EPEAT Program
Continuous Monitoring Outcomes ReportServers
SV-2022-01
August 31, 2022

1.0 Background
EPEAT® 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 arerequired 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 major nonconformances and the actions taken to restore accuracyof the EPEAT Registry.
This document summarizes the activities and results of Continuous Monitoring Round SV-2022-01 conductedfor the Servers category.

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

Investigation Activities

As per the published Round Plan, Continuous Monitoring Round SV-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. The
laboratories 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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SV-2022-01 Outcomes Report2.2

August 31, 2022

Criteria InvestigatedContinuous Monitoring Round SV-2022-01 focused on circularity and 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 useof resources to enable a circular economy is increasingly a priority for governments, institutional purchasers,
and manufacturers around the globe. Institutional purchasers in both public and private sectors are interested
in procuring products and services that further sustainable consumption and production, and for thesereasons, GEC has identified criteria which contribute to these goals for laboratory investigation in 2022.
Products were randomly selected (using a random number generator), from a list of Participating
Manufacturers. Each product was investigated for the criteria identified in the table below, however if aproduct had not selected a criterion, that criterion was not investigated.
Table 1: Criteria Investigated in Round SV-2022-01
Criteria NumberCriterion Title

6.1.1

Conformance with provisions of European Union RoHS Directive

6.1.2

Conformance with substance restriction requirements of the European Union Battery Directive

6.1.3

Reduction of Bromine and Chlorine content of plastic parts > 25 grams

8.2.1

Enhancing recyclability of packaging materials

9.1.1

Design for repair, reuse and recycling

9.1.2

Design for plastics recycling

3.0 Summary of Investigations and Final Decisions on Conformity for SV-2022-01
Highlights from this Continuous Monitoring Round are:•6 investigations completed•

6 decisions of Conformance

4.0 Further Details on Nonconformances for SV-2022-01
All nonconformances must be categorized as either major or minor. Minor Nonconformances are non-criticalor clerical in nature and do not materially affect the validity of conformance with EPEAT Criteria. Allnonconformances that do not meet the definition of minor are categorized as major.
There were no nonconformances of any kind identified in Continuous Monitoring Round SV-2022-01.

5.0 Actions to Restore Conformance
Where the final conformity decision is nonconformance (whether major or minor), Participating Manufacturers
must make corrections to restore the accuracy of the EPEAT Registry during the Corrective Action Phase. These
activities may include providing additional evidence to demonstrate conformance with the criterion or
unselecting 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.

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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”).
Since no nonconformances were identified in this Round, no corrective actions were taken.

6.0 Key Findings
6.1

Inclusion of All Applicable Plastics for Criterion 6.1.3

Criterion 6.1.3 (Reduction of bromine and chlorine content of plastic parts > 25 grams), applies to all plastic
parts exceeding 25 grams, except the exceptions identified in the criterion:••

Printed circuit boards, cables and wiring, fans and electronic components; andParts for which the manufacturer has performed an alternative assessment in accordance with Annex
N-3 on the substance(s) responsible for exceeding the bromine and chlorine levels and demonstrates
that the substance was determined to be safer than, or as safe as, the available alternatives.

This does vary from other criteria, such as 9.1.2 Design for plastics recycling, which applies to plastic parts
greater than 100 grams. Participating Manufacturers and Conformity Assurance Bodies are reminded to review
the criterion scope and thresholds when determining conformance.

Global Electronics Council

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

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SV-2022-01 Outcomes ReportAugust 31, 2022

Document Control and Change History
Issue1Revision01120Owner
EPEAT Conformity
Assurance Manager
EPEAT Conformity
Assurance Manager
Senior Manager,
Ecolabels andResources

Global Electronics Council

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

Description
Initial release

Reformatting of document. Addition ofstandardized text.

Outcomes Report – Level 2 Investigations (P41A Issue2 Rev0)

Approval Date

Effective Date2018 Dec 112018 Dec 112021 Mar 25

2021 Mar 30

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