THE EUROPEAN ECOLABEL

Focus Report Product groups Retailers’ corner Facts & Figures News in Brief

Focus

Revision of the European Ecolabel

THE EUROPEAN ECOLABELnneewwss

In this issue In this edition of the Flower News, Pavel Misiga, Head ofUnit, Environment and Industry of DG Environment at theEuropean Commission talks to us about the revision ofthe Ecolabel Regulation.

Also in this issue:- Reports on the Flower Month 2008;- The new range of ecolabelled products at Sainsbury’s;- The promotion of the Flower at different fairs;- The first meeting of the French holder’s Club;- The new website on the Ecolabel and GPP;- The EU Ecolabel and the Carbon Footprint.

environmental impact. The problem has been thatthe scheme is somewhat too bureaucratic, complexand the logo is not well known by consumers. Therevision of the Ecolabel deals systematically withthese problems. Our objective is to significantlyincrease the knowledge, coverage, and use of theEU Ecolabel in the next five years.We also want thescheme to help with other environmental policymaking, as part of the wider SustainableConsumption and Production Action plan.

What will be the next steps in the process of therevision?The Commission proposal for the revised Ecolabelscheme is now with the European Council andParliament. They will discuss it and propose changesover the next six months to a year and if theCommission can agree with any changes, the newRegulation will come into force, probably at somepoint in 2010.

What innovations can be expected from therevised scheme?The most significant change to the Ecolabel scheme,in my opinion, is the fact that all stakeholders willbe able to join in, and lead the process of criteriadevelopment (at the moment this activity is limitedto Member States). This means the Commission

itself can, and will, start developing new Ecolabelproduct groups alongside Member States. It alsomeans that potentially partnerships of industry andacademia may also lead the criteria developmentprocess. This could really expand the coverage andparticipation in the Ecolabel scheme.

Are there topics which are controversial?Always! The Commission has proposed to abolishthe annual fees for using the Ecolabel and to limitthe level of application fees.We do not want thosecompanies who make efforts to produce moreenvironmentally friendly goods to have to pay forthe privilege of using the logo. However, there aresome costs involved in the administration of thescheme, so discussions with Member States maybe interesting.

What will be the benefits resulting from therevision?The new scheme should be more flexible, simpleand accessible, while maintaining the Ecolabel’score values of a high level of environmentalcredibility. The real benefits will come when thereare more ecolabelled products on the shelves forpeople to choose from, and with that should comea contribution to more sustainable consumptionand production.

The Flower issue #02 / 2008

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Pavel Misiga, Head of the Environment and IndustryUnit of DG Environment at the EuropeanCommission, talks to us about the revision of theEcolabel Regulation.

What are the objectives of the revision of theEcolabel scheme?The EU Ecolabel is a fantastic idea - a simple,credible, EU-wide logo allowing consumers to quicklyand easily see those products that have a lower

On the web Calendar

New range of ecolabelled products at Sainsbury’s

Report

Retailers’ corner

Flower Month 2008: Numerous events in different Member States

Numerous countries have organised events and activities during the FlowerMonth, held from mid-September to mid-October. Here are the reports on eventsin Denmark, Italy and Romania.

RevisionsThe period of validity of the Ecolabel criteria will beextended without change for a period of 7 monthsfor textile products and televisions, for a period of8 months for tissue paper products, for a periodof 10 months for bed mattresses, for a period of13 months for personal and portable computersand for a period of 15 months for copying andgraphic paper (Commission Decision amending2001/405/EC, 2002/255/EC, 2002/371/EC,

2002/740/EC, 2002/741/EC, 2005/341/EC and2005/343/EC). Publication of this Decision in theOfficial Journal is expected by end November 2008.The first ad-hoc working group meeting for therevision of the criteria for laundry detergents anddishwashing detergents was held by the DanishCompetent Body in Copenhagen on 1 September2008. A report with recommendations for thefollowing meetings in Spring and Autumn 2009 willbe prepared.

