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Global Energy & Environment Policy Round-Up

Fall 2016

Table of Contents

Join the Environmental Leadership Council .................................................................................................................................... 2

Multilateral Issues .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2

APEC – ICT Product Energy Efficiency Alignment .................................................................................................................... 2

Meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions ........................ 2

Basel Convention ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Stockholm Convention .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Conflict Minerals ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

China ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Server Energy Efficiency Standard .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Japan ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Energy-Saving Regulation for Servers ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Energy-Saving Top Runner Program for Personal Computers .......................................................................................... 7

India ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

WEEE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Plastic Waste Management Rule ...................................................................................................................................................... 8

Latin America .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Product Take-Back and Recycling Requirements .................................................................................................................... 8

Product Energy Efficiency .................................................................................................................................................................... 9

United States and Canada ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Combatting Human Trafficking in Federal Procurement ..................................................................................................... 9

Green Procurement .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Standards Development ............................................................................................................................................................... 10

GSA Government-Wide Strategic Solutions Initiative (SSI) ........................................................................................ 10

Materials ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

California Proposition 65: OEHHA adopts amendments to Proposition 65 labeling requirements .... 11

California Attorney General adopts new regulations for enforcement actions to Proposition 65 ....... 11

Energy .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

ENERGY STAR Servers V3.0 ......................................................................................................................................................... 11

California Energy Commission – Computers and Displays ........................................................................................ 12

California Energy Commission & Oregon Department of Energy – Industrial Battery Charger

Regulation ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12

RILA/ITI Corporate Energy Procurement Report .............................................................................................................. 13

US DOE--External Power Supplies USB Type C................................................................................................................. 13

US DOE—Battery Chargers .......................................................................................................................................................... 13

Canadian Computing Appliances Test Procedure effort ............................................................................................. 14

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Join the Environmental Leadership Council ITI has expanded the services of our Environmental Leadership Council (ELC) for 2017 by expanding the scope of coverage to include activities around the world including Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The ELC is the choice of over 60 leading tech and electronics companies for policy development, regulatory advocacy and compliance resources in the energy and environment space. Our portfolio includes a strong focus on materials content issues, green procurement, energy efficiency, e-recycling; smart energy, and, supply chain sustainability. We engage on behalf of our members in jurisdictions ranging from the U.S. government to California to key international markets (China, India, Latin America and others). Managed as a division of the Information Technology Industry Council –companies can join the ELC without becoming full ITI members. As you can see from the content below, members of the ELC gain a wealth of knowledge about the issues most critical to our industry. For more information, contact Colleen Pickford cpickford@itic.org

Multilateral Issues

APEC – ICT Product Energy Efficiency Alignment The information and communications technology (ICT) sector has been collaborating with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) regional forum and the governments of the United States, China, Australia and New Zealand to align energy efficiency test requirements for personal computers with the goal of enabling transportability of test results. Earlier this year, the aforementioned governments completed comparisons of the respective test report forms (TRF) of their national energy efficiency standard for personal computers against the IEC62623 TRF. Pilot testing in Beijing is expected to conclude by the end of 2016. ITI Action: ITI is working with engaged member companies, APEC and the governments of the U.S. and China to initiate pilot testing. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and

Stockholm Conventions On October 26, ITI continued our ongoing dialogue with Dr. Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, in a multi-sectoral meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Payet stressed the important role that the private sector plays, not only in advancing negotiations at the conference of parties (COPs), but in helping drive real progress on the

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ground. He noted that the private sector has brought forward facts and expertise to improve the output of all three conventions, and that we have markedly increased the scientific rigor of these deliberations. He added that he would like to further build on this partnership to highlight what responsible industries are achieving. In particular, Dr. Payet stressed the need for the global community to collaborate to drive more capacity in developing countries to implement the conventions. He sees the private sector as playing an indispensable role in this process in terms of sharing case studies and lessons learned; increasing technology transfer; potentially helping contribute funding to these efforts; and, increasing our outreach to SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) in our global supply chains. We also discussed the current state of key topics under all three conventions with Dr. Payet, with a special focus on the Basel and Stockholm Conventions.

