All public-sector purchasers of office equipment in Europe will be obliged to buy brands that carry the Energy Star logo, the environmental-quality standard agreed on by the U.S. and the European Union, following a vote in the European Parliament Tuesday.

"This regulation gives us the perfect opportunity to introduce a novelty: for the first time in E.U. history, common energy-efficiency specifications for public procurement will apply to all member states and the European institutions," said Nikolaos Vakalis, the member of the European Parliament who led the debate.

In addition to making the Energy Star logo obligatory for public procurements of equipment, the new law formalizes an agreement reached last December with the U.S. government to extend the Energy Star plan for another five years, with higher energy-efficiency requirements than those in place now.

The European Commission initiated the Energy Star plan in 2001, but it took a long time to gain acceptance in the market. In 2003 the United States joined the plan and a database of companies that met the required standards was created.

Since 2003, more firms have been striving to join the Energy Star plan and the energy-efficiency requirements for various office tools, including PCs, printers and copiers, have been raised. Today the database includes 17 makers of laptops, 18 desktop manufacturers, 15 printer makers and four scanner manufacturers.

The E.U. and U.S. agreement signed in December is expected to yield 30 terawatt-hours in electricity savings -- the approximate equivalent of the annual electricity demand in Hungary -- in the E.U. over the next three years.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.