However, industry observers maintain the current legislative and federal policy mandates still focus largely on end-user systems. Despite an overflow of information on many federal web sites, there’s still a lack of overarching standard practices, criteria and established priorities. Additional refinement and guidance from the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and consortium organizations is needed to reduce confusion and prevent a duplication of efforts among various agencies, according to one knowledgeable source who asked not to be identified.
Federal agencies are required to purchase energy-efficient technologies and activate the power management settings on computers via the following federal initiatives:
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires federal agencies to buy either Energy Star products, or products designated as energy efficient by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). These requirements are included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 23, and parts 2, 7, 11, 12, 13, 36, 37, 42, and 52. More information can be found at
www.arnet.gov/far/index.html.
Executive Order 13423 enacted in January 2007, requires federal agencies to acquire EPEAT-registered electronic products for at least 95 percent of electronic product acquisitions, and to activate Energy Star ‘sleep’ features on computers and monitors. EPEAT is a set of performance criteria developed by the IEEE to help buyers compare and select computer products based on their environmental attributes.
To comply with federal regulatory mandates and also achieve greener IT operations, federal agencies should:
*Purchase EPEAT-registered computers and monitors – these are systems qualified by Energy Star. Visit www.epeat.net for registered product lists and additional product requirements. *Purchase Energy Star office equipment – The EPA provides resources designed to assist procurement officials in green purchasing decisions. Please visit www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_purchasing, to learn more. * To purchase Energy Star products using GSA Advantage – please visit www.gsaadvantage.gov/advgsa/advantage/search/specialCategory.do?cat=ADV.ENV.GSA Advantage provides thousands of products and services to assist federal agencies in meeting their environmental purchasing goals.*Activate power management features on computers and monitors – these ‘sleep’ features can save government organizations as much as $75 per system annually. Instructions, software, savings calculators and other resources are available at the Energy Star power management web site, at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management.*Purchase FEMP-designated energy efficient products – The Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program provides purchasing specifications for energy efficient products not covered by Energy Star specifications. For information, please visit www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/procurement/.
Other upcoming important events and organizations contributing to the evolution of federal green computing standards, include:
*The 2009 Federal Environmental Symposia, to be held on the East and West coasts in June, will focus on two themes – Progress and Transition - which relate to federal agencies’ sustainability accomplishments of the past year and additional sustainability initiatives and directions evident in the first few months of the new presidential administration. The Symposia are fast becoming the professional events of choice for the federal sustainability community, dealing with a myriad of elements and requirements in Executive Order 13423, among others. For more information, please visit www.fedcenter.gov/calendar/conferences/symposia2009/general/.*The latest information on draft legislation and other final regulations that impact energy efficiency is available at www.fedcenter.gov/news/regs/. This site, sponsored by FedCenter, the Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship and Compliance Assistance Center, is a joint initiative of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), the Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction Engineering Research Laboratory and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive to create an all-services technical and compliance assistance center to assist federal environmental officials in better addressing environmental needs. FedCenter provides information on pending draft documents as well as final regulations. One recent piece of draft legislation includes a bill to incorporate smart grid capability into the Energy Star Program.
EPEAT Purchasing Leaders
The 13 federal government organizations that hit the 95% or higher mark for EPEAT compliance purchased more than 500,000 EPEAT-registered desktops, laptops and monitors in 2008. Among the leading examples, were the following federal agencies and departments:
*Department of Veterans Affairs: 100% of the 290,623 Dell desktops and monitors leased by VA between September 2007 and December 2008 were EPEAT gold or silver products.
*Department of the Treasury: Of the 64,686 computer desktops, laptops/notebooks, and monitors Treasury purchased in FY 2008, a total of 64,491 (or 99.7%) were EPEAT-registered products.
* Department of Energy: DOE purchased more than 50,000 EPEAT registered computers and monitors in FY08, constituting more than 96% of DoE’s approximately 52,000 total purchases.
*Social Security Administration: 100% of the 24,673 desktop computers purchased by SSA were EPEAT-registered Gold.
* Department of the Interior: DoI purchased through their agency-wide mandatory-use IT Hardware Contract a total 56,522 EPEAT compliant units between 2006-2008.
*Department of State: All of State’s Global Information Technology Modernization Program (GITM) purchases in FY 2008 were EPEAT Silver or Gold products: 7,515 EPEAT-registered Gold desktops and 5,370 EPEAT-registered Silver monitors.
* Department of Commerce: DoC purchased 6,618 computers, monitors, and laptops in FY 2008; 6,423 (or 97%) of these were EPEAT-registered.
*NASA: In 2008, the Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN) program purchased 12,256 EPEAT-registered computers and monitors for NASA personnel.
* Tennessee Valley Authority: TVA purchased 2,496 desktop computers, 3,500 monitors, and 1,017 laptops that were EPEAT-registered, for a total of 99.3% EPEAT compliant purchases in FY 2008.
* Office of Personnel Management: OPM added EPEAT requirements into the IT Procurement Authorization tracking system (ITPA). All of the CIO-approved purchases were either Gold or Silver rated. A total of 1,541 desktop/laptops and 1,619 LCDs were procured in FY 2008.
* General Services Administration: GSA purchased more than 600 EPEAT certified computers in FY08. All computers were 100% compliant with EPEAT purchases.
*Environmental Protection Agency: In 2008, EPA estimated that 99% of eligible electronics purchases were EPEAT-registered. In FY09, EPA is standardizing its user-provisioned computer equipment for headquarters employees and providing more than 12,000 EPEAT-registered computers to its staff.
*Department of Labor: DoL instituted a new requirement that any non-EPEAT purchase be registered as an exception to purchasing policy. No exemptions were reported in FY 2008, indicating 100% compliance with the EPEAT purchasing requirement.