Excuse me for not spreading the good news sooner, but I just now stumbled upon this eco-tidbit. Did you know that it is now illegal to purchase non-Energy-Star-certified office equipment in Europe?

A little over two weeks ago, The European Union’s Parliament voted, “all public-sector purchasers of office equipment in Europe are in future obliged to buy brands that carry the Energy Star logo.” Yay (insert explosion of applause from European environmentalists here) hoorah! What this fantastic decree is really saying is quite simple . . . from now on all offices, organizations, schools, hospitals, museums etc. receiving public funding from the European Union are banned from squandering on energy-embezzling electronic equipment. Instead, municipal entities are required to support the progressive energy industry and only purchase energy-preserving equipment.

Such a law will have E.U. institutions doing their back to school shopping with our favorite source for energy efficiency: ENERGY STAR. To refresh your memory, ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Energy. The program identifies and promotes energy efficient products through the use of the ENERGY STAR certification—confirmed by the familiar blue ENERGY STAR label (see below). If a product is deemed by the above organizations as “efficient” while maintaining or improving performance compared to its competitors, it is awarded the blue ENERGY STAR logo and listed on the ENERGY STAR list of energy-conserving products.

The Energy Star program is designed to make the public aware of how much energy is consumed by everyday household and office products. The program aims to educate the public on how they can save money and help the environment simply by choosing one appliance over another. Energy Star products may cost the same as or slightly more than those that don’t qualify for the label–but they cost less to use. Efficient products can reduce energy use by 30 to 50 percent.

The European Union’s new policy is part of their ambitious energy strategy established this January. The plan requires all EU member states to reduce CO2 emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. Yes, an ambitious goal, but with laws like this one they are on their way.

Posted on July 21st, 2007 by Olivia Zaleski