Early next year the Technical Committee will launch to add Enterprise Data Storage to GEC’s Sustainable Use of Resources Criteria for the EPEAT® ecolabel – now is your opportunity to get involved!

The Global Electronics Council (GEC) is conducting a Limited Criteria Revision of its Sustainable Use of Resources Criteria to add Enterprise Data Storage. This Call for Participation is to notify stakeholders of the opportunity to participate on the multi-stakeholder Technical Committee that will evaluate and reach consensus on sustainability leadership circularity criteria. GEC is partnering with NSF International, an organization with extensive expertise in managing voluntary consensus processes, to convene and manage the Technical Committee.  

Stakeholder Participation in the Technical Committee

The Technical Committee is the consensus body in the GEC criteria development process. The Technical Committee is responsible for ensuring that proposed criteria address priority sustainability impacts identified in the State of Sustainability Research and will move the industry and its supply chain to innovate and adopt best practices that achieve credible, verifiable reductions in sustainability impacts and increase transparency. This Technical Committee is expected to begin its work in Q1 2026 and continue for less than 6 months. Technical Committee meetings will occur monthly via teleconference call.

Membership on the Technical Committee is open to all interested parties by submitting the Technical Committee Application Form. The Technical Committee will include up to 20 voting members, representing a balance of stakeholders from four categories:

• Manufacturer: Manufacturer of products or services covered by the scope of the criteria and their trade associations
• Other Industry: Other businesses commercially engaged with the products or services such as: 
  • Suppliers and their trade associations.
  • Recyclers, repair and refurbish companies, asset management service providers, and their trade associations.
  • Other types of businesses commercially engaged with the product.
• Sustainability Advocates and Government Policy: Individual from a public agency (local, regional, state, federal, or international) or represents a professional public/environmental health/safety organization, data privacy and/or IT security, academia, or not-for-profit environmental organization.
• Purchasers and Ecolabel Criteria Users: An individual whose organization purchases, uses, or specifies products or services covered in the scope of the criteria. User/consumers and their trade association representatives, institutional purchasers, third-party conformity assessment bodies (e.g., testing laboratories), and retailers are included in this membership classification.

 Technical Committee member applications will be reviewed and members selected by NSF using the following considerations:

• technical competency and qualifications of the applicant relevant to the criteria;
• balance of stakeholder interests;
• geographic and product representation;
• date of receipt of application; and
• participation in recent or concurrent processes.

If you are interested in applying to participate on the Technical Committee, please complete the Technical Committee Application Form, and return it by December 1, 2025 to Cassandra Leone, Sustainability Standards Lead, NSF International (cleone@nsf.org).

Technical Committee Observer Status

It is also possible to apply for Technical Committee observer status. Observer status allows individuals to attend Technical Committee meetings and receive documents provided to the Technical Committee, such as meeting agendas and updates to Full Draft Criteria Documents. Technical Committee Observers may only observe meeting discussions, unless invited by the Technical Committee Chair to contribute to the meeting, either verbally or electronically. Technical Committee Observers are limited to two representative from an organization. Organizations that have a representative with Technical Committee Member status are eligible to have one Technical Committee Observer. All Observers must complete a Technical Committee Observer Application form, which includes signing an Observer Agreement before receiving Technical Committee documents or attending meetings. The names and affiliations of all Technical Committee Observers are publicly available.

If you are interested in applying Technical Committee Observer status, please complete the Technical Committee Observer Application Form, and return it by December 1, 2025 to Cassandra Leone, Sustainability Standards Lead, NSF International (cleone@nsf.org).

Questions? Please contact Cassandra Leone (cleone@nsf.org) with any questions regarding the Technical Committee application process. Please contact Rafaela Brito Portela Marcelino (rafaela@gec.org) at the Global Electronics Council about the overall GEC criteria development process and application in EPEAT. Additional information on the GEC criteria development process is publicly available.

GEC is pleased to have taken next step towards expanding GEC’s data center stack to increase the sustainability of data centers by releasing its Final Product Category Proposal for Enterprise Data Storage products.

GEC will  activate this new EPEAT Product Category by applying the newly updated next generation sustainability criteria for Climate Change Mitigation, Reducing Chemicals of Concern and Responsible Supply Chains, and working with stakeholders to  make necessary changes to apply the next generation EPEAT Sustainable Use of Resources (SUR)Criteria to data storage equipment. GEC will convene Expert Ad Hoc Groups to review draft proposals for a Limited Criteria Revision of the SUR Criteria. Where select Sustainable Use of Resources criteria have product specific thresholds and/or functional performance requirements, such as for recycled content and availability of replacement components, GEC is seeking Expert Ad Hoc Group input on the applicability of server specific SUR requirements to data storage products. No other revisions to EPEAT SUR-2025 Criteria or other next generation EPEAT Criteria are proposed.

Following conclusion of the Expert Ad Hoc Group vetting process, GEC will initiate a Voluntary Consensus Process with NSF International for a Limited Criteria Revision of EPEAT SUR-2025. The work with NSF is expected to begin in Q1 2026.

We ask that only one representative per organization join the Expert Ad Hoc Group unless they represent different stakeholder categories/areas of technical expertise.

