EPEAT Program
Continuous Monitoring Outcomes Report
Mobile Phones
MP-2022-01
November 10, 2022

1.0

BackgroundEPEAT® is a comprehensive voluntary sustainability Type 1 ecolabel that helps purchasers identify sustainable
technology products and services. Central to EPEAT are conformity assurance activities that meet the technicalrigor and credibility needs of the institutional purchasers who rely upon EPEAT. The EPEAT Program ensures
the ongoing conformance of EPEAT-registered products through an ongoing surveillance process known asContinuous Monitoring. Continuous Monitoring activities occur throughout the year and test the ability ofParticipating Manufacturers to prove conformance with EPEAT Criteria on an ongoing basis.
Some Continuous Monitoring activities require that Investigations be conducted in discrete timeframes calledRounds. The EPEAT Program develops an individual plan for each Continuous Monitoring Round, which
specifies the EPEAT Criteria to be investigated, the method of investigation that GEC-approved Conformity
Assurance Bodies (CABs) must use and the specific dates when the Investigation activities must be completed.
The EPEAT Program also selects the Participating Manufacturers and EPEAT-registered products and assigns
Investigations to CABs, which must fully participate in and are responsible for implementing Continuous
Monitoring Round activities with their Participating Manufacturer clients. Participating Manufacturers are
required to cooperate fully with their GEC-approved CAB during Round activities.
To maintain the level of transparency relied on by purchasers, the EPEAT Program publishes an Outcomes
Report at the conclusion of each Round to summarize the activities conducted and to identify the products andParticipating Manufacturers that received nonconformances and the actions taken to restore accuracy of theEPEAT Registry.
This document summarizes the activities and results of Continuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-01 conducted
for the Mobile Phones product category.

2.0 Overview of Continuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-01
2.1

Investigation Activities

As per the published Round Plan, Continuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-01 used Level 2 Investigations(laboratory evaluation of products to determine the products’ conformance with specific EPEAT Criteria). GECapproved CABs obtained the products, as identified by the EPEAT Program, from the open market without
involvement of the Participating Manufacturers, where possible, and sent them for laboratory evaluation. Thelaboratories evaluated the products against the specified Criteria and produced reports summarizing theactivities conducted and the results. GEC-approved CABs reviewed the reports, made recommendations onconformity, and sent the reports to the EPEAT Program. The EPEAT Program made the final decisions onconformity for the Investigations.

Global Electronics Council

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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2.2

November 10, 2022

Criteria InvestigatedContinuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-02 focused on circularity and the sustainable use of resources. The
unsustainable use of resources has triggered raw material scarcities, contributed to climate change, andcaused widespread environmental degradation, while also negatively impacting human health.
Sustainable use of resources to enable a circular economy is increasingly a priority for governments,
institutional purchasers, and manufacturers around the globe. Institutional purchasers in both the public andprivate sectors are interested in procuring products and services that further sustainable consumption andproduction, and for these reasons, GEC identified Criteria which contribute to these goals for laboratory
investigation in 2022. One product was randomly selected (using a random number generator) from a list ofParticipating Manufacturers. The product was investigated for the Criteria identified in the table below,
however if the product had not selected a Criterion, that Criterion was not investigated.
Table 1: Criteria Investigated in Round MP-2022-01
Criteria Number

Criterion Title

11.3.1

Battery removability / replacement by qualified repair service providers or authorized repair providers11.3.2

Battery removability instructions

11.3.3

Battery removability / replacement without use of tools

11.4.1Ease of disassembling mobile phone

11.4.2Further ease of disassembling mobile phone

11.8.1

Notification regarding and the identification of materials and components requiring selective treatment.

