Green Electronics Council
Registry Services Department

P42Issue 1 Rev 0Verification Round Plan

Green Electronics Council
227 SW Pine Street, Suite 300 • Portland, OR 97204 • V: (503) 279-9382 • F: (503) 279-9381 • www.epeat.net

PLAN FOR VERIFICATION ROUND IE-2016-03
IMAGING EQUIPMENT
AUGUST 2016
I.

PURPOSE AND CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document outlines the plan for a Verification Round of Investigations to be performed inaccordance P15 Verification Procedure, this Verification Plan, and EPEAT scheme rules.

II.

SELECTION OF CRITERIA AND PRODUCTS FOR VERIFICATION

Verification Round IE-2016-03 will investigate four criteria that have not yet been investigated: 4.4.2.1 - Optional—Product upgradeability
 4.5.2.1 - Optional—Product specific greenhouse gas emissions—life-cycle assessment
 4.8.4.1 - Optional—Provision of take-back service for packaging
 4.9.2.1 - Required—Documentation that product does not prevent the use of non-manufacturer
cartridges and non-manufacturer containers
All Manufacturers claiming any of these criteria will be included in this Verification Round. Additionally,
from a complete list of all manufacturers, criteria and products will be chosen at random until the total
number of investigations reaches 51.
The four chosen criteria, plus any applicable randomly chosen criteria, will be investigated via Level 0investigation. In a Level 0 investigation, an Auditor assesses Conformance to a criterion by examining
publicly available information only – no products are obtained for inspection or testing, and theManufacturer is not asked to submit documentation. If the publicly available information is inconclusive(i.e. was not available, could not be found from public sources, or did not provide enough details todetermine conformance), the Auditor may be instructed to proceed with a Level 1 investigation.
All randomly selected criteria not chosen for Level 0 investigation will be investigated via Level 1
investigation after the Level 0 portion of the Verification Round has closed. In a Level 1 investigation, anAuditor assesses Conformance to a criterion by examining information submitted by a Manufacturer.
The Manufacturer is required to provide detailed and accurate information in a timely manner.
The products and criteria will be selected via the process below:
Selection Process:Step 1Notes:

A list of all products will be pulled fromthe EPEAT Registry.
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All active products on the Registry willbe included.

August 2016

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6III.

Select only products claiming all fourchosen criteria. From this list, GEC will
randomly select a product from eachManufacturer.
For Manufacturers not chosen in theprevious step, narrow down list to only
products claiming three of chosen criteria.
From this list, GEC will randomly select aproduct from each Manufacturer
remaining.
For Manufacturers not chosen in theprevious step, narrow down list to only
products claiming two of chosen criteria.
From this list, GEC will randomly select a
product from each Manufacturer
remaining.
All manufacturers claiming any of thefour criteria will be investigated in theVerification Round.

For Manufacturers not chosen in theprevious step, narrow down list to only
products claiming one of chosen criteria.
From this list, GEC will randomly select a
product from each Manufacturer
remaining.
All manufacturers claiming any of thefour criteria will be investigated in thisVerification Round.

For Manufacturers not claiming any of thefour chosen criteria, the EPEAT Scheme
will randomly select a product from each
Manufacturer. GEC will continue
selecting random criteria / products until a
total of 53 is reached.

All manufacturers with active productson the EPEAT Registry are subject toinvestigation during this Round. This
step will not be taken investigations
identified in steps 1-5 add up to 53
investigations.

All manufacturers claiming any of thefour criteria will be investigated in thisVerification Round.

All manufacturers claiming any of thefour criteria will be investigated in thisVerification Round.

All geographies and Manufacturers with active products on the EPEAT Registry are eligible forinclusion.

No Manufacturer will have more than 4 investigations in this Verification Round.

Exception is as follows: If a criterion is randomly selected for a product and that product has
been investigated against that criterion in the last six months, a new criterion will be randomly
selected for the product.

VERIFICATION PROCESSSThe Verification Round will proceed in accordance with current procedures, as outlined below.
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Level 0 Investigations - Targeted and Random Criteria:
The Level 0 portion of the Verification Round will proceed in accordance with current procedures,
as outlined below.
1.

The EPEAT Scheme will take a “snapshot” of the Registry, from which products will beselected for investigation.

2.

The EPEAT Scheme will instruct Conformity Assurance Bodies (if applicable – see SectionV) to proceed with the investigations.

3.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will assign investigations to (an) Auditor(s). The Auditor(s)will NOT notify the subject Manufacturers that their products are being investigated at
this time.

4.

The Auditors will perform the investigations as assigned within the allotted time, andprepare an Investigation Report for each investigation, recommending conformance orinconclusive based on publicly available data.

