Did you know federal agencies can only buy "green electronics?"

A few years ago the federal government helped create a green electronics standard that was voluntary. Companies voluntarily had their products rated by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). Of course, the federal government decided to enforce the 'voluntary' standard by using the massive purchasing power of the federal government to punish those who failed to kneel before their new green rulers. Apple has decided to buck this trend. Kudos to Apple.

Via ifixit.org:

Federal agencies can no longer buy Apple products for their offices. According to a recent announcement, Apple will be pulling all of their products from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), the leading green consumer electronics standard. EPEAT is designed to mitigate the negative environmental and social impacts of electronics manufacturing by requiring that products meet eight environmental “performance categories,” including product lifetime, toxic materials, and recyclability of components and packaging materials.

Since 2007, all of Apple’s new products have been EPEAT Gold Certified, as they’ve widely advertised. EPEAT was developed by the Green Electronics Council, with a grant from the EPA, in 2006. By June 2007, 19 major electronics manufacturers had products registered with EPEAT, including Apple. Voluntary, government-adopted environmental standards such as EPEAT are one of the most effective ways to make the electronics industry greener. The federal government has significant buying power, and federal agencies can only purchase products that meet the EPEAT standard.

Via WaPo:

 The entire federal government is in compliance with the requirement that 95 percent of the products it buys and uses meet the EPEAT standards.