Public Stakeholder Comment Period Launched for Key EPEAT Policy and Programmatic Documents

The EPEAT Program makes policy and procedural updates on an annual basis and is proposing revisions to the EPEAT Policy Manual (P65), EPEAT Conformity Assurance Implementation Manual (P66), GEC Criteria Development Process (P74), and GEC Selection of Product Categories (P75).

The EPEAT Policy Manual identifies the underlying policies that govern and support EPEAT programmatic activities. The EPEAT Conformity Assurance Implementation Manual defines the specific requirements and expectations of brands participating in EPEAT and of GEC-approved Conformity Assurance Bodies (CABs). GEC Criteria Development Process identifies the process followed by the Global Electronics Council (GEC) to develop, revise, and evaluate criteria for use in the EPEAT Program. GEC Selection of Product Categories describes the process GEC follows to identify new product categories for which criteria may be developed.

Stakeholder feedback and insights are an essential part of GEC’s management of the EPEAT Program. As such, GEC is holding a 60-day comment period and welcomes stakeholder feedback on proposed revisions to these key documents. Parties interested in providing comments should contact Katherine Larocque for copies of the proposed revisions, which are identified using tracked changes in each of the respective documents. Please note that stakeholder feedback unrelated to the proposed changes will not be considered in this round of revisions, but will instead be examined for consideration during the next revision cycle.

The comment period is open from October 16 through December 15, 2023. Comments must be documented using the EPEAT Public Comment Form and submitted electronically to EPEAT@gec.org. All comments received that pertain to the proposed revisions will be made publicly available in a stakeholder comment report, summarizing comments received and attributing the comments directly to the submitter. All comments pertaining to the proposed revisions will be considered before the documents are finalized and published.

GEC reserves the right to not consider comments received after 11:59 pm North America Pacific Time on December 15, 2023.

To facilitate the review of these documents, GEC is holding three informational sessions for stakeholders to highlight key changes and answer any questions. To accommodate worldwide locations, we have scheduled three times for this call – note that the same topics will be discussed in each call.

GEC will not be accepting feedback from participants during these sessions; all feedback must be submitted electronically using the EPEAT Public Comment Form provided. If you or your colleagues are interested in participating in one of these calls, please use the registration links below.

GEC proposes to publish the revised documents on February 15, 2024 and new policy changes are proposed to become effective as of July 1, 2024. Participating Manufacturers and EPEAT-approved CABs will be responsible for conforming with the new requirements as of this date.

Please direct any questions about this public comment period to EPEAT@gec.org.