Das österreichische Umweltzeichen

(The Austrian Eco-Label)
www.umweltzeichen.at

Relevance & Background
By using the Austrian Eco-Label for their products and services, companies have the possibility to use a standardised instrument for presenting their environmental commitment to the public. In Austria, the federal government, the regional governments and municipalities are favouring more and more products using this label in public procurement processes.

Target
The Austrian Eco-Label provides information on environmental impact of production, use and waste disposal of products and presents the environment friendly product alternatives to consumers. The label should motivate producers and service companies to produce and offer less environment-polluting products. This should cause a dynamic process on the market for more environmentally products and services.

Product/service group
The label is awarded to a variety of product groups in the building sector, households, traffic, cleaning and sanitary, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, office equipment and gardening. The eco label products comprise, for example, mineral water, cleaning agents, wooden furniture, lacquer, light bulbs, or green electricity. Additionally, the label is given to tourism industry (hotels, restaurants, inns) and schools and training facilities.

Awarding Institution & Criteria
Issuing body is the National Ministry of Environment. For the product groups for which the label is awarded a list of criteria was set up which has to be fulfilled.

Control mechanisms
The applicant has to prove that the product (or the tourism company or the school) fulfils the criteria set up for that sector. This is done by a certificate issued by an accredited testing body. The certificate is then verified by the Ministry of Environment or the VKI (consumers' association). The label can be used for four years, after that a new certificate has to be issued.

Charges
Companies have to pay an annual fee for the use of the label which depends on the turnover of the respective company (e.g. companies with an annual turnover of 725,000 € have to pay 580 € per year). Additionally, a handling fee of about 25 % of the annual fee has to be paid once. The fees are used for advice to the labels user and also for marketing and PR activities.

Relevance on the market
Since the market introduction in 1990, the label is very well-established on the market and it is the only relevant eco-label in Austria. So far, 50 lists of criteria have been issued and 380 products have been labelled. Additionally about 200 tourism companies and over 30 schools have been awarded the label.