Category Archives: Going Green

EPEAT: Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool

EPEAT, short for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, designed to identify high-performance, environmentally friendly computer equipment through an online, searchable database, goes live today.

As per a recent press release, “The database lists products that meet the tough new green computer standard for desktop computers, laptops, and monitors. EPEAT is as easy-to-use evaluation tool that allows the comparison and selection of electronic products based on environmental attributes, in addition to cost and performance considerations. EPEAT-registered products meet minimum performance standards in areas such as energy efficiency, toxicity reduction and material selection.”

In addition, “EPEAT is already referenced in $32.25 billion worth of computer contracts, including contracts issued by the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the City of San Jose, California.”

As you are well aware, I am a big fan of going and staying green, so I applaud the construction of a publicly available resource such as this.

More information is available on the website, and, according to the press release I received, if you still have questions, you can contact Kiren Gopal.

Staying Green

About a month ago in my Sourcing Innovation series, I wrote a post entitled Green with Envy that described the many benefits a buying organization can achieve by “going green“.

It looks like this trend is here to stay. In Wired’s recent article “Carbon Killers”, they point out that for some companies, going green is generating serious greenbacks.

GE has currently pledged to roll back their greenhouse gas emissions 1 percent by 2012 (as compared to a projected rise of 40 percent). Why? In addition to reducing waste, reducing energy costs, avoiding environmental taxes, and reducing production cycles, green policies are starting to pay huge dividends in public relations and marketing buzz. For example, FedEx has announced plans to cut emissions through the use of hybrid delivery trucks. Furthermore, the global market’s appetite for green technology is heating up. If you are a US multi-national, chances are you want to do business in Europe and Asia, regions that have not only accepted, but are enforcing, the limits on greenhouse gases imposed by the Kyoto Protocol. (With 164 countries agreeing to the protocol, it’s not something you can ignore if you want to do business globally.)

After all, with the climate already changing thanks to global warming, as per this recent CNET news article, the smart money eyes climate change. The smart companies are trying to mitigate risk and seeking out opportunities in fields such as clean energy. Climate change and associated policies that arise to deal with it are going to fundamentally alter the makeup of many world economies. Companies that fail to embrace this coming change will probably lose out in the long run, therefore going green now is a good way to ensure a successful future.

Fortunately, going and staying green is becoming a whole lot easier with technologies produced by companies such as Atlanta-based CoalTek Inc.. CoalTek has developed a patent-pending technology that can convert raw-coal into “designer coal”, by way of electromagnetics, that contains less moisture, ash, sulfer and mercury. This allows the coal to burn more efficiently and cleanly, reducing energy costs and pollution. CoalTek is not alone. Denver-based KFx Inc. is also in the clean coal market. Furthermore, earlier this year Southern Co. and the US Department of Energy launched a $557M coal gasification project in Central Florida designed to produce the “cleanest, most efficient facility” in the world when it is completed in 2010.

Furthermore, as the CNET article points out, like health issues related to asbestos and tobacco did in the past, climate change could lead to lawsuits and target companies that either contribute to global warming or did not take sufficient steps to address regulations.

Green With Envy

Green with Envy is exactly what you might be if you don’t follow in the footsteps of some of the most innovative sourcing organizations and, simply put, go green.  For those of you who follow e-Sourcing Forum (WayBackMachine), you might have picked up on this trend after reading Green Suppliers, Will Kermit Change His Tune?, and Go Green and Save 30% or more!  (Even Supply Excellence [WayBackMachine] decided to get in on the action.)  Today we’re going to recap the many benefits beyond just helping the environment.

  • Waste Reduction Initiatives that result from green policies can save you hundreds of millions of dollars.  Interface, Inc., the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, was able to save $260M.
  • Green Buildings will save you significant energy costs, improve the environment, and even improve your health.  (Fresh air with increased oxygen content is the best cure for the new wave of environmental illness that results when some people are locked in closed steel and concrete buildings with stale air for long periods of time.
  • Green Buyers can avoid environmental taxes and resultant cost increases.  For example, some Chinese chopstick exporters are slapping a 30% hike on single-use disposable wooden chopstick prices in response to a 5% tax levied by the Chinese government to try and slow deforestation.
  • Green Products improve market share.  Recent sales figures show that Toyota, Honda, and other Asian manufacturers claimed a record 40% of the U.S. market, thanks in large part to sales of more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles.   Starbucks has been proactively sourcing growers that commit to fair labor practices, fair pay, and environmentally responsible cultivation methods – and they keep getting bigger everyday.
  • Green Policies can reduce production cycles.  JCI recently began producing door panels using a method that eliminates the need for adhesives and reduced supply costs as well as production time.

In other words, the benefits to going green extend well beyond making tree-huggers happy – and go right to your bottom line!

Involved with or know of other examples of green sourcing?  Feel free to contact me.