Green Label Guide

The European Union’s Ecolabel is a voluntary scheme, established in 1992, that provides participants with an international environmental label. It is one of the most widely recognised labels in Europe and spans across a variety of product and service sectors.

What does the label certify?

The Ecolabel is awarded to products and services and carries the flower logo. Product groups include, cleaning products, appliances, paper products, textile, home and garden products, and services such as tourist accommodation.

Products that carry the Ecolabel have been independently assessed and show that they are less damaging to the environment than some equivalent brands over their whole life cycle, from manufacture to disposal. Products and services that bear this label must meet a set of published environmental criteria agreed upon by EU member states after consultation with relevant interested parties.

Who certifies the label?

The scheme is administered by officially designated Competent Bodies in each EU country. In the UK, the Competent Body is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), who contract a consortium called UK Ecolabel Delivery Team to carry out administration, criteria revision and assessment of applications on their behalf.

The EU Ecolabelling Board (EUEB) is responsible for developing, publishing and promoting criteria for product groups. The EUEB is made up of the Competent Bodies from each Member State and the interested parties that form the Consultation Forum. The European Commission manages the scheme at the EU level to ensure correct implementation of the Ecolabel Regulation.

What publicity opportunities does the Ecolabel offer?

You can use the Flower symbol in your advertising as well as on your products, though you should also provide an explanation of what the award means.

Who can apply for the label?

Every European or non-European company producing or selling products that enter in one of the product groups covered by the EU Ecolabel scheme is eligible to apply for the scheme as well as every campsite or tourist accommodation.

Since the EU Ecolabel was established, the number of companies receiving the label has increased each year. By the beginning of 2012, more than 17,000 EU Ecolabel licences were awarded in 12 established product groups, with 1616 UK products holding EU Ecolabels.

Click here for more information on the application process.

In partnership with The Eden Project, the Planet Mark was established in 2013 with the aim of helping organisations to understand the benefits of sustainable business practice.

The Planet Mark certification is available for businesses or buildings that show a commitment to continual improvement in environmental and social sustainability.

Planet Mark for Businesses

In order to achieve the certification in the first and second year, The Planet Mark will measure and analyse a company’s carbon footprint.

In order to achieve re-certification from the third year onwards, the company must demonstrate that it has made improvements through a reduction in its absolute carbon footprint, or in a measured intensity related to business growth, such as carbon footprint per employee.

The Planet Mark also offers a range of tools and advice on engaging key stakeholders, including employees, clients and supply chain.

Planet Mark for Buildings

This certification signifies that a new development has succeeded in reducing and mitigating lifetime carbon emissions, and has supported local community sustainability projects.

The certification process is managed by Planet First and delivered with a number of expert partners, including BREEAM and lifecycle assessment consultants, Cool Earth and the Eden Project.

The certification is achieved in stages covering Design & Construction, Community Engagement, Lifecycle Carbon Reduction & Mitigation, and Occupier Engagement. The process includes a lifecycle assessment of the development, investment into a local community sustainability project and the mitigation of unavoidable embodied carbon emissions.

More information can be found here.

Carbon Trust Certification

The Carbon Trust was founded in 2001 with the aim of helping organisations to reduce their carbon emissions and become more resource efficient.

It runs a series of environmental standards that certify measurement and reduction, which have been awarded to hundreds of companies across the world.

• Carbon Footprint Label

The Carbon Footprint Label communicates carbon footprint measurement, certification and reduction of an organisation’s products and services.

The Carbon Trust offers two types of labelling options.

The Reducing CO2 Label communicates that a business has measured and has certified the carbon footprint of its products and services. The Reducing CO2 Label also allows a business to communicate their carbon footprint measurement and show that they have committed to reducing it.

The CO2 Measured Label allows a business to show that it has accurately measured and disclosed its carbon footprint. No commitment to reduce the products’ carbon footprint can be made using the CO2 Measured Label.

Use of the Reducing CO2 Label also requires re-certification every two years, when it must be demonstrated that the carbon footprint of a certified product or service has reduced.

Use of the CO2 Measured Label enables a business to communicate the carbon footprint of a business’ products or services – with or without the certified footprint numbers. It does not require a commitment to carbon reduction. However, the label cannot be used to communicate a commitment to reduce or actual carbon reductions achieved.

More information can be found here.

Energy Saving Trust Recommended

Energy Saving Trust Recommended is a best-in-class product certification and labelling scheme that covers 35 product categories on the UK market. Manufacturers, suppliers and retailers can join the scheme to help their customers identify the most energy efficient products in their ranges. The Energy Saving Trust, which manages the certification, is an independent, non-profit organisation backed by the Government. All certification criteria go through a planning, consultation and peer-reviewing process before they are implemented. This means that to be Energy Saving Trust Recommended products must be top in their class at energy efficiency.

BREEAM

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings.

More than 250,000 buildings have been BREEAM certified and over a million are registered for certification – many in the UK and others in more than 50 countries around the world.

