Worldwide sales of EPEAT products have increased 150 percent since 2006, when the EPEAT system was first introduced, and totaled more than 109 million individual units, according to the Green Electronics Council’s EPEAT 2007 Environmental Benefits report (PDF)
The lifecycle environmental benefit will reduce the use of raw materials by 75.5 million metric tons; reduce the use of toxic materials, including mercury, by 3,220 metric tons; eliminate the use of enough mercury to fill 482,381 household fever thermometers; and eliminate the disposal of 124,000 metric tons of hazardous waste.
This year’s EPEAT results mean savings of 42.2 billion kwh of electricity the elimination of 174 million metric tons of air emissions (including 3.31 million metric tons of GHG emissions) and almost 365 thousand metric tons of water pollutant emissions, the council says.
What’s more, financial savings for companies will total more than $3.6 billion over the life of the EPEAT products sold in 2007, primarily from reductions in energy use, the council says.
The U.S. Government said earlier this year that it plans to require federal agencies to buy PCs and computer monitors that are energy efficient and include reduced levels of toxic chemicals.
