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Ecological labeling and declaration ISO 14020

Ecological labeling and declaration ISO 14020

What does ecological labeling and declaration mean? According to the noted definition in standard ISO 14020, ecological labeling and declaration reflect as claim that determines ecological aspects of services and products. As usual, ecological labeling has a form of symbol or graphic picture put on product or its pack, advertising, technical bulletin; ecological declaration has a form of short information about service or product, used resources or implemented technology during production. The difference between them is that producer can self-dependent, without participation of third party, develop ecological declaration (so-called self-declared ecological declaration or ecological claim). But in case of inspection or verification, he is obligated to prove his ecological ambitions by providing reports on activity, used resources, technologies, implemented procedures and processes, materials and equipment for products packaging. Therefore, inspector confirms the correspondence of ecologically clear and safe products or, conversely, restricts to use self-declared declarations on products.

Standard ISO 14020 is a set of recommendations for ecological labeling and declaration implementation. The system of ISO 14020 standards distributes ecological labeling and declaration on three typesISO 14021 (type ІІ), ISO 14024 (type Іта ISO 14025 (type ІІІ).

Standard ISO 14021 is a part of family standard ISO 14020 and covers ecological claims about products, that produced exclusionary under producer`s responsibility, so these claims called self-declared ecological claims, type II. For self-declared ecological claims it is important a guarantee of reliability. The main requirements to the content of these claims are their transparency, scientific validation and respectability for consumer`s assurance of their validity. ISO 14021 was developed for determining of frameworks and requirements for such self-declared claims, because standard forbids to use these ecological claims which only imply on product`s ecological, clearness or safety. Also, this standard is aimed for reducing mess among similar ecological claims and determines the most widely used their types: rational resources and materials use, usage of renewable energy, waste reducing, efficient water and energy consumption, increasing of products validity and reusability, products of bio destruction, reusable products, recycled materials. Implementation of ISO 14021 is useful for producers, importers, distributors and retailers which can develop their own self-declared ecological claims. Due to ISO 14021 the text (content) of these claims is located on product or its pack, technical bulletin, advertising in mass media and TV-shops.

Nowadays, due to ISO official sources, standards ISO 14022 and ISO 14023 are not in access for review or implementation.

Standard ISO 14024 establishes principles and procedures for development of ecological labeling, type I. Eco-labeling, type I is aimed for determining the best ecological product among concrete group of products and awarding it. This award is able to prove the consumer that this product is ecologically clear and safe for consumption, and its production, transportation, storage and realization do not harmfully impact on environment, and its packing materials are suitable for recycle in full or in part in the future. Ecological characteristics which used for assessment for identification the best ecological product, should cover all stages of product lifecycle and following assessment categories: water consumption, volume of production waste, level of raw materials pollution of radionuclides, chemical substances or heave metals, energy consumption, validity of packing materials and equipment.

Standard ISO 14025 is a part of family standards ISO 14020 and determines the principles for development of ecological declaration, type III. During developing of ecological declaration program, the ISO specialists propose for entrepreneurs to use the following titles of their declarations: eco-profile, eco-leaf, and environmental product declaration (EPD). So, EPD is a report about impact of product`s components on environment at ll stages of operational cycle (beginning from preparation till production and finishing waste disposal and finished-products packaging). The requirements of ISO 14025 consider, that it is impossible to prepare this report (EPD) by company`s employees. Because it is better to address to authorized organization for conducting all necessary procedures of report preparing.

The specialist of MCL, LLC have enough high professional skills and experience in conducting certification according to ISO 14020. Our employees are able to analyze activity of your enterprise due to current requirements of family standards ISO and to help along receiving of needed ISO certificate. In addition, in the competence of MCL, LLC specialists are preparing of report about ecological product declaration (environmental product declaration – EPD) and providing consulting services regard of solving of individual problems on responsibility for environment protection and improvement of ecological management system. So, if you address to specialists of MCL, LLC you can be sure in quality of service providing, because our reliable international partners in the sphere of ecology and sanitary-hygienic surveillance are time proved.