EPEAT greenlights 1,000th green-tech product

Newsflash: In a little more than two years, the Green Electronics Council has vetted and rated 1,000 personal computers, notebooks, monitors and integrated systems under the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (aka EPEAT).

Sony has the distinction of pushing the organization to this latest milestone, with its Gold-rated Sony VAIO VGN-SR290PDB notebook computer.

Currently, more than 30 manufacturers have contributed products to the database, which was originally used by government agencies to guide purchases of technology that had been vetted along certain environmental metrics. There are 51 criteria used in EPEAT; any product listed must meet 23 mandatory requirements for toxic materials, product longevity, energy efficiency and disposal methods. By meeting additional factors, products become registered at a higher level within the system. There are currently three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.