Epson today proclaimed its rapid response to the Energy Star program's new third-party certification requirement by announcing that an Epson all-in-one inkjet printer has been certified as Energy Star compliant by TÜV Rheinland.
Scheduled for launch in North America later this year, this product is the first printer to be certified by TÜV Rheinland since the program's new requirement came into effect, on January 1, 2011.
The international Energy Star program was established in the U.S. in 1992 to identify and promote energy-efficient products, in order to reduce energy consumption and, thus, carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming. Since 1995, office equipment products in Japan that meet certain energy-efficiency standards are permitted to carry the international Energy Star logo under a mutual recognition agreement between the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and the U.S. and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Prior to this year, manufacturers were able to self-declare compliance. However, to enhance the verification and testing of ENERGY STAR compliant products, the program was changed this year to require verification testing by EPA-recognized laboratories.
The power consumed by a product during use represents a large part of the product's total environmental impact across its lifecycle. Epson has thus sought to continuously improve the energy efficiency of its products during use and supply customers with products that satisfy Energy Star requirements. Energy-efficient performance is now often mandatory in both government and private procurement. Epson is helping these customers mitigate their environmental impact by becoming even more active in pursuing Energy Star compliance.
Epson is now striving to achieve its challenging Environmental Vision 2050.
Epson Australia
http://eco.epson.com.
