How Green Is Your PC?

There's a range of yardsticks you can use to measure a computer's environmental impact

Several groups have created the equivalent of a green seal of approval to tell whether and how well a computer meets environmental standards. But each rating looks at something different. Use this table to find out what each label measures and what it says about the reining PC champ, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

Label	Who's Behind It	What It Measures	Drawbacks	Its Take on HP
EnergyStar	Energy Dept., Environmental Protection Agency	Power consumption	Doesn't cover recycling or toxic materials	16 notebooks and 1 desktop meet requirements as of July 30
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive)	European Union, Britain	Use of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other toxic chemicals	Doesn't cover power consumption	EPEAT-certified machines meet RoHS requirements (see below)
EPEAT	Green Electronics Council, PC manufacturers	Incorporates RoHS and EnergyStar; adds recycling guidelines; issues gold, silver, and bronze ratings	Often doesn't cover consumer PCs	25 desktop/workstations, 23 notebook/tablet PCs qualify for some rating; almost all attain silver status, with one gold
Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics	Greenpeace International	Toxic materials; recycling programs	Doesn't consider power consumption	Scores 5.3 points out of 10, placing it in 11th place behind Apple (AAPL) and ahead of Panasonic
EcoLabel	European Union	Manufacturing practices; toxic materials; energy consumption; noise; recycling	Hasn't gained traction for PCs	HP products not covered
EcoLogo	Canadian government	Manufacturing practices; toxic materials; energy consumption; noise; recycling	Hasn't gained traction for PCs; more widely applied to printers	Several printers qualify
Blue Angel	German government	Incorporates EnergyStar; use of heavy metals, dyes; noise; emissions; ergonomic design; recycling	Last updated June, 2006	Five PCs met standard as of 2004

Sources: Energy Dept.; Environmental Protection Agency; European Union; EPEAT; Greenpeace; the governments of Britain, Canada, and Germany; Hewlett-Packard.