Please contact Erica Terek (eterek@gec.org) with questions and to notify us of your interest in joining the Expert Ad Hoc Group by September 24, 2025.

GEC is pleased to have taken the next step towards expanding GEC’s data center stack to increase the sustainability of data centers by releasing its Final Product Category Proposal for Enterprise Data Storage products. GEC will engage technical experts to refine and finalize sustainability criteria for this product category by convening an Expert Ad Hoc Group in Q3/Q4 of 2025. A reminder and call for participation will be sent in coming months.

The final Product Category Proposal reflects stakeholder comments and data-supported recommendations submitted during the public consultation process and outlines the rationale for adding enterprise data storage to the EPEAT portfolio, including market analysis, summary of sustainability impacts and strategies to reduce impacts, and stakeholder interest. It also provides an overview of product composition and makes recommendations on the scope and approach for developing criteria for this product category.

GEC will  activate this new EPEAT Product Category by applying the newly updated next generation sustainability criteria for Climate Change Mitigation, Reducing Chemicals of Concern and Responsible Supply Chains, and working with stakeholders to  make necessary changes to apply the next generation EPEAT Sustainable Use of Resources (SUR)Criteria to data storage equipment.  GEC will convene Expert Ad Hoc Groups to review draft proposals for a Limited Criteria Revision of the SUR Criteria. Where select Sustainable Use of Resources criteria have product specific thresholds and/or functional performance requirements, such as for recycled content and availability of replacement components, GEC will seek Expert Ad Hoc Group input on the applicability of server requirements to data storage products. No other revisions to EPEAT SUR-2025 Criteria or other next generation EPEAT Criteria are proposed.

Following conclusion of the Expert Ad Hoc Group vetting process, GEC will initiate a Voluntary Consensus Process with NSF International for a Limited Criteria Revision of EPEAT SUR-2025. This work is expected to begin in Q3/Q4 of 2025.

Please contact Erica Terek (eterek@gec.org) with questions.  

GEC is pleased to release its Final Product Category Proposal for Enterprise Data Storage products, which reflects stakeholder comments and data-supported recommendations submitted during the public consultation process.

This document outlines the rationale for adding enterprise data storage to the EPEAT portfolio, including market analysis, summary of sustainability impacts and strategies to reduce impacts, and stakeholder interest. It also provides an overview of product composition and makes recommendations on the scope and approach for developing criteria for this product category.

In order to activate this new EPEAT Product Category, GEC will apply the newly updated next generation sustainability criteria for Climate Change Mitigation, Reducing Chemicals of Concern and Responsible Supply Chains. GEC will also make necessary changes to apply the next generation EPEAT Sustainable Use of Resources Criteria to data storage equipment by convening Expert Ad Hoc Groups to review draft proposals for a Limited Criteria Revision. Where select Sustainable Use of Resources criteria have product specific thresholds and/or functional performance requirements, such as for recycled content and availability of replacement components, GEC will seek Expert Ad Hoc Group input on the applicability of server requirements to data storage products. No other revisions to EPEAT SUR-2025 Criteria or other next generation EPEAT Criteria are proposed. Following conclusion of the Expert Ad Hoc Group vetting process, GEC will initiate a Voluntary Consensus Process with NSF International for a Limited Criteria Revision of EPEAT SUR-2025.

Stakeholders interested in participating in the Expert Ad Hoc Group are encouraged to contact Criteria@globalelectronicscouncil.org by 11:59pm ET on April 30, 2025.  

Please contact Erica Terek (eterek@gec.org) with any questions.  

Today the Global Electronics Council (GEC) released its Final Product Category Proposal for Enterprise Data Storage products, which initiates coverage of this category under the EPEAT ecolabel, and development of the EPEAT “data center stack” to enable more sustainable data centers.  The final proposal reflects stakeholder comments and data-supported recommendations submitted during the public consultation process.   

This document outlines the rationale for adding enterprise data storage to the EPEAT portfolio, including market analysis, summary of sustainability impacts and strategies to reduce impacts, and stakeholder interest. It also provides an overview of product composition and makes recommendations on the scope and approach for developing criteria for this product category.   

In order to activate this new EPEAT Product Category, GEC will apply the newly updated next generation sustainability criteria for Climate Change Mitigation, Reducing Chemicals of Concern and Responsible Supply Chains. GEC will also make necessary changes to apply the next generation EPEAT Sustainable Use of Resources Criteria to data storage equipment by convening Expert Ad Hoc Groups to review draft proposals for a Limited Criteria Revision. Where select Sustainable Use of Resources criteria have product specific thresholds and/or functional performance requirements, such as for recycled content and availability of replacement components, GEC will seek Expert Ad Hoc Group input on the applicability of server requirements to data storage products. No other revisions to EPEAT SUR-2025 Criteria or other next generation EPEAT Criteria are proposed. Following conclusion of the Expert Ad Hoc Group vetting process, GEC will initiate a Voluntary Consensus Process with NSF International for a Limited Criteria Revision of EPEAT SUR-2025.   

EPEAT’s sustainability criteria are built and finalized via a community driven process.  Stakeholders interested in participating in the Expert Ad Hoc Group are encouraged to contact criteria@gec.org by 11:59pm ET on April 16, 2025.    

Please contact Erica Terek (eterek@gec.org) with any questions.