European Eco-label

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ecolabel/description/description.htm
http://www.eco-label.com
http://www.beuc.org/Content/Default.asp
http://www.naturapura.pt
http://www.ueapme.com/docs/press_releases/pr_2002/021203_Ecolabel.pdf

Relevance

The European Eco-label is a voluntary scheme enabling European consumers including public and private purchasers to easily identify officially approved green products across the European Union, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and accession countries. It allows producers to show and communicate to their customers that their products respect the environment. Environmental criteria are developed to cover everyday consumer goods and services (with the exception of food, drink and medicines). At present, the EU flower can be awarded to 21 product groups. Details on eco-labelled products and on manufacturers are available in the European eco-label catalogue.

Target

The label is awarded only to those products with the lowest environmental impact in a product range. Product categories are carefully defined so that all products that have direct "equivalence of use", looking from the consumer’s standpoint, are included in the same product group.

Product/service group

Bedding: Mattresses; Gardening:
Soil improvers; Electronic Equipment: Personal computers Portable computers, Televisions;
Footwear Shoes ;
Household Appliances: Dishwashers , Refrigerators, Vacuum cleaners;
Textiles: Clothing, bed linen, and indoor textiles;
Do-it-yourself:
Hard floor coverings, Paints and varnishes, Light bulbs; Cleaning: All purpose cleaners, Dishwashing detergents, Hand dishwashing detergents, Laundry detergents; Paper: Tissue paper, Copying and graphic paper; Services Furniture (under development), Tourist accommodation Service (under development).
Details on eco-labelled products and on manufacturers are available in the European eco-label catalogue.( http://www.eco-label.com)

Awarding Institution & criteria

The Competent Bodies are responsible for awarding the label. Each Member State of the EU and participating accession country has designated a Competent Body which is responsible for receiving applications from manufacturers, retailers, service providers or importers for the award of the Eco-label to their products and services.
The decision to award an Eco-label is in the hands of a Competent Body who in the case of the same product marketed in other countries will consult other national Competent Bodies.

After the applicant is awarded the sign, the producer is obliged to sign the contract with the Competent Body for the use of the label on the approved product in the period of validity (normally 3-5 years).

The ecological criteria are the result of scientific studies and extensive consultation within the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB). This Board is composed of different stakeholders: Competent Bodies of the Member States, representatives from environmental NGOs, from consumer and industry associations, from trade unions and from SMEs, and observers from other countries.
After the EUEB has proposed criteria for a product group they have to be approved by the Member States and the European Commission before they can be used to award the eco-label to products. Ecological criteria for a product group are normally established for a period of three years. This allows for technical improvements and changes in the market to be reflected when criteria are revised.
Eco-label criteria are not based on one single parameter, but rather rest on a studies which analyse the impact of the product or service on the environment throughout its life-cycle, starting from raw material extraction in the pre-production stage, through production, distribution and disposal of the product or service.
Criteria are periodically reviewed by the EUEB via a lead Competent Body.

Control mechanisms

The functioning of the Eco-label scheme consists of: the preparatory work and establishment of new criteria, the award of the label to products and services and the revision and prolongation of existing criteria. The responsibility for establishing and revising the criteria lies mainly with selected, so called "Lead" Competent Bodies and the Commission, the award of the label to products is responsibility of the national Competent Bodies and not the EC.

Relevance on the market

The EU Eco-label award scheme has been in operation since 1993 (revised in 2000), when the first product groups were established. Eco-labelling is a voluntary scheme, establishing ecological standards which applicants for the Eco-label must meet. It is for the producer, retailer or service provider to decide whether or not to apply for the sign according to the defined ecological criteria.
The Eco-label scheme provides incentives for increased use of environmentally friendly products. Since 1993 143 licenses for the use of the logo have been granted for several hundred products. The geographical spread of the awards is wide, with main applications in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In the last decade the Eco-label was sometimes criticised for slow penetration and low prosperity level in the countries with well developed national eco labelling schemes (i.e. German Blue angel), but still the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB) expects further developing of the scheme.
According to the EU consumers Associations (Charlotte de Roo) one fourth of the consumers is aware of the places where the Eco-labelled products can be purchased. And that there is a growing interest for developing the criteria for labelling of new products, like mobile phones, toys etc.