There are over 40,000 projects registered for certification under BREEAM, which equates to over 1 million buildings. Over 15,000 projects have been certified since BREEAM was first launched in 1990.

BREEAM currently covers 5 different schemes, ranging from non-domestic construction projects to renovation projects.

More information on how to commission a BREEAM assessment can be found here.

Green Deal Mark

The Green Deal, launched in 2012, is the government’s environmental home-improvement fund.

The Green Deal Mark must be used by all Green Deal Assessors, Providers, Installers and Certification Bodies on identifying documents and any marketing material.

Authorisation for the scheme is managed by the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body (GD ORB), on behalf of the Secretary of State. It is responsible for a number of functions aimed at providing effective administration and oversight of the scheme.

Further details can be found here.

Marine Stewardship Council Ecolabel

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Ecolabel is a mark of sustainable seafood and can be used by restaurants. Fisheries can also get a MSC certification so restaurants in the ecolabel scheme can use them.

Seafood that bears the ecolabel comes from a certified sustainable wild-catch fishery and ensures that the fishery has been independently certified as meeting the rigorous MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing. MSC-labelled seafood can also be traced right back to the MSC certified sustainable fishery where it was caught.

Whenever seafood is sold with the MSC ecolabel, every business in the supply chain must meet the MSC standard for seafood traceability and have a current ‘MSC Chain of Custody’ certificate to prove this.

In order for restaurants to get the MSC Ecolabel on their menus they must source MSC-certified sustainable seafood, get certified by an independent auditor, and apply for a MSC Ecolabel license.

To find out more on how to get MSC certified, click here.

Soil Association Certification

Soil Association Certification Ltd is the UK’s largest organic certification body, responsible for certifying over 80 per cent of all organic products sold in the country. It has been operating since 1973 and awards organic certification to farms and businesses that meet its organic standards. Farmers, growers, food processors, feed mills, retailers, cafes, storage facilities, and transport can apply for certification.

The association’s standards exceed the EU organic regulations minimum requirements in several areas, especially in relation to animal welfare, GM and the use of pesticides. The standards cover everything from barley to beef, chocolate to coffee and state what is allowed and not allowed in the production of organic food.

Certification is a three step process involving application, inspection, and certification. After certification, businesses will have a dedicated Certification officer who looks after all aspects of the licence after the inspection, such as adding new products or land.

Find out more information about the certification here.

Blue Angel Eco-label

The Blue Angel (Blauer Engel) is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects. The first and one of the most well known eco-labels worldwide, Blue Angel promotes the concerns of both environmental protection and consumer protection.

The label specifies that the product or service focus on one of four different protection goals:

• Health
• Climate
• Water
• Resources.

Manufacturers of Blue Angel products must reclaim the product at the end of its useful life. Blue Angel criteria include: efficient use of fossil fuels, alternative products with less of an impact on the climate, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and conservation of resources.

Approximately 10,000 products and services in 80 product categories carry the Blue Angel eco-label.

For more information on Blue Angel certification click here.

Forest Stewardship Council Certification

The Forest Steward Council (FSC) runs a global forest certification system with two key components: Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification. This system allows consumers to identify and use timber and forest products produced from well-managed forests.

With its 10 Principles and 56 associated Criteria, FSC offers a set of requirements for responsible forest management. The aim is to ensure that forest resources are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. FSC does not issue certificates itself, but entrusts the certification to independent bodies. These certification bodies assess forest management and chain of custody operations against FSC standards. Certification is valid for five years.

Though mainly designed for forest management for timber products, they are also largely relevant for non-timber products and other environmental services such as clean water and air and carbon sequestration. FSC is also the only wood certification scheme endorsed by environmental charities, WWF, Greenpeace and The Woodland Trust.

More information about FSC can be found here.

Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS)

The Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS) tracks the contractual flow of biomethane, or ‘green gas’, through the supply chain, from its injection into the gas distribution network, through to its sale to a supplier or trader, to when its sold to a customer. This ensures that contents of gas being sold as ‘green gas’ are legitimate and promotes confidence in the market.

Producers and suppliers of biomethane can join the scheme by filling out a registration form on the company website here.

Green Tourism Business Scheme

The Green Tourism Business Scheme, developed in 1997, is a national certification scheme for the UK and Ireland in the sector of sustainable tourism. It is independently validated by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) on behalf of VisitEngland, VisitWales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and endorsed by VisitScotland and Failte Ireland.

Businesses opting to join Green Tourism are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of 145 criteria, covering a range of areas, including energy and water efficiency, waste management, purchasing, travel, and biodiversity. Those businesses that meet the required standard, receive a Bronze, Silver, or Gold award based on their level of achievement. Every two years, participating businesses are re-evaluated.

The current network of over 2,300 members is comprised of a wide range of business types, including accommodation providers, visitor attractions, activity providers, conference and events venues, corporate offices and others.

More information about joining can be found here.