Basel Convention The Basel Parties – approximately 180 governments – adopted the Technical Guidelines (TGs) on electronics (TGs) “on an interim basis” at Basel COP-12 last year. Several key items remain open for consideration. The TGs formally acknowledge that certain shipments of used and even non-functioning electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) can move across international borders outside of any waste designation, provided certain defined conditions are satisfied. The TGs establish the first globally recognized criteria for distinguishing used equipment destined for repair and reuse from e-waste. We stressed to Dr. Payet how important this policy is in allowing responsible companies to preserve our legitimate global repair, refurbishment and servicing operations, and we noted that this approach is entirely in keeping with the international community’s growing focus on the circular economy. We also shared our position that the TGs need to be applied in the field to generate practical feedback on their use before we can consider any modifications. The European Union (EU) and Canada, among other governments, support this approach, even as other stakeholders are advocating to renegotiate the TGs. Dr. Payet noted the importance of factoring in circular economy priorities, and added that he supports finding the right balance to improve resource efficiency while also cracking down on illegal waste shipments. He noted that the environmental objectives are linked with the international community’s trade and commerce objectives, and that we need to collaborate to drive more of the global trade of used EEE through proper channels. More generally, ITI continues to serve on the Basel Small Intersessional Working Group (SIWG) on e-waste, which has been directed “to further explore options for addressing outstanding issues, in particular those contained in Appendix V of the technical guidelines”. These outstanding issues include the potential designation of “obsolete technologies” and a proposal

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to impose a “residual life” limit on used electronic products and parts. Our goal is to encourage governments to implement the recently adopted TGs and assess their effectiveness before considering changes to the guidelines that would make it more difficult for companies to move used equipment for repair and refurbishment internationally. ITI Action: In addition to our ongoing dialogue with Dr. Payet and our discussions with key governments, ITI has submitted formal comments into the Basel process on the Appendix V issues. We have also strongly urged the parties to gather more practical information on the implementation of the TGs – a course they appear to have endorsed. We will continue our long-standing engagement with the convention, key governments and the NGO community to drive towards outcomes that limit the improper movement of waste electronics while preserving our sector’s legitimate global repair and refurbishment programs. For more information, contact Rick Goss rgoss@itic.org

Stockholm Convention During our discussion of the Stockholm Convention with Dr. Payet, we stated how much more complex the challenges surrounding persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have become over the years. Private sector participants stressed that Stockholm has gone from a primary focus on dealing with stockpiles of legacy chemicals – often pesticides – to considering complex compounds used in multiple manufacturing applications, and/or imbedded in a variety of products. Dr. Payet noted that Stockholm is indeed addressing a broader set of industrial chemicals with extensive downstream uses, and that the application of sound risk-based science is paramount to meeting the health and environmental protection objectives of the convention. He added that his focus is on working with all stakeholders, including the private sector, to increase institutional capacity in developing countries to implement the Stockholm Convention to drive real change. In addition, the twelfth meeting of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC) was held September 19-23 in Rome. Of specific interest to the ICT industry are decisions of the POPRC to recommend that the Stockholm COP add deca-bromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention. The COP is expected to accept the recommendation at their 8th meeting (COP-8) in April 2017. While limited critical exemptions for the automotive industry will be included, the ability to reuse or recycle component parts containing deca-BDE from a broader set of industries is not yet determined. The POPRC also adopted a risk profile for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8) and called for an intercessional working group (IWG) to prepare a risk management evaluation, including control measures. Interested stakeholders are asked to provide risk management information on PFOA, its salts and related compounds, to the secretariat by December 9, 2016. The POPRC is also

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investigating the potential for unintentional releases of hexa-chlorobutadiene (HCBD) and has requested comments by December 31, 2016. ITI Action: ITI has been monitoring the actions of the Stockholm Convention and supporting advocacy efforts of our upstream chemical suppliers. ITI will continue its dialogue with Dr. Payet, key governments, and allied industries. We will promote the application of sound risk-based scientific rigor and elimination of duplicative efforts in the Stockholm and Basel Conventions. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Conflict Minerals The EU continues to discuss conflict minerals legislation in “trilogue”: negotiations involving the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council. A technical trilogue on conflict minerals took place on October 19. Our contacts within the European Commission provided ITI with this update following the October trilogue:

Yesterday's technical Trilogue mostly focused on details within the text, still along the lines of the political understanding. The Commission will make further efforts to come to an agreement on the remaining elements with the other institutions in the following weeks, notably with the Member States during the Working Party on Trade Questions on 26 October and with Members of Parliament at the end of next week.