5.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will review all Investigation Reports to ensure they areclear and complete and the evidence supports the recommendation, and will forward
the Report and supporting evidence to the EPEAT Scheme. At the same time,
Conformity Assurance Body will forward the draft Reports (without the final Conformity
Decision Panel decision) to the subject Manufacturers.

6.

The Conformity Decision Panel will review the reports and make a decision regarding
conformity. The identity of the products and Manufacturers will not be disclosed to theConformity Decision Panel. The Conformity Decision Panel will be blind to the specificproducts and Manufacturers for which they are making conformity decisions.

7.

In the case of a finding of inconclusive, the EPEAT Scheme will launch a Level 1
investigation. The Verification Process for Level 1 investigations can be seen below.

8.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will inform the subject Manufacturers of the Conformity
Decision Panel’s conformity decision. For decisions of Non-Conformance, Manufacturers
will be required to take corrective action within 14 calendar days to restore the accuracyof the declaration in the EPEAT Registry.

Level 1 Investigations - Targeted Criteria and Manufacturers:
The Level 1 portion of the Verification Round will proceed in accordance with current procedures,
as outlined below.
1.

The EPEAT Scheme will use the “snapshot” of the Registry taken for the Level 0investigations.

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IV.

2.

The EPEAT Scheme will instruct Conformity Assurance Bodies (if applicable – see SectionV) to proceed with the investigations.

3.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will assign investigations to (an) Auditor(s), and will notify
the subject Manufacturers that their products are being investigated.

4.

The EPEAT Scheme will publish the Verification Round Plan on epeat.net.

5.

The Auditors will perform the investigations as assigned within 60 calendar days, andprepare an Investigation Report for each investigation, recommending conformance ornonconformance.

6.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will review all Investigation Reports to ensure they areclear and complete and the evidence supports the recommendation, and will forward
the Report and supporting evidence to the EPEAT Scheme. At the same time,
Conformity Assurance Body will forward the draft Reports (without the final Conformity
Decision Panel decision) to the subject Manufacturers.

7.

The Conformity Decision Panel will review the reports and make a decision regarding
conformity. The identity of the products and Manufacturers will not be disclosed to theConformity Decision Panel. The Conformity Decision Panel will be blind to the specificproducts and Manufacturers for which they are making conformity decisions.

8.

In the case of a finding of inconclusive or Non-Conformant, the EPEAT Scheme may
launch a Level 2 investigation at some future date.

9.

Conformity Assurance Bodies will inform the subject Manufacturers of the Conformity
Decision Panel’s conformity decision. For decisions of Non-Conformance, Manufacturers
will be required to take corrective action within 14 calendar days to restore the accuracyof the declaration in the EPEAT Registry.

10.

The EPEAT Scheme will publish a "Verification Round Outcomes Report" identifying thenonconforming products and Manufacturers, as well as the action taken to restore
accuracy of the declarations in the Registry.

CONFORMITY DECISION PANEL

The following individuals are the members of the Conformity Decision Panel:



V.

Libby Chaplin, CEO, Arcadian Solutions
Jack Geibig, President, Ecoform
Robert Pfahl, Pfahl Consulting L.L.C.
Annette Roesler, Ph.D., Independent Professional Chemist

PRODUCT REGISTRATION ENTITIES AND QUALIFIED VERIFIERS

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All investigations will be conducted through Conformity Assurance Bodies approved by the Green
Electronics Council. The following Conformity Assurance Bodies may be involved in Investigations forthis Verification Round: DEKRA
 GEC
 Intertek
 ULE

VI.

VERIFICATION ROUND PLAN APPROVALMembers of the Conformity Decision Panel and the GEC Scheme approved the Verification Round Planon August 17, 2016. This plan was updated with actual numbers on August 22, 2016.

VII.

SUMMARY OF IE-2016-03 PLANNED INVESTIGATIONS

Criterion

Verification Selection and Process

4.4.2.1



4.5.2.1



4.8.4.1



4.9.2.1

Random

Optional—Product upgradeability
Level 0 investigation, move to Level 1 in case of Inconclusive
Optional—Product specific greenhouse gas emissions—life-cycle
assessment
Level 0 investigation, move to Level 1 in case of Inconclusive
Optional—Provision of take-back service for packaging
Level 0 investigation, move to Level 1 in case of Inconclusive
Required—Documentation that product does not prevent the use ofnonmanufacturer cartridges and non-manufacturer containers
Level 0 investigation, move to Level 1 in case of Inconclusive
Criteria and products chosen randomly from remaining
manufacturers
Level 0 or Level 1 as applicable to criterion
Total

Verification Round Plan IE-2016-03
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p. 5# Planned
Investigations
12141213051

August 2016