The makers of printers and copiers have boosted energy efficiency of their products* by more than one third in Europe within four years (2011-2014).
The reduction of energy consumption is the outcome of a self-regulation initiative taken by all major manufacturers of the imaging equipment to decrease their environmental footprint (Voluntary Agreement -VA- on Ecodesign).
The Voluntary Agreement, endorsed by the European Commission, requires manufacturers to comply with a strict set of design and information requirements related to energy consumption, recyclability, and optimised use of paper.
In its latest Energy Efficiency Report, Edif ERA – the independent inspector overseeing and reporting on the VA, said that energy consumption from inkjet products has been reduced by 35,6% over the period 2011-2014.
Moreover, the sales and energy consumption of non-compliant products in the EU have been more than halved within the same period. Today, the market coverage of the VA signatory companies in Europe is more than 99%.
“For the fourth year in a row, our industry is able to demonstrate not only impressive energy efficiency results but also how self-regulation can be a successful policy alternative for Europe. The self-regulation model we are following is unique with very concrete results: More than 97% of the printers our industry puts on the market are compliant to the standards we agreed,” says EuroVAprint President Maxime Furkel of Lexmark.
The agreement developed by EuroVAprint (the association grouping all major manufacturers of imaging equipment that operate in Europe) is binding for its 15 signatories.