The Italian Competent Body is continuing its workon revising criteria for tourist accommodation andcamp site services and the second ad-hoc workinggroup meeting took place in Rome, on 8 September2008. A second draft of the revised criteria wasprepared in October 2008.

New product groupsThe criteria for televisions will be voted on inDecember.

At the beginning of 2008, Sainsbury’s launched the

first low-cost supermarket range of environmentally

friendly household cleaning products, Cleanhome.

The range was awarded the European Ecolabel by

the Dutch, the French and the UK Competent Body

and comprises seven different products including

washing-up liquid, an all purpose cleaner and

dishwasher tablets.

According to Sainsbury’s, Cleanhome was developed

in response to consumer research, which showed

the demand for greener products, but with better

cleaning power. The products are available in more

than 400 stores in the UK and do not cost more than

Sainsbury’s standard cleaning products.

Ecolabelled product at Sainsbury’s

Flower News, The European EcoLabel_issue #02 / 2008

You can find Sainsbury’s ecolabelled products on the Green Store: http://www.eco-label.com

Exhibition of ecolabelled products in Italy

Product groups

DenmarkThe Danish Flower Week 2008 focused on climateissues, with a focus on the problem of climateclaims. The campaign primarily targeted retail trade,with consumers as a secondary target group.The Danish Competent Body (Ecolabelling Denmark)stressed the fact that the existing official ecolabels– the Flower and the Nordic Swan – already takeclimate issues into account because ecolabellingcriteria limit CO2 where energy plays an importantrole. To address trade organisations and others whoare calling for an actual “climate label”, the DanishCB organised different actions: advertising inmagazines, design of a “Climate” campaign site forecolabel.dk, creation of an internet based quizabout eco-labelling and climate considerations, toname just a few examples. One of the main

successes of the campaign was that the retail tradeis now actively connecting the Flower and the Swanwith “climate-friendly” products in their pressreleases. On 27 November 2008, a conferenceabout ecolabelling versus labels on climate impactwas held in Copenhagen.For more information, please see:http://www.ecolabel.dk/klima.

RomaniaThe first week in October brought a full agenda ofactivities for the European Ecolabel in Romania.Starting on the 7th of October with a seminarorganised together with the Romanian CompetentBody and the Chamber of Commerce of Bucharest,entrepreneurs and representatives of the public

administration had the opportunity to gatherinformation in relation to application requirementsfor the EU Ecolabel. The next event was a workshopon the 8th of October entitled “Adaptation of DanubeDelta Tourism to European environmental standards”.It gave participating entrepreneurs and experts thepossibility to learn more about the EU Ecolabel andits requirements for tourist accommodation services.The workshop also presented the first hotel inRomania, “Hotel Saturn”, certified with the Flowerand delivered data on its consequential improvedmarket positioning and resources saving.The last event on the programme was a seminar forguesthouse owners, on the 9th and the 10th of October,

in the Danube Delta. Mrs. Dana Toma, Mrs. DagmarDiwok and Mr. Andrei Blumer from the RomanianAssociation for Ecotourism illustrated the requirementsand advantages of the Flower for the participants.

ItalyOne of the most original actions that took place atthe CINEMAMBIENTE Film Festival, organised byProvincia di Torino and Enterprise Europe from 16

to 21 October, gathered about 23.000 visitors.During the festival, attention was drawn to the EUEcolabel thanks to information brochures printedon ecolabelled paper, a ceremony awarding a stayin an ecolabelled tourist accommodation, and aworkshop on Green Procurement.Another interesting initiative which provokedinterest from the public was the Ecolabel exhibitionat the Regional Agency for the Protection of the

Environment (ARPA Piemonte) where ecolabelledproducts were displayed together with informationon Green Procurement and the Flower.Finally, a national conference “Ten years of the EUEcolabel in Italy: state of the art and perspectives”was held on 8 October in Rome, where protocolsbetween the Italian Competent Body and two Italiantour operators were signed in order to promoteecolabelled tourist accommodations.