The date for the political trilogue has been set for November 26 in Strasbourg, France. The primary technical points that remain to be resolved include:

Defining the thresholds to determine what is meant by “importer.” The current Council Presidency (Slovakia) proposed that the threshold be defined on the basis of imported volumes, a proposal the Commission agrees with as it would leave SMEs out of scope;

Defining if/how these thresholds could be quickly changed once the regulation enters into force, in order to respond promptly to market conditions changes. This could be done (e.g.) via a delegated act, which is a more streamlined procedure compared to the full co-decision process used for adopting the majority of EU law; and,

Determining the date of entry into force, with the Council pushing for a longer transition period, which would allow all actors involved to better prepare.

In June, the EU announced an agreement on a political framework to address trade in conflict minerals. Representatives from the three EU bodies have been working to translate this political agreement into legislation for formal consideration and adoption. In related news, ITI’s contacts at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tell us that they have nothing to announce regarding any new potential guidance or clarifications on the federal conflict minerals requirements. They are continuing to work with trade associations and individual companies as needed to help the regulated community understand the obligations.

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ITI Action: ITI has continued to work with European Commission officials and other EU decision-makers to provide data, facts, and expertise from our sector on conflict minerals. We are also closely coordinating with allied business groups in Brussels to promote outcomes that are consistent with our sector’s existing obligations under U.S. law. For more information, contact Rick Goss rgoss@itic.org

China

Server Energy Efficiency Standard The Chinese government is continuing to draft a national energy efficiency standard for servers. The standard’s framework presents a two-tiered structure: a minimum market entry requirement, and energy efficiency top-runner recognition. ITI companies support global convergence on a common internationally-recognized server energy efficiency metric (SERT), thereby decreasing costs and facilitating trade, while enabling governments to achieve their national energy policy objectives. China’s National Institute for Standards (CNIS) has indicated their intention to develop a technical standard applicable to multiple tools, which may potentially allow for the use of SERT in China. ITI members and the U.S. Information Technology Office (USITO) met with Chinese government

representatives on the margins of the SPEC Symposium in October 2016 to discuss most recent test results and recommendations shared with both the European Union and the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program. ITI Action: ITI has been engaging USITO in Beijing and member company technical experts in the U.S. and China to develop policy and advocacy strategies for the global recognition of the SERT metric. ITI will continue to engage and to closely monitor the development of the China server energy efficiency standard, and we will share updates with members. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Japan

Energy-Saving Regulation for Servers The Server Energy-Saving Working Group at the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) is developing a measurement method and a set of energy efficiency evaluation criteria for the upcoming revision of Japan’s server energy saving regulation. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has communicated that a standard is expected to be published in a year, with a target compliance year of 2020. JEITA and ITI met via teleconference call in October 2016 to discuss their respective progress on SERT testing and analysis, and concluded that we have agreement to align with the SERT metric. ITI and JEITA will continue to collaborate.

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ITI Action: ITI is convening internal member company and joint working group sessions with JEITA to develop technical, policy, and advocacy strategies. ITI continues to actively engage JEITA’s server energy efficiency working group to explore ways to leverage existing global data sources. We are seeking world-wide adoption of the SERT metric. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Energy-Saving Top Runner Program for Personal Computers Since December 2014, ITI and JEITA have been hosting conference calls to clarify technical issues associated with the draft Japan Top Runner Program for personal computers. Member company concerns have included unique duty cycles, product scope, missing key adders and the tight implementation timeline. In February 2015, JEITA agreed to align its duty cycles with

ENERGY STAR. ITI Action: ITI is convening internal member company and joint working group sessions with JEITA to develop technical, policy, and advocacy strategies. ITI will actively engage JEITA’s PC

energy efficiency working group to explore ways to leverage data in the ENERGY STAR database, and to help JEITA gather more data from major PC manufacturers. We are seeking harmonization with ENERGY STAR v6.1, including adoption of industry recommended product categorizations and definitions. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

India

WEEE India promulgated extended producer responsibility e-waste legislation in 2011. In November 2015, the Indian government issued the draft E-waste Management Amendment, which proposed a 50% producer collection target for electrical and electronic equipment put on the market. Individual companies met with India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) to raise their concerns, until MOEFCC ceased industry engagement in February 2016. On March 1, ITI sent a letter jointly signed by seven other industry associations from the U.S., India, EU, and Taiwan, to MOEFCC, the Indian Prime Minister’s Office, and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY). Subsequently, the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology, an India-based trade association, held a meeting with MOEFCC to negotiate a reasonable target. In late March, the revised draft India WEEE Amendment lowered the collection target to 30%. In September 2016, India issued implementing rules for its e-waste law or “Guidelines on Implementation of E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016.” The guidelines provide a formula for calculating collection targets while in theory accounting for typical product lifespan.

