Technical Committee launching for imaging equipment consumables criteria for EPEAT ecolabel – sustainability advocates needed!
The Global Electronics Council (GEC) is developing criteria to address sustainability of imaging equipment consumables. This Call for Participation is to notify stakeholders of the opportunity to participate on the multi-stakeholder Technical Committee. GEC is partnering with NSF International, an organization with extensive expertise in managing voluntary consensus processes, to convene and manage the Technical Committee.
Participants from the Sustainability Advocates and Government Policy stakeholder category are still needed. If you’re an individual from a public agency (local, regional, state, federal, or international) or represents a professional public/environmental health/safety organization, data privacy and/or IT security, academia, or not-for-profit environmental organization, please consider applying.
Please complete the Technical Committee Application Form, and return by 11:59 PM EST on March 22, 2023 to Greta Baragar, Sustainability Standards Lead, NSF International (gbaragar@nsf.org).
Scope of Criteria
The consumables criteria will address design of imaging equipment to allow for use of remanufactured cartridges, to minimize the use of paper, ink and toner, and to meet internationally recognized indoor air quality standards, as well as consumables take-back programs to enable circularity. The State of Sustainability Research for Imaging Equipment Consumables provides the scientific basis for these criteria.
These criteria will be applied only to Imaging Equipment, alongside criteria for Climate Change Mitigation, Sustainable Use of Resources, Reducing Chemicals of Concern and Corporate Environment, and Social and Governance Performance.
Stakeholder Participation in the Technical Committee
The Technical Committee is the consensus body in the GEC criteria development process. The Technical Committee is responsible for ensuring that proposed criteria address priority sustainability impacts identified in the State of Sustainability Research. This Technical Committee is expected to begin its work in Q2 2023 and continue for up to 6 months. Technical Committee meetings will occur monthly via teleconference. Members are expected to review documents in advance of meetings, provide comments on criteria and actively engage in discussion (either on calls or by electronic means), and participate in the ballot process to approve criteria and reconcile stakeholder differences.
Membership on the Technical Committee is open to all interested parties by submitting the Technical Committee Application Form. The Technical Committee will include up to 21 voting members, representing a balance of stakeholders from four categories:
- Manufacturer: Manufacturer of products or services covered by the scope of the criteria and their trade associations.
- Other Industry: Other businesses commercially engaged with the products or services such as:
- Suppliers and their trade associations.
- Recyclers, repair and refurbish companies, asset management service providers, and their trade associations.
- Other types of businesses commercially engaged with the product.
- Sustainability Advocates and Government Policy: Individual from a public agency (local, regional, state, federal, or international) or represents a professional public/environmental health/safety organization, data privacy and/or IT security, academia, or not-for-profit environmental organization.
- Purchasers and Ecolabel Criteria Users: An individual whose organization purchases, uses, or specifies products or services covered in the scope of the criteria. Users/consumers and their trade association representatives, institutional purchasers, third-party conformity assessment bodies (e.g., testing laboratories), and retailers are included in this membership classification.
Technical Committee member applications will be reviewed and members selected by NSF using the following considerations:
- technical competency and qualifications of the applicant relevant to the criteria;
- balance of stakeholder interests;
- geographic and product representation;
- date of receipt of application; and
- participation in recent or concurrent processes.
If you are interested in applying as a voting member of the Technical Committee, please complete the Technical Committee Application Form, and return it by 11:59 PM EST on March 22, 2023, to Greta Baragar, Sustainability Standards Lead, NSF International (gbaragar@nsf.org).
Questions?
Please contact Greta Baragar (gbaragar@nsf.org) with any questions regarding the Technical Committee application process. Please contact GEC at Criteria@globalelectronicscouncil.org for questions about the overall GEC criteria development process and application in EPEAT. Additional information on the GEC criteria development process is publicly available.