3.0 Summary of Investigations and Final Decisions on Conformity for MP-2022-01
Highlights from this Continuous Monitoring Round are:•5 investigations completed•

4 decisions of Conformance•1 decision of Nonconformance

Global Electronics Council

Further details provided in Section 4Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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Figure 1: Final Conformity Decisions for MP-2022-01(shown as percentage of total investigations)

4.0 Further Details on Nonconformances for MP-2022-01
Table 2 below provides a breakdown of the nonconformances by criterion.
Table 2: Breakdown of Nonconformances by Criterion for MP-2022-01
Criteria Number

Criterion Title

11.8.1

Notification regarding and the identification ofmaterials and components requiring selectivetreatment

Completed
Investigations1Nonconformances
1

Nonconformance
Rate
100%

There was only one nonconformance in MP-2022-01. The nonconformance was classified as a demonstrated
nonconformance, which means evidence definitively showed that the criterion was not met.
4.1

Minor Errors Versus Nonconformances

All nonconformances must be categorized as either a minor error or nonconformance. For Level 2
Investigations, nonconformances may be categorized as minor errors if a GEC-approved CAB is unable toobtain a product from the market and the Participating Manufacturer indicated the product has reached endof-life and is no longer available on the market. All nonconformances that do not meet the definition of minor
errors are categorized as nonconformances.
No minor errors were identified in Round MP-2022-01.
4.2

Nonconformances

There was only one nonconformance identified in Continuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-01, and it was ademonstrated nonconformance for Criterion 11.8.1. This criterion requires Participating Manufacturers toprovide or make information available to reuse and recycling facilities to identify the presence and location ofmaterials and components requiring selective treatment, as listed in Annex VII in the European Union WEEE
Directive 2012/19/EU.

Global Electronics Council

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5.0 Actions to Restore Conformance
Where the final conformity decision is nonconformance (including minor errors), Participating Manufacturers
must make corrections to restore the accuracy of the EPEAT Registry during the Corrective Action Phase. Theseactivities may include providing additional evidence to demonstrate conformance with the criterion orunselecting the criteria in the EPEAT Registry. Where the product was found nonconformant and is no longer
available in the marketplace, the product must be archived.
During the Corrective Action Phase, Participating Manufacturers must also develop Corrective Action Plans forother EPEAT-registered products that may be affected by the same underlying issue causing thenonconformance but were not the subject of investigation (called “similarly affected products”).
The following action was taken to restore accuracy to the EPEAT Registry as a result of Continuous Monitoring
Round MP-2022-01:•1 investigation

Additional data provided by Participating Manufacturer, bringing the productinto conformance with the Criterion

Table 3 in Section 7 identifies the Participating Manufacturer and product that received a nonconformance inContinuous Monitoring Round MP-2022-01.

6.0 Key Findings
6.1

Scope of Criterion 11.8.1

While the criteria for Mobile Phones define both “mobile phone” and “product”, the scope of the productcategory covers the mobile phone, accessories shipped in the box with the mobile phone, and packaging.
Criterion 11.8.1 applies to the mobile phone and any accessories in the box that include materials and/orcomponents identified in Annex VII in the European Union WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU.

Global Electronics Council

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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7.0 Identification of Nonconformances and Corrections Made by Participating Manufacturers
In the interest of transparency, the EPEAT Program identifies the Participating Manufacturers and products that received nonconformances and the actions taken to restore accuracy of the EPEAT Registry.
Minor errors are generally clerical in nature and do not materially affect the validity of products in the EPEAT Registry. As such, these are not identified in the table below.

Table 3: Summary of Nonconformances and Corrections Made by Participating Manufacturers
Participating Manufacturer

ProductProduct TypeCountry

Criterion
NumberGoogle

Google Pixel 4a

Mobile Phone

United States

11.8.1

Global Electronics Council

Criterion Title

Notification regarding and theidentification of materials andcomponents requiring selectivetreatment

Required or
Optional

Underlying Reason for Nonconformance

Corrective Action Taken

Required

Demonstrated nonconformance

Manufacturer provided evidence
demonstrating conformance.

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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Document Control and Change HistoryIssue
1Revision0112021Owner
EPEAT Conformity
Assurance Manager
EPEAT Conformity
Assurance Manager
Senior Manager,
Ecolabels andResources
Senior Manager,
Ecolabels andResources

Global Electronics Council

ApproverDirector, EPEAT
ProgramDirector, EPEAT
Program
Senior Director,
Ecolabels andManufacturer
Resources
Vice President,
Ecolabels andManufacturer
Resources

Description
Initial release

Approval Date

Effective Date2018 Dec 112018 Dec 11

Reformatting of document. Addition ofstandardized text.

2021 Mar 25

2021 Mar 30

Updated terminology fornonconformances to include“nonconformances” and “minor errors”,
in alignment with revisions to P66.

2022 Oct 1

2022 Oct 15

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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