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ITI Action: An ITI delegation met with MOEFCC on September 27, 2016, and obtained a verbal commitment from the Indian government to allow manufacturers an additional six months to comply with the framework law and the just-published implementing rules/guidelines. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Plastic Waste Management Rule On March 18, 2016, the MOEFCC published “Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.” In September 2016 India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) published draft “Guidelines for the Disposal of Non-recyclable Plastic Waste” for comment. While applicability of the “Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016” to electronic products was unclear, CPCB’s draft guidelines clearly reference electronic products and use of plastic in multi-layer packaging, calling for specific end-of-life measures if the use of such plastic cannot be eliminated. ITI Action: An ITI delegation met in-person with MOEFCC on September 27, 2016. ITI also submitted written comments in response to the public comment period for the “Guidelines for the Disposal of Non-recyclable Plastic Waste.” Thus far, the Indian government has been resistant to our industry’s position. While failing to provide technical justifications for its positions, it has indicated that there will be no exceptions to their law. ITI is reviewing further advocacy options with our members. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Latin America

Product Take-Back and Recycling Requirements We continue to see a trend in the region of national, provincial, and local governments

developing product take-back and recycling requirements specific to ICT products. Argentina,

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru are among the countries in the region with

legislation or implementing regulations in process.

In Argentina, ITI sees a need for a national approach to harmonize requirements among the provinces that have enacted local requirements. Many of our member companies are working with the local ICT trade organization, CICOMRA, and Buenos Aires City EPA to implement WEEE take-back pilots for cell phones and computers.

Brazil is still in the process of finalizing its sectoral agreement with industry to begin a nationwide product takeback program.

Implementing rules for Chile’s extended producer responsibility legislation, enacted into law on May 17, 2016, are expected to be published by the end of 2016.

Colombia recently published an updated 15-year (until 2032) National WEEE Management Policy which will enable expansion of their existing e-waste law to new product categories.

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In October 2016, ITI learned that the Ecuadorian Environment Ministry issued a draft regulation for the management of WEEE. With assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Quito and the Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington, D.C., ITI member companies will be able to provide comments and guidance.

ITI Action: ITI and its member companies are actively participating in dialogues throughout the region to align extended producer responsibility legislation with global best practices. In October 2016, ITI published a policy paper on ICT industry recommendations for the environmentally responsible management of used and end-of-life equipment across Latin America. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

Product Energy Efficiency Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru are currently working to develop energy efficiency frameworks and regulations for electrical and electronic products, including ICT devices and consumer electronics. ITI Action: ITI is working with our member companies to share global best practices on energy efficiency regulations with governments in the region. Additionally, ITI has been working with our members, Mexico’s leading local ICT trade organization, and the government of Mexico, to facilitate alignment of proposed external power supply (EPS) energy efficiency regulations (Mexico NOM-29) with global standards and best practices. For more information, contact Erica Logan elogan@itic.org

United States and Canada

Combatting Human Trafficking in Federal Procurement On May 11, 2016, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and NASA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by providing a definition of “recruitment fees” that federal contractors are prohibited from charging workers. ITI joined the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to file joint comments. In these comments, we strongly urged the federal government to factor in the EICC guidance document on recruitment fees during its deliberations.

For context, the FAR policy on combating trafficking in persons prohibits contractors from

charging employees recruitment fees, in accordance with Executive Order 13627 entitled

‘‘Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts.’’

ITI and its public sector division the IT Alliance of the Public Sector (ITAPS) are coordinating our

work on these topics on behalf of our membership. As of this week, the U.S. government (USG)

has yet to release any determination on the definition or interpretation of “recruitment fees.”

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Last year, the federal government issued new procurement rules designed to combat human

trafficking in global supply chains. These requirements apply to primary federal contractors

and to sub-contractors and suppliers. We are waiting for the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) to release guidance to federal agencies to further define compliance approaches for the

overall effort.

ITI Action: ITI and ITAPS have developed a solid dialogue with key USG officials, including two

meetings with senior officials from the Department of Labor and OMB and numerous other

discussions.

