DHS, DoJ, EPA, Energy earn top green electronics award

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DHS, DoJ, EPA, Energy earn top green electronics award

Agencies recycled more than 51,000 pounds of electronics, purchases more than 58,000 hardware that met the green standards and saved the government more than $11...

Federal News Network Staff

June 7, 2010 2:51 pm

1 min read

By Jason Miller
Executive Editor
Federal News Radio

Federal agencies donated, recycled or reused 51,000 pounds of electronics as part of helping to save more than $11 million in 2010.

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive and the Environmental Protection Agency announced late last month that eight organizations in four agencies received gold level awards under the Federal Electronics Challenge.

By receiving a gold award, specific offices in the departments of Energy, Homeland Security and Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency completed mandatory activities in acquisition, operation and maintenance and end-of-life management of electronics. They also finished nine additional activities and mentored two other agencies on electronic recycle issues.

FEC and EPA also recognized 14 silver award recipients and 16 organizations at the bronze level. In all, 38 facilities from 10 agencies met one of the three levels.

Overall, agencies purchased more than 58,000 electronics, such as desktop and notebook computers and thin client computers and other technology hardware, registered in the EPEAT database, which includes 34 manufacturers.

In other EPEAT news, EPA today announced that stand-alone data centers or buildings that house large data centers can earn the Energy Star label.

EPA says the data centers must be in the top 25 percent of their peers in energy efficiency according to EPA’s energy performance scale.

“By improving efficiency, centers can save energy and money and help fight climate change,” EPS says in a release.

“EPA uses a commonly accepted measure for energy efficiency, the power usage effectiveness metric, to determine whether a data center qualifies for the Energy Star label. Before being awarded the Energy Star, a third-party licensed professional must independently verify the energy performance of these buildings and sign and seal the application document that is sent to EPA for review and approval.”