function of creating that competitive field for the manufacturers, where they want to trump each other’s accomplishments in environmental terms.

MULLINS: But how does a consumer know if a particular product has gotten either your certification or anyone else’s?

O’BRIEN: Well, we have a central database on our website at www.EPEAT.net. You can find, consumers can find, EPEAT information actually on Amazon, on the Tech Depot website, on Best Buy For Business, on Buy.com. So there are ways that consumers can access this information. And we’re working very diligently to move the information towards consumer retail, towards the bricks and mortars stores.

MULLINS:  Well, there is a lot more, of course, to talk about here, so we are going to be continuing this conversation online. In fact, Sarah, as you know, you’re going to be taking listener questions in our Science Forum through next week. So, for our listeners, those of you who want to join the conversation will find Sarah at our science website which is TheWorld.org/science. Sarah O’Brien, Communications Director with The Green Electronics Council, speaking to us from Montpelier, Vermont. She works with institutions and electronics companies to make the industry greener. Thank you very much, Sarah.

O’BRIEN: Thank you, Lisa.

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