For more information, contact Rick Goss rgoss@itic.org

Green Procurement Standards Development

ITI is continuing to work on environmentally-preferable standards development work for servers (Joint IEEE 1680.4/NSF 426), personal computers (IEEE 1680.1), and mobile devices (UL 110). The mobile device and server standards just recently finished their first ballots, with both standards failing. The Joint Server Task Group (JSTG) is working to resolve over 1,000 comments received and the UL 110 Standards Technical Panel (UL STP) is also working to resolve their comments.

The personal computer standard is looking to go “pencils down” and stop sub-group development of criteria at the face to face meeting in November. Both the JSTG and UL STP have planned face to face meetings in October and December, respectively, to address comment resolution to prepare for a second ballot. ITI Action: ITI is actively involved in all three standards work groups, and is working with all stakeholders to ensure that the standards are based on sound requirements and policy. For more information, contact Chris Cleet ccleet@itic.org

GSA Government-Wide Strategic Solutions Initiative (SSI)

ITI and ITAPS met with OMB and GSA to discuss the Government-wide Strategic Solutions for Desktops and Laptops Initiative. This consolidated acquisition strategy approach for the procurement of laptops and desktops resulted in a common set of desktop and laptop

configurations, with the OMB mandating EPEAT Gold for these purchasing requirements.

While this is an OMB initiative, we have been told by the OMB that the specification of EPEAT Gold was based on the recommendation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ITI is working with government representatives to identify unintended consequences of

mandating EPEAT Gold as a minimum specification.

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ITI Action: ITI and ITAPS are working with industry representatives to respond to OMB and GSA questions. For more information, contact Chris Cleet ccleet@itic.org

Materials California Proposition 65: OEHHA adopts amendments to Proposition 65 labeling

requirements

On August 30, 2016, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted regulatory amendments to the Proposition 65 regulations. The OEHHA amendments change the method and content for “clear and reasonable” Proposition 65 warnings. The agency has been working on these amendments since mid-2015, with many rounds of proposals and comments. The regulation becomes operative on August 30, 2018. In the interim, businesses may comply with the regulation in effect on August 30, 2016, or the provisions of the new regulation. For more information, including the text of the regulations, click here. ITI Action: ITI has provided members in-depth analysis of the new regulations and is working with CalChamber, OEHHA, and member companies to address questions and issues in implementing these new requirements.

California Attorney General adopts new regulations for enforcement actions to

Proposition 65

On August 31, 2016, the California Attorney General amended the Proposition 65 regulations related to enforcement actions brought by private parties (Private Enforcers). The regulations were first proposed on September 25, 2015, and were modified in response to comments on February 4, 2016. These regulations address the recovery of attorney fees, how civil penalties may be applied to an enforcement action, and change the settlement processes in an attempt to increase transparency. For more information, including the text of the regulations, click here. ITI Action: ITI has worked with our legal experts to provide an analysis of these new regulations. For more information, contact Chris Cleet ccleet@itic.org

Energy ENERGY STAR Servers V3.0

Last July, the EPA released the Draft 1 Version 3.0 ENERGY STAR specification for computer servers and requested stakeholder comment. According to the EPA, the draft 1 specification aims to: (1) establish revised idle state power requirements and expand their scope to additional server types; (2) determine more aggressive power supply efficiency requirements; and, (3) gather feedback regarding the approach for active state power metrics and requirements to be developed for draft 2.

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ITI Action: ITI partnered with The Green Grid (TGG) to issue comments on the specification in

early September. The ITI/TGG joint comments can be found on ITI’s member site. Last month,

ITI and TGG held a conference call with the EPA to discuss our comments.

For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

California Energy Commission – Computers and Displays

Last month, the California Energy Commission (CEC) issued their “45-Day Language” which are the official proposed changes to the computers and displays rulemaking. Stakeholders were invited to provide written comments before October 24, and ITI joined with TechNet to provide significant input. The CEC also hosted a public meeting on October 10 to solicit oral comments from stakeholders. ITI participated and provided our support for the overall direction of the proposed rulemaking.

ITI Action: ITI and TechNet issued a statement of support for the proposed rulemaking upon its release. See press release here. ITI, TechNet, and company representatives attended the CEC workshop on October 10 and provided oral comments on the 45-day language. We submitted joint written comments during the 45-day comment period, which closed on October 24. All of our presentations and other public documents can be found at the official docket here. ITI’s proposed changes will likely trigger “15-day language,” which allows for a new 15-day comment period in early/mid-November. The CEC’s adoption vote is expected to occur at the CEC Business Meeting on December 14, 2016.

