Last week I blogged about the confusion surrounding certification for environmentally-friendly products. That confusion can have a real bottom-line impact for companies that deal with the federal government, which is a huge purchaser of IT equipment and services, but has buying guidelines that are often less than clear.

Since January 2007, under Executive Order 13423 signed by former President Bush, 95 percent of any agency’s IT budget for computers and monitors must be spent on EPEAT-compliant devices. The Executive Order is administered by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (http://ofee.gov/about/modified.asp). EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is an independent certification that computers and monitors meet certain criteria to be labeled Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

According to the Federal Times the government is now looking to expand EPEAT to include cell phones, PDAs, copiers, printers, and televisions. While the new standards may take a year to implement, agencies are already starting to include contract clauses that require EPEAT compliance for future purchases of these devices. Of particular interest to our readers is renewed attention on data centers, which will also be targeted for EPEAT treatment. The data center for the House of Representatives is already “green” by virtue of using technologies such as virtualization and power management, and has resulted in a 35 percent cost savings.

These are encouraging moves. EPEAT is a “real” standard, not some fluff certification for sale. EPEAT Gold, in particular, is tough to meet. Government agencies are increasingly going to insist on EPEAT compliance in IT purchasing (San Francisco recently required all computers and monitors to be Gold compliant), and having an external standard will make it easier for both manufacturers and customers to work off the same sheet to achieve the goal of environmental protection.