Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator

Background

The Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator (EEBC) is intended to assist institutional purchasers, including Federal Electronic Challenge (FEC) program participants, in quantifying the benefits of environmentally sound management of electronic equipment. The Calculator estimates the environmental and economic benefits of purchasing EPEAT-registered products, in addition to improvements in equipment operation and end-of-life management practices. Currently this tool is designed to evaluate EPEAT-registered desktop (with a CRT or LCD) and notebook computers.

This project developed environmental performance metrics and quantitative tools that translate attributes and activities into environmental benefits, including:
•Savings in energy use;
•Savings in virgin material use (increase in recycled materials);
•Savings in CO₂/Greenhouse gas emissions;
•Savings in air emissions;
•Savings in water emissions;
•Savings in toxic materials;
•Savings in municipal solid waste generation;
•Savings in hazardous waste generation;
•Savings in cost, where feasible.

The University of Tennessee, with support from Abt Associates and Dillon Environmental Associates, developed this calculator under a cooperative agreement with US EPA. This calculator tool is currently available in an Excel Spreadsheet format. In 2007, EPA plans to make the Calculator available as a web-based tool.

Access the Excel file here: EEBC Beta Version 1.1 (updated 04/18/2007)

PLEASE NOTE: The Calculator utilizes macros, short software instructions, to aid navigation and perform certain calculations. To ensure that the Calculator functions properly, please follow these instructions:
* Before opening the Calculator spreadsheet, open Microsoft Excel
* Click on the "Tools" menu
* Scroll down "Macro" and select "Security" from the side menu
* Set the "Security Level" to "Medium"
* Open the Calculator spreadsheet
* Select "Enable Macros" when the Security Warning appears

If you have any questions or comments about the tool, or wish to report problems, please contact Jack Geibig (jgeibig@utk.edu) or Viccy Salazar (Salazar.Viccy@epamail.epa.gov).

Links and Downloads

• Read the EEBC FAQs (a PDF file)
• Download the EEBCv1 Final Report (a PDF file)
• Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC)
• EPEAT

Acknowledgements

The University of Tennessee would like to acknowledge the contributions of Maria Socolof, Abt Associates, Inc., and Patricia Dillon, Dillon Environmental Associates, for their outstanding work during the development of this tool. We would also like to acknowledge members of the project Advisory Committee and the Peer Reviewers for their invaluable assistance in the development of this tool.

Advisory Committee:
John Burkitt, Hewlett-Packard; Holly Elwood, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); John Katz, EPA; Christopher Newman, EPA; Dmitriy Nikolayev, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Sarah O'Brien, Hospitals for a Healthy Environment; Jeff Omelchuck, Green Electronics Council; Wayne Rifer, Green Electronics Council; Viccy Salazar, EPA; and Mark Schaffer, Dell Inc.

Peer Reviewers:
Mary Ann Curran, EPA; Paris Dieker, Hewlett-Packard; Sara Hartwell, EPA; Clare Lindsay, EPA; Eric Masanet, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory; Katharine Kaplan Osdoba, ENERGY STAR program, EPA; Christy Piper, EPA; Wayne Rifer, Green Electronics Council; Mark Schaffer, Dell; and Atam Sikrit, U.S Department of Energy.