For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

California Energy Commission & Oregon Department of Energy – Industrial Battery

Charger Regulation

On January 1, 2017, the scope of the CEC and DOE battery charger regulations will expand to

include non-consumer small battery chargers. ITI member companies impacted by this

expansion of scope identified numerous products with rechargeable battery subsystems that

would fall under the scope of the regulation, but for which there is no appropriate test

procedure. The products of concern are non-consumer products such as (1) servers and

storage controllers with battery chargers; and, (2) battery charger systems that include

rechargeable batteries as defined by the regulation, but that do not support primary product

function when the AC power is not present.

ITI Action: The CEC accepted ITI’s comment and included the revised definition in the computers and displays rulemaking (see above item for more info). The computers and displays rulemaking is expected to be adopted before the January 1, 2017, effective date. The DOE, after consulting with ITI and CEC, will issue a 1-year extension on their battery charger regulation, extending the effective date from January 1, 2017, until January 1, 2018. Within the 2017 timeframe, ITI will work through DOE’s regulatory process to revise the definition.

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For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

RILA/ITI Corporate Energy Procurement Report

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and ITI have partnered to co-author a benchmarking report entitled the Corporate Clean Energy Procurement Index. The report, funded by the Energy Foundation, highlights our members’ efforts to boost renewable energy usage in the U.S. and ranks states based on how their policies encourage or discourage renewable energy procurement. The index specifically evaluates states on their (1) utility purchasing options; (2) third party purchasing options; and, (3) onsite and direct deployment. The report is expected to be released on December 7, 2016.

ITI Action: ITI solicited feedback from members on the preliminary draft (due October 19) and the final draft (due November 7). ITI will also coordinate with RILA and the Energy Foundation’s communications consultant to promote the report launch. For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

US DOE--External Power Supplies USB Type C

Last August, DOE published the final rule for the External Power Supply (EPS) test procedure with an effective date of September 24, 2015. The federal EPS rule went into effect on February 10, 2016. However, for some Adaptive EPS, member companies have asserted that the DOE Average Energy Efficiency Measurement Techniques may be unrepresentative of the expected efficiency of the EPS. The DOE allows manufacturers to petition for a test procedure waiver if the existing test procedure yields materially unrepresentative energy data.

ITI Action: ITI is coordinating an industry effort to petition for a test procedure waiver for Adaptive EPS and has established an ITI EEWG sub-group to support the process. The test procedure waivers are expected to submitted to the DOE before the end of the year. For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

US DOE—Battery Chargers

In early September, the CEC announced new state requirements for battery charger systems (BCS) with the intent of complying with the recently enacted federal DOE battery charger rule. The changes, announced via webinar, required that manufacturers re-test and re-certify all products before the DOE Battery Charger compliance date of November 16, 2016, or risk non-compliance. The CEC’s interpretation of the testing requirement conflicted with the DOE’s interpretation of their rule, which would allow the test method to only be required for new products certified after November 16, 2016. ITI Action: ITI worked closely with the DOE Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement to encourage the department to clarify the intent of the federal rule for California regulators. DOE then guided the CEC to revise their BCS testing requirements and reverse their previous claim to re-test and re-certify existing products. Products that have been certified under the existing

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test procedure will remain in compliance, and any new products entering the California market after November 16, 2016, must use the new federal test procedure. These discussions also motivated the CEC to consider a “clean-up” rulemaking to align all California BCS-related standards with the DOE (including non-consumer BCS and CEC database filing requirements).

For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

Canadian Computing Appliances Test Procedure effort

The British Columbia Ministry of Energy is chairing a new Technical Committee called the “CSA C333 Energy Performance of Computing Appliances.” This committee issued a seed document proposing a new test procedure for measuring energy usage by computing appliances; the scope is quite wide.

ITI Action: ITI is ensuring that impacted companies are sufficiently represented on the committee, but believes intentions would be better served if the scope of the project was focused on research as opposed to standard development. For more information, contact Alex McBride amcbride@itic.org

About ITI. The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) is the global voice of the tech sector,

celebrating its 100th year in 2016 as the premier advocacy and policy organization for the world’s leading innovation companies. We advocate for global policies that advance industry leadership, open access to

new and emerging markets, promote e-commerce expansion, drive sustainability and efficiency, protect

consumer choice, and enhance worldwide competitiveness of our member companies. Visit

www.itic.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter for the latest ITI news @ITI_TechTweets.