As environmental concerns continue to rise, people are looking for more sustainable and eco products. This is especially important because the e-waste produced by electronic devices leaves a severe impact on the environment, increasing pollution and decreasing resource consumption.
The numbers might surprise you but in 2022 globally more than 62 million metric tons of e-waste was generated across various electronic devices.
When talking about electronic devices, PCs are at the forefront with billions of people using laptops and computers worldwide. Therefore, it becomes equally important for manufacturers to produce PCs that are sustainable and contribute to an overall green environment.
To meet these environmental standards that ensure sustainability in laptops is: the EPEAT Gold (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) certification. It serves as the highest authority that ensures all the laptops produced follow a structured environmental protection standard.
But, there are so many such certifications, what is the speciality of EPEEAT Gold certification and why do you need to consider it?
Let’s talk to understand better!!
Understanding EPEAT Gold Certification
Before we talk more about EPEAT Gold certification, it’s important to know the basics of it. EPEAT Gold is a rating point system that calculates the sustainability of electronic goods including laptops and other computing devices. Many systems such as IdeaPad Pro 5 Gen 9 16-inch AMD come with this certification that ensures system longevity, material sourcing and end-of-life procedure.
EPEAT extends its certification into three separate tiers: Bronze level, Silver level and Gold level certification.
- Bronze: Meets basic criteria
- Silver: Exceeds basic criteria in some areas
- Gold represents the peak of eco-friendly criteria fulfilment because it surpasses all requirements.
What Makes a Laptop EPEAT Gold Certified?
A laptop needs to pass all specified environmental performance benchmarks to secure the EPEAT Gold certification. The specifications comprise more than just electric power conservation because they analyze various environmental aspects.
A laptop needs to fulfil these primary environmental benchmarks for receiving EPEAT Gold certification:
- Energy Efficiency
The energy consumption requirements for earning EPEAT Gold certification are extremely strict for laptop designs. The products need Energy Star certification to qualify which demonstrates both low energy usage and decreased carbon impacts.
- Material Use and Recycling
The EPEAT Gold certification focuses on developing laptops that feature easy recycling capabilities. Manufacturing processes avoid using the hazardous materials lead, mercury, and cadmium to the maximum extent possible.
- Product Longevity
Durability is another key criterion. The special certification builds laptops to thrive longer which extends product life and decreases electronic waste output.
Products with modular construction along with upgradable parts achieve extended product longevity.
- Packaging and Disposal
The environmentally friendly packaging approach protects these laptop products. Devices such as IdeaPad Pro 5 Gen 9 16 inch AMD operate with minimal packaging materials that consist of either recycled materials or abstain from plastic usage.
- Corporate Responsibility
The manufacturer must show corporate sustainability practices through their strategic business approach.
However, companies need to prove their supply chain operations follow environmental stewardship principles throughout their business operation. Both responsible material sourcing and minimal manufacturing waste production form essential parts of their manufacturing process.
Why Is EPEAT Gold Important for Sustainability?
Since understanding EPEAT Gold certification requirements we must examine the significance of this standard in the sustainable laptop discussion.
Setting Industry Standards
- EPEAT Gold certification demonstrates the complete sustainable features laptop manufacturers should implement in their products.
- The certification focuses on basic environmental claims that some manufacturers promote solely for marketing purposes.
- Moreover, consumers enjoy better product selection because EPEAT uses independent verification for environmental product attributes.
Energy Efficiency and Lower Operating Costs
- Laptops approved with EPEAT Gold certification operate using less energy thus resulting in decreased electricity consumption.
- Low energy utilization of certified components alongside environmental protection translates into both economic benefits and environmental advantages for consumers.
- The combination of eco-friendly devices leads to decreased power plant emissions while minimizing the load on electricity distribution networks.
Reduced E-Waste
When talking about e-waste, a report says: between 2010-2019 e-waste jumped from 5.3 to 7.3 kgs per capita annually.
- Global environmental problems now expand at a rapid rate because of growing E-Waste collections.
- Enhanced EPEAT Gold standards in laptops lead to longer product lives and recyclability features in addition to easy maintenance for component reuse.
- Moreover, the E-Waste quantity dumped in landfills becomes smaller due to this approach.
Conclusion
EPEAT Gold is not just a certification, it’s a promise that all your laptops are built following high environmental standards. By reducing energy consumption and using recycled materials, the certification not only ensures the longevity of your laptops but also contributes to a greener and sustainable environment. So, it’s important both for manufacturers to produce laptops with such certifications and also for the consumers to buy laptops with proper sustainable procedures.
Make the future greener for future generations, produce and buy products that promise to make a long-lasting impact on the planet.
