How Does Toshiba EPEAT Provide Greater Sustainability for Your Office?
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Office managers and executives often have trouble finding excellent office equipment that meets specific sustainability guidelines. However, EPEAT from Toshiba is able to deliver an office sustainability solution that is both practical and effective.
Every organization that values the environment has to implement company-wide office sustainability standards. But without a streamlined registry for green electronics, it’s very difficult to find the appropriate devices and make them part of an efficient network.
But this streamlined registry does exist. Many organizations use it as their primary tool for sustainable office equipment procurement. With more than a thousand entries spanning imaging brands from HP to Xerox and Toshiba, EPEAT is a powerful ally for any environmentally-oriented company.
What Does EPEAT Stand For?
EPEAT stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. It consists of a well-organized database covering specific environmental criteria for a broad range of electronics and other office products.
These criteria include design, energy use, production, consumption, and recycling. EPEAT standards make it easy for organizations to meet or exceed specific sustainability goals easily.
The Green Electronics Council manages the EPEAT Online Registry and constantly works to ensure the integrity of the system. It supports institutional buyers from organizations around the world and establishes a market for sustainable office electronics.
How Does EPEAT Work?
Anyone can use EPEAT to search for office equipment. The online portal features numerous attributes for users to filter through the many different brands represented. Specific attributes include lack of toxic materials, use of recycled plastics, and overall environmental impact.
Not only does EPEAT give offices a single database for environmental decision-making, it also verifies manufacturer claims. The Green Electronics Council retains and oversees Conformity Assurance Bodies whose singular mission is to test devices and help manufacturers integrate into the EPEAT system.
There are six Conformity Assurance Bodies in the EPEAT network, including EPEAT itself. These bodies perform tests and consult with manufacturers in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
In order to make EPEAT easy for users to understand, the Green Electronics Council offers one of three awards to the highest-performing products. These ratings showcase individual product lines that best adhere to EPEAT guidelines, which are separated into required criteria and valuable optional criteria:
- Bronze Rating. These are products that meet the required criteria for their category, but don’t meet the majority of optional criteria for that category.
- Silver Rating. Products that meet all required criteria for their category and meet at least 50% of that category’s optional criteria earn a silver rating.
- Gold Rating. The very best products meet all of their category’s required criteria and more than 75% of the optional criteria for that category.
Examples of optional criteria for the multifunction printer category include the elimination of environmentally sensitive materials, end-of-life management, selection of materials, and energy conservation. Each device earns a unique score based on independent testing performed by Conformity Assurance Bodies.
Toshiba EPEAT-certified Devices
Toshiba is one of the best-represented brands in the EPEAT system. The manufacturer counts 27 gold entries and a single silver entry among its eStudio series multifunction devices. That means that users can expect best-in-class performance in 10 critical categories:
- End-of-life design and management
- Materials selection
- Energy conservation
- Reduction of environmentally sensitive materials
- Product longevity
- Corporate performance
- Packaging
- Consumables
- Indoor air quality
When it comes to multifunction devices, Toshiba’s EPEAT scores make it one of the most attractive options in the database. All of the company’s eStudio printers are represented in the EPEAT system, making this particular multifunction printer one of the industry’s most environmentally sustainable choices.
Is the Toshiba eStudio the Right Choice for You?
Toshiba’s eStudio line of printers covers a wide set of corporate imaging needs. From small, home-based offices to large enterprise departments, there are very few situations where an eStudio multifunction printer won’t do the job with efficiency and excellence.
Toshiba’s higher-volume eStudio printers all feature support for PostScript 3 automation and customization. Personalized workflows give office managers the ability to develop and enforce strict print policies that keep paper and laser toner cartridge use to a minimum.
As network-enabled multifunction devices, these printers make it easy for employees to digitize incoming paper documents and capture all of their data with a simple scan. This makes the eStudio series an important part of any digital transformation strategy, and a key element of any office sustainability initiative.
With Toshiba EPEAT scores showing excellence in every category, it’s clear that organizations looking for high quality equipment that meets EPEAT standards have much to gain from Toshiba technology. Find out which eStudio multifunction printer is the right one for your organization.
Is your office equipment EPEAT certified? Find out the answer and learn about ways you can improve sustainability by talking to one of our sustainability experts today.