I work with EPEAT and, obviously, I'm a huge supporter. I'm quite surprised to hear anyone making claims about being able to meet the EPEAT standard, but being unable to invest the "time in developing the supporting materials."
EPEAT works because people are forced to develop the materials. It is the process of developing the materials that allows someone to determine if they actually meet the standard.
If you haven't developed the materials, you can't really know if you meet the standard or not.
You might, for example, think your products meet all of the European requirements for less hazardous materials (the RoHS standard), but as you begin preparing the materials, you might discover otherwise.
I will admit, however, that the GRI stuff is probably new to a small start up. This did not, however, stop Zonbu, another very small company from going through the EPEAT process.
I applaud everyone who is attempting to buy or make "green" computers. I would just be sure to look for proof.
EPEAT is the best system for identifying green computers. You can check out the 600 EPEAT registered computers from more than 20 manufacturers (both large and small) at www.epeat.net.
