Softchoice Launches First Searchable Online ‘Green’ IT Product Listing

April 25, 2008

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Softchoice has announced a new initiative to simplify the selection and acquisition of today’s greenest information technology products.

IT purchasers can find products in Softchoice’s database now available on its website, www.softchoice.com, that are registered under the EPEAT greener electronics program. Softchoice carried roughly 350,000 products in its database. EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is a system to help purchasers evaluate computers and monitors based on their environmental attributes.

The U.S. EPA estimates that the purchase of EPEAT products will result in the reduction of more than 13 million pounds of hazardous waste, more than three million pounds of non-hazardous waste, and save more than 600,000 Megawatts of energy in the next five years.

“If the 70 million PCs expected to be sold in the U.S. in 2008 were to meet the standards of EPEAT Silver, we could save enough energy to power over a million homes,” said Melissa Quinn, Sustainability Programs Manager for Softchoice. “Clearly the effect of deploying more environmentally responsible technologies is significant.”

The Softchoice green IT product listing is the result of a partnership between EPEAT, CNET Channel, and Softchoice.

Softchoice has also launched a web portal to provide additional information on products and best practices that can help organizations reduce the impact of their IT operations on the environment. The Softchoice EcoTech website includes information on improving data center efficiency, PC power management and technologies designed to offset travel and reduce paper consumption.

A Softchoice survey in March 2007, showed that Vista would be the most power-hungry Windows operating system so far.

This past fall, EPEAT handed out its green electronics champion awards.

The U.S. Government plans to require federal agencies to buy PCs and computer monitors that are energy efficient and include reduced levels of toxic chemicals.

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