« Representation of SMEs on the revision of the European Ecolabel » project

Established in 1992, the European Ecolabel is the environmental labelling which is common to all the European countries.

The objective of this label is to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment. The European Ecolabel is defined by the Regulation (EC) N° 66/2010. It repeals the Regulation (EC) N° 1980/2000 since February 20^th 2010.

Symbolized by « the Flower », this label guarantees that the certified products respect environmental criteria and also technical criteria.

Currently, the European Ecolabel concerns 26 mass consumption product categories with the exception of foodstuffs and medical products.

To guarantee the ecological excellence of the certified products, the European Ecolabel criteria are revised every 3 to 5 years. It is in this context that Bureau Veritas CODDE was chosen by the European Commission to represent the interest of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

The mission of Bureau Veritas CODDE is structured in 4 major tasks:

• - Participation in the EUEB* meetings and its consultative forum,
• - Presentation of written positions about the various issues which interest SMEs concerning the product categories examined in the EUEB meetings,
• -  Selection and introduction of technical experts who can participate in the ad hoc working group (AHWG),
• -  Promotion of the Ecolabel and diffusion of information about the Ecolabel for SMEs.

Bureau Veritas CODDE organizes consultations on 4 product categories which present a major interest for SMEs:

• - All-purpose cleaners and clenears for sanitary facilities (under revision)
• - Hand dishwashing machines (under revision)
• - Copying and graphic paper (under revision)
• - Printed paper products (under development)

To answer to questions of SMEs, Bureau Veritas CODDE published a brochure about the European Ecolabel. SMEs will find precious information, in particular the procedure to obtain the European Ecolabel and the costs of the certification.

Download the brochure « Everything you need to know about the European Ecolabel » in pdf form.

For more information on the European Ecolabel, visit the European Commission website.

EUEB : The European Union Eco-labelling Board

European platform for LCA

One task of the new platform is the development of an European reference database (ELCD) and a web directory for LCA tools, data and databases as well as services and service providers. Click on the following link to get more information on the European platform on LCA from the official document EC, DG JRC, IES released by the EU in November 2005.

Visit LCA platform