Recognised testing institute for "green" electronic products
STUTTGART, PORTLAND and GUANGZHOU, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- DEKRA extends its strategic alliance with EPEAT, the rating organisation for "green" electronic products. DEKRA is now among the first organisations to be recognised as an EPEAT product registration entity. In addition to ongoing training and advisory activities, the DEKRA experts will support electronic manufacturers by evaluating their products for conformance with the worldwide IEEE standards and helping to register them with EPEAT.
EPEAT is the leading evaluation system for the environmental performance of electronic products, capturing 22 percent of the world market for computers in 2010. The evaluation addresses the disposal of toxic substances, environmentally friendly design, an optimised lifetime, recycling and energy efficiency among other measures. For over one year now, DEKRA has supported EPEAT with its network of local EPEAT experts in Europe, South America and China. Now, as an official Product Registration Entity (PRE), DEKRA also extends the verification and testing capacity of the non-profit US organisation.
"The sustainability of products is one of the most important global issues for the future", says Ivo Rauh, Member of the Management Board of DEKRA SE and head of the business unit DEKRA Industrial. "In this collaboration, the expert organisation DEKRA provides its global expertise, both in the area of product testing with its network of laboratories, as well as with its expertise in green product design, recycling and sustainability."
"For an increasing number of purchasers in public authorities and companies, the environmental performance of a product is an important decision criterion", explains Stan Zurkiewicz, General Manager of DEKRA Testing & Certification China in Guangzhou. "To the extent that we confirm conformance with the objective, transparent and strict EPEAT standards, we also support the expansion of the standard and ensure manufacturers of green products are rewarded for their efforts in the marketplace".
"Since 2011, our strategic partnership with DEKRA has enabled EPEAT to train additional manufacturers, purchasers and verifiers around the globe in the fundamentals of our standards and procedures", says Robert Frisbee, CEO of EPEAT, Inc. "With this new level of co-operation, we are further accelerating the expansion of EPEAT and guaranteeing the long-term credibility of the system".
About DEKRA
DEKRA SE is one of the world's leading expert organisations. The company currently runs activities in more than 50 countries. Over 28,000 employees are committed to ensuring long-term safety, quality and environmental protection. The DEKRA Business Units "Automotive", "Industrial" and "Personnel" provide professional and innovative services in the fields of vehicle testing, expert appraisals, international claims management, consulting, industrial testing, product testing, certification, environmental protection, qualification as well as temporary work. In 2011 DEKRA generated sales totalling around 2 billion euros.
Information regarding EPEAT can be found at www.epeat.net
Tilman Vogele-Ebering
(07 11) 78 61 - 21 22
(07 11) 78 61 - 29 13
tilman.voegele-ebering@dekra.com
