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

OUTCOMES REPORTEPEAT VERIFICATION ROUND IE-2018-03
1. Overview of Verification Round
Verification Round IE-2018-03 investigated the following criteria which had not been verified
recently or were targeted for investigation during EPEAT’s annual planning process:•4.1.5.1 – Required – Compliance with provisions of EU Battery Directive•

4.5.1.1 – Required – ENERGY STAR•4.6.1.1 – Required – Provision of product take-back service•

4.6.2.1 – Required – End-of-life processing•

4.9.1.1 – Required – Allow use of general office paper with renewable content, recycled content,
and that is chlorine free•

4.9.3.2 – Optional – Manufacturer recycles or reuses toner material collected through its
cartridge and container take-back program•

4.9.3.3 – Optional – Manufacture recycles or reuses plastics collected through its cartridge andcontainer take-back program

All products that were active on the EPEAT Registry were eligible for inclusion. All geographies andManufacturers were eligible for inclusion. No manufacturer received more than 8 investigations
during this round. Forty Level 1 investigations were planned for the round although only 36 werecompleted due to a variety of factors including adherence to the Performance Based Sampling Planand limits to the number of investigations per Manufacturer.

2. Summary of Outcomes
Highlights from this Verification Round:•

36 total investigations assigned•

35 decisions of Conformance•1 decision of Non-Conformance

Outcomes Report
EPEAT Verification Round IE-2018-03
IE-2018-03 Outcomes Report finalPage 1
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Figure 1: Overall Conformance Status for
IE-2018-03 (as % of total investigations)

Conformance

Non-Conformance

Figure 2: Reason for Non-Conformance
110

Insufficient documentation to prove conformance

3. Key Lessons
4.9.3.3 Required: Manufacturer recycles or reuses plastics collected through its cartridgeand container take back programThis criterion has specific reporting requirements and the data must be reported annually.
Manufacturers should review the reporting requirements to ensure that all required
information is up to date.

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4. General Message to Manufacturers
Understanding documentation requirements for Verification Rounds:
You can find more guidance and examples of conformance documents in the Conformity Sample
Packets located in “Key Documents” under My Account. Go to epeat.net to log in.
Initial response to Auditors:
When contacted regarding participation in a Verification Round, Manufacturers should respond tothe Auditor as soon as possible to let them know they are communicating with the correct person orto inform them of the correct contact. This also helps the Auditor know that the e-mail address isvalid.
Conformance of products that may share similar traits and/or supply chains:
If a Non-Conformance is found for a particular criterion and product, Manufacturers should be
prepared to determine if other products on the EPEAT Registry are similarly impacted due to use ofsimilar materials and/or supply chains, and develop corrective action plans to address the future
conformance of these other products.

5. Looking Forward
Plans for Future Verification Activities:
A total of four Verification Rounds were planned for Imaging Equipment products in 2018. Allrounds have been launched at this time.
Conformity Sample Packets:
This and all future Verification Rounds have and will be conducted according to the guidance
provided in the Conformity Sample Packets posted on www.epeat.net under “Key Documents” inMy Account.

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6. Investigation Table

TABLE 1: Specific Non-Conformance Findings and Corrective Action Taken
Participating
Manufacturer

ProductCountry

Product Type

Criterion

Requiredor Optional

Criterion Description

NC Finding Description

Corrective Action
Taken

Konica Minolta

bizhub
C308

CanadaMultifunction
Device (MFD)

4.9.3.3

OptionalManufacturer recycles orreuses plastics collected
through its cartridge andcontainer take-back program

Insufficient
documentation toprove conformance

Criterion
undeclared byManufacturer.

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7. BackgroundTo assure the credibility of the EPEAT Registry, verification of the claims by Participating
Manufacturers are rigorous, independent and transparent. Verification is conducted according topolicies and procedures described in documents provided on www.epeat.net. Manufacturers aregiven no forewarning that their products will be verified, and verification is performed based on thedeclarations as they are in the Registry at the time the Verification Round begins.
Investigations are performed by expert technical contractors called Auditors working for aConformity Assurance Body approved by the Green Electronics Council (GEC). Auditors are free ofconflicts of interest, and their recommended decisions are reviewed and finalized by a four-person
panel of independent technical experts (called the Conformity Decision Panel) who are also
contractors free of conflicts of interest. Decisions of conformity by the Conformity Decision Panelare made blind to the identity of the products and companies they are judging, based only on
evidence collected and analyzed by Auditors. A serious consequence of receiving a NonConformance is that it is published publicly in an Outcomes Report, for purchasers, competitors, andothers to see.
•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 isinconclusive (i.e. was not available, could not be found from public sources, or did not provide
enough details to determine conformance), the Auditor may be instructed to proceed with aLevel 1 investigation.

•

In a Level 1 investigation, an Auditor assess Conformance to a criterion by examining
information submitted by a Manufacturer. The Manufacturer is required to provide detailed andaccurate information in a timely manner.

•In Level 2 investigations, the Conformity Assurance Body obtains a product without theManufacturer’s knowledge or involvement, and has the product disassembled and inspected toassess conformance with one or more criteria.

•In Level 3 investigations, the Conformity Assurance Body obtains a product without theManufacturer’s knowledge or involvement, and has the product analytically tested to assess
conformance with one or more criteria.

Manufacturers must correct Non-Conformances, either by bringing the product into Conformance,by un-declaring the criterion until Conformance is achieved, or by removing the product from theRegistry. The Green Electronics Council also requires that Manufacturers examine other registeredproducts to determine if their declarations should be corrected as well. If a Manufacturer corrects
the Non-Conformance by un-declaring the criterion and the criterion is an optional criterion, theylose that point, and possibly the product drops a tier. If it is a required criterion, they must archive
the product. If it is a required corporate criterion, they must archive all of their registered products.

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