People are increasingly going green in US

When it comes to adopting green technology, Federal agencies and consumers have significantly increased their “Green” purchase.

It is being reported that the Federal agencies and consumers are increasingly going for computers that are "soft on nature". The 2008 progress reports submitted by the agencies to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) show a commitment in the government for green IT products purchasing using the EPEAT system. The new Federal Acquisition Regulation’s (FAR) clause requires agencies to prioritize the purchase of EPEAT-registered IT products.

The EPEAT system rates electronic products according to three tiers of environmental performance and give Bronze, Silver and Gold status, based on a total of 51 environmental criteria including elimination of toxic materials, design for recycling, extended product life, energy efficiency, and availability of takeback and recycling services. They already have a registry of more than 1,000 products and more than 30 participating manufacturers, from global giants to small integrators.

“Thirteen of the 22 Federal agencies reported meeting the goal of 95% or higher EPEAT purchasing in their 2008 IT acquisitions, with many others moving toward that rate of compliance. This is particularly notable because the EPEAT requirements are new and being implemented along with security and other IT requirements,” said Dana Arnold, acting Federal Environmental Executive, “This striking level o f compliance reflects great work on the part of agency IT purchasing staff, as well as the ease o f use of t he EPEAT system . “

The 13 agencies who hit the 95% or higher mark purchased more than 500,000 EPEAT-registered desktops, laptops and monitors in 2008 – according to the reports. The departments who bought green laptop include Dept. of Treasury (a total of 64,686 computer desktops, laptops/notebooks, and monitors), Department of the Interior (17548 EPEAT compliant laptops), Dept. of Commerce (a total of 6,618 computers, monitors, and laptops), Tennessee Valley Authority (1017 EPEAT-compliant laptops), Office of Personnel Management (1541 desktop/laptop).