New Ecolabel licences and licence extensions

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/environment/ecolabel

April 2008until October 2008

The EU Flower by Product Group *

Product Group | Number of Awards > TOTAL 707

218 Italy

130France

83All-purpose

& sanitary cleaners71Denmark

Country | Number of Awards > TOTAL 707

* Number of licences as the end of October 2008

NovaBell Spa Ceramiche Italiane (IT)(new holder)Polis Manifatture Ceramiche Spa (IT)(new holder)Rondine Spa (IT) (extensions)

Indoor paints and varnishesAkzo Nobel Coatings, SA (ES-CAT)(extension)Arch Sayerlack Coatings Srl (IT)(extensions)Artilin (FR) (new holder)BBI Peintures (FR) (new holder)Blanchon (FR) (extensions)Celliose (FR) (new holder)Choisy Laboratoires (NO) (extensions)Eskaro AS (EE) (new holder)Gjoco AS (NO) (new holder)ICI Paints (FR) (extensions)Industrias Titan, SA (ES-CAT)(extensions)Initiatives Decoration (FR)(extensions)Materis Paints Italia Spa (IT)(extensions)ONIP (FR) (extension)Peintures Maestria (FR) (extensions)Peintures Reca SAS (FR)(new holder)Pintures M. Vich SA (ES) (extensions)Renaulac (FR) (extensions)SOMEFOR (FR) (extensions)Tintas Dyrup (PT) (extensions)V33 (FR) (extensions)

Laundry detergentsDanlind as (DK) (extensions)Industrias Catala (ES-CAT)(extension)Mc Bride Spa (IT) (extension)Prodelta (FR) (new holder)

Light bulbsSolus Bulbs & Batteries (DK) (new holder)

Lubricants Hydrolic FluidsBlaser Swisslube AG (DE) (new holder)Carl Bechem GmbH (DE) (new holder)Cognis Gbmh (DE) (extension)Interflon (NL) (new holder)KAJO-Chemie GmbH (DE) (extensions)Motul (DE) (extensions)Panolin AG (DE) (extension)

Personal ComputersSC Maguay Impex Srl (RO) (new holder)

Portable ComputersSC Maguay Impex Srl (RO) (new holder)

Soaps and shampoosPro-Ren A/S (DK) (new holder)Aura Cosmetics Sp zoo (PL)(new holder)Kroll Srl (IT) (new holder)Allegrini Spa (IT) (extensions)

Soil improvers and growing mediaSolum Gruppen (DK) (renewal)Daymsa-Desarrollo Agricola y Minero,SA (ES-CAT) (renewal)Cogersa (ES-CAT) (new holder)

TelevisionsSamsung Electronics Co, Ltd (SE)(new holder/extensions)

Textile productsAdvansa GmbH (DE) (extension)BCC Pacific, The earth collection (DK)(new holder)Cuthberts Textiles India Private Limited(DK) (new holder)LASA – Armando da Silva Antunes, SA(PT) (new holder)Linificio Canapificio Nazionale Spa (IT)(new holder)

R.J. Knitwears Limited (DK) (new holder)Stamperia Olonia (IT) (new holder)The Merino Company (UK) (new holder)Uniteks Gida Tekstil San. Ve Tic AS (DK)(new holder)

Tissue PaperCartiera Carma Srl (IT) (extensions)Cartiera Lucchese Spa (IT) (extensions)GC & Wepa, SL (ES-CAT) (new holder/extensions)Georgia Pacific France (FR) (extensions)Gomà-Camps, SAU (ES-CAT)(new holder)Lucart France Sas (IT) (extensions)Wepa Papierfabrik P. Krengel GmbH &Co KG (DE) (extensions)

