A half-dozen Department of Energy nuclear sites are being honored by the Global Electronics Council for 2023 purchases that resulted in carbon dioxide emission reductions equal to removing 121,000 cars off the road for a year, according to a DOE press release.
The Hanford Site in Washington state, the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Utah, the Paducah Site in Kentucky, the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state are being recognized for buying electronic products with little environmental impact.
The sites are winners of the 2024 EPEAT, or Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, awards, according to a Tuesday press release from DOE. EPEAT, developed with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, provides a ranking system for electronic products that meet voluntary environmental performance standards. The Global Electronics Council, a Portland, Ore., non-profit formed in 2005 to support sustainable electronics, runs the program.
The 2024 EPEAT Purchaser Awards virtual ceremony will be held next week, on July 25.
The six sites purchased more than 22,600 green products during 2023 that helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption as well as electronic-related hazardous waste and solid waste, according to the DOE press release. The sites together made 2023 purchases that cut 565,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, according to the press release.
“EPEAT has been instrumental in helping the DOE Office of Environmental Management achieve our sustainability goals by providing a reliable standard for sustainable electronics procurement,” said Jeanne Beard, chief information officer and director of information systems for the DOE nuclear cleanup office. “Through EPEAT’s rigorous criteria and global recognition, we have significantly reduced our environmental footprint and promoted responsible purchasing practices across our projects.”