Ecolabel criteria harmonisation and recognition arrangements

INTRODUCTION

According to the Ecolabel Index at: http://www.ecolabelindex.com/, there are currently 450 different Ecolabels in 197 countries covering 25 industry sectors. Of these, some 70 affect the ICT industry. Depending on customer demand and the competitive situation, DIGITALEUROPE members seek anything from 5 – 25 of these labels, often several labels for the same product models. Since many years, criteria harmonization and mutual recognition arrangements between Ecolabels have been on the wish list of the global ICT industry, but unfortunately, very little of this has happened.

Article 6 of the EU Ecolabel framework regulation (EC) No 66/2010 states that the EU Ecolabel criteria should recognise established criteria of other environmental labels to enhance synergies. Given the impact of the Ecolabel criteria in public procurement, the global ICT industry would like to re-iterate its request for global criteria harmonisation and mutual recognition arrangements.