Tourist accommodation(new holders)Active Hotel Olympic (IT)Affittacamere il Sole e la Luna (IT)Agriturismo La rosa nel bicchiere (IT)Albergo El Pilon (IT)Albergo Giovanni da Verrazzano (IT)Ambassador Suite Hotel (IT)Auberge de Jeunesse Lausanne (AT)Auberge de Jeunesse Montreux (AT)B&B Edera (IT)Best Western Etoile Saint Honnoré (FR)Casa Campanella Resort (IT)Chambre d’Hôtes de Monsieur etMadame Krembel (FR)Centre de Plein Air du Lathus (FR)Derrygonnelly Field Studies Centre (UK)Drumstrand Community Partnership CoLtd (IE)Hotel Alpi (IT)Hotel Aquila d’Oro (IT)Hotel Aurora (IT)Hotel Belvedere San Martino (IT)Hotel Belvedere-Molveno (IT)Hotel Ciamol (IT)Hotel Danila (IT)Hotel du Château d’Agneaux (FR)

Hotel Garnì Laurino (IT)Hotel Irida (CZ)Hotel Isolabella (IT)Hotel La Gioiosa (IT)Hotel Le Périgord (FR)Hotel Les Cols Verts (FR)Hotel Liberty (IT)Hotel Maison Carree (FR)Hotel Maison Flore (FR)Hotel Medil (IT)Hotel Mirage (IT)Hotel Paladin (IT)Hotel Parrini (IT)Hotel Pension Jana (CZ)Hotel Saturn (RO)Hotel Villa Marcella (IT)Hôtel-Pension Beau-Site (AT)Inter Hôtel L’océan (FR)Jugendherberge Brienz (AT)Jugendherberge Le Bémont (AT)Jugendherberge Locarno “Palagiovani”(AT)Jugendherberge Pontresina (AT)Jugendherberge Saanen-Gstaad“Chalet Rüblihorn” (AT)Jugendherberge Schaan-Vaduz (AT)Jugendherberge Zermatt (AT)Jugendherberge Zofingen (AT)Jugendherberge Zurich (AT)Le Domaine de Bassilour (FR)Le Jardin de Cluny (FR)Les Fontaines (FR)Limfjordscentret DoveroddeKøbmandsgaard (DK)Ma Maison Bratislava, Sro (SK)Meenaslieve Schoolhouse (IE)Necarne Manor (UK)Öko-Park Hungary Kft. (HU)Parc Hotel Flora (IT)Pilar Sala Tañà (ES-CAT)River Cottage Guesthouse (IE)Suite Hotel Castelir (IT)Tawnylust Lodge (IE)Terme Snovik – Kamnik, Doo (SI)The Benwiskin Centre (IE)

All purpose cleaners and cleanersfor sanitary facilitiesA&B Laboratorios de Biotecnología(ES-CAT) (extensions)Abel Bonnex Sarl (FR) (extensions)Allegrini Spa (IT) (extensions)Almachimica Srl (IT) (extension)AMH Labo (FR) (new holder)Bollerup Jensens Sæbefabrik A/S(DK) (extensions)Bunzl UK Ltd (UK) (extensions)Chimiotechnic (FR) (extension)Copak SA (FR) (extensions)Delphis Environmental Ltd (UK)(extensions)Dial Professional Srl (IT) (new holder)Donau Kanol GmbH & Co KG (AT)(extension)Elcopharma (FR) (extensions)Elisa Soro Lefebvre (ES-CAT)(new holder)F. Lima (PT) (new holder)HTS Bio (FR) (extension)Hydrachim (FR) (extensions)Industrias Catala SA (ES-CAT)(extensions)Innu-Science Canada Inc (FR)(new holder)Interchem (IT) (new holder)Johannes Kiehl KG (DE) (extension)Kiter Srl (IT) (extensions)Laboratoires CEETAL (FR) (extensions)Lidl Stiftung & Co KG (DE)(new holder)Lobial SAS (FR) (extensions)LSC (Labo de solutions chimiques)(FR) (extensions)Luhns GmbH (DE) (new holder/extensions)McBride SA (BE) (extensions)McBride Ltd UK (UK) (extensions)

