The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has mapped and analysed worldwide standards and methods used for measuring environmental sustainability of products. The report was prepared by British-based international consultancy Environmental Resources Management Ltd. It aims to evaluate and present to the British Government the world’s best practice organisations in the certification of sustainability, as an aid to government procurement policy.

Considering 207 standards, databases and product lists globally, the research looked at the robustness of standards used for measuring sustainability, the range of criteria applied, and the methodology used. Those agencies with standards considered "ambitious" enough to warrant possible adoption by the UK were grouped as "Class 1".

The study scored organisations for open and thorough consultation in developing standards, the frequency of updating them, backing by government, the strength of evidence collected for assessments, and the use of whole-of-lifecycle considerations.

Three of the world’s best-known and most comprehensive ecolabels, the EU Flower, New Zealand’s Environmental Choice and Germany’s Blue Angel, were chosen along with the Nordic Ecolabel as "Class 1" candidates. When it came to the selection of a world-class authority for the standards of transportation (vehicle tires), health (peritoneal dialysis and intravenous sets), paper, pulp, and printing (paper products) the best practice examples chosen were the Nordic Ecolabel. For best case example for clothing and textile the EU Flower for the category of textiles was chosen.

The UK report states:
"The Nordic Swan voluntary eco-label was introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1989 to encourage production methods that limit environmental impacts. The Nordic Swan is perhaps the most well-known European eco-label; 67 % of people in the Nordic countries recognize and understand the purpose of the label and it has become increasingly used outside of northern Europe. The cross-stakeholder nature of the criteria development with close cooperation and technical input from industry has ensured a high level of "buy in" from consumers, policy-makers, business and NGOs. Most consumers consider that the label ensure a brand is reliable and of high quality."

In the Nordic countries, the Nordic Ecolabel certification for disposable products for peritoneal dialysis (PD) and intravenous (IV) infusion treatments is quite new. In 2006 criteria work was begun under the EU Medicinal Products Directive (2001/83/EC) and the Medical Devices Directive (93/42/EEC).The Nordic criteria were finalised in December 2007.

“The ranking of our ecolabelling agency as one of the world’s best practice certifiers of sustainability is of such significance that it again substantiates that the environmental work of the Nordic countries is of world’s class, says Ragnar Unge, Managing Director at SIS Ecolabelling – Competent Body for the Nordic Ecolabel in Sweden.

"We are very proud that our work has been recognized to be among the world’s best. We also hope that international companies selling environmentally-sound products contact us for more information about how they can apply for a license from us. Our Nordic Ecolabel with its international reputation can be an additional marketing tool on the world market”, concludes Ragnar Unge.

For more information
Mapping and analysis of sustainable product standards, Final Report, (PDF) March 2008. Environmental Resources Management, UK

Nancy Holm, PR & Communication Head, Nordic Ecolabelling. Nancy.holm@svanen.nu