BALTIMORE, MD (April 2, 2012) – The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) recently received a bronze designation for its environmentally-friendly procurement practices from the Northeast Recycling Council’s, State Electronics Challenge (SEC). SEC is a voluntary program that assists state, regional and local governments in reducing the environmental impact of their electronic equipment. MDE was recognized for its commitment to the purchasing of “greener” computer equipment. One hundred percent of MDE desktops, laptops and monitors met the gold certification standard set by the Electronic Procurement Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®). EPEAT is an internationally recognized system that identifies computer desktops, monitors, and notebook computers that meet specified environmental performance criteria.
“At MDE we are not only dedicated to protecting the environment, but to doing so in a fiscally responsible manner,” said MDE Secretary Robert M. Summers. “I am proud that MDE is a trailblazer in its commitment to green purchasing in our State. Leading by example, we can influence other Maryland State agencies and businesses to look for ways to green their procurement practices. Doing so costs the same amount of money, but the savings environmentally are priceless.”
Lynn Rubinstein, State Electronics Challenge Program Manager, said “through a demonstrated commitment to “green” purchasing, MDE saved enough energy to power 170 Maryland households per year, avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 200 cars from the road and avoided more than 3,500 pounds of hazardous waste from being created, including the generation of almost 13,000 pounds of trash.”
Currently, 89 state, regional, and local government agencies, in 32 states have joined the State Electronics Challenge. MDE is the first participant in the SEC from Maryland.
“This is just the beginning of MDE’s green procurement mission,” Summers said. “We’ll be working with our procurement and recycling divisions to keep pushing ourselves until we earn a gold designation and we are committed to helping other Maryland State agencies do the same.”
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