Nordisk Parfumerivarefabrik A/S (DK)(changed name)Pro-Delta (FR) (extensions)Quadripack (FR) (extensions)Quaron Cleaning Systems BV (NL)(new holder)RCSI (FR) (extensions)Realco SA (BE) (extensions)Salveco (FR) (extensions)Sepca Srl (IT) (extensions)Spado SA (FR) (extensions)Sucitesa (ES-CAT) (new holder)Tana Chemie GmbH (DE) (extension)Tennant NV (DE) (new holder/extension)Werner & Mertz GmbH (DE) (extensions)ZEP Industries Europa BV (NL)(new holder/extensions)

Bed mattressesAtaflex Srl (IT) new holderCignus Snc (IT) new holderIM Srl (IT) new holderIma Flex Snc (IT) new holderMaxitalia (IT) new holderMorfeus (IT) new holderSimam (IT) new holder

Campsites (new holders)Camping La Venise verte (FR)Mariager Camping (DK)Villaggio dei Fiori – OIT Srl (IT)

Copying and graphic paperStora Enso Nymölla AB (SV) (extensions)UPM-Kymmene Corporation (FI)(extensions)Dallum Papier (DK) (extensions)

Detergents for dishwashersDalli Benelux BV UK (UK) (new holder)

Eurotab operations (FR) (extension)Linossier (FR) (new holder)Nordisk Parfumerivarefabrik A/S(DK) (changed name)McBride Spa (IT) (extension)Werner & Mertz (DE) (new holder)

FootwearCalzaturificio Fratelli Soldini Spa (IT)(extensions)Skofabriken Kavat AB (SE)(extensions)

Growing mediaBiolandes Pin Décor (FR)(extensions)Grodan bv (NL) (new holder)Pull BV (NL) (new holder)

Hand dishwashing detergentsDonau Kanol GmbH & Co KG (AT)(extension)Elcopharma (FR) (new holder)EYREIN INDUSTRIE (FR) (extension)Fit GmbH (DE) (new holder)Hydrachim (FR) (new holder)Industrias Catala (ES-CAT)(extension)Luhns GmbH (DE) (extension)McBride Ltd UK (UK) (extensions)McBride SA (BE) (extensions)Pro-Delta (FR) (new holder)RCSI (FR) (new holder/extension)Realco SA (BE) (new holder)Werner & Mertz (DE) (extension)

Hard floor coveringsFlorim Ceramiche Spa (IT)(extension)Impronta Ceramiche Spa (IT)(new holder/extensions)

Facts & Figures

The EU Flower by Country *

229

Tourist accomodationservices

73Indoor paints/varnishes

49Hand dishwashingdetergents

42Camp sites

25Laundry detergents

23Tissue paper

51Germany

42Austria

20Greece

16Ireland

79Others

21UnitedKingdom

21Sweden

38Spain

79Textile products

17Dishwashingdetergents

15Soil improvers

72Others

In September the Flower was promoted in different fairsin Paris and Bratislava.In Bratislava, it was promoted at the “Biostyl” fair focusingon healthy ways of living and organic food. The team atthe Flower stand handed out give-aways and informationbrochures on the Ecolabel and also organised a quiz,the first prize being a stay at an ecolabelled hotel.The other fairs focused on textiles and were held inParis. Promoting the Flower at the well-known “Prêt-à-Porter” fair took place within the project “EU EcolabelMarketing for Products”. The team from the Ecolabel

Helpdesk was invited by Earth Collection and madecontacts with many exhibitors in the So Ethic sectionfor sustainable fashion.Finally, an Ecolabel representative was invited to aseminar on the Flower that was organized by the Missionof Thailand to the EC and the Thai Ministry of Commerceduring the “Texworld” fair in Paris. The seminