April 01, 2008

San Francisco adopts EPEAT

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has issued Executive Directive 08-01 which will measure and reduce the environmental impact of information and communication technology (ICT).

As part of the Directive, beginning in April 2008 city departments are directed to only purchase personal and notebook computers and monitors that meet at least the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Silver standard, with a preference for the Gold standard.

According to Newsom’s statement, based on the experience of commercial buildings, approximately 20-25% of building energy is attributable to ICT. Because of this impact, ICT has significant potential to enable innovative solutions to the environmental challenges of energy use and can be an effective tool to advance sustainable economic development.

For more information, please see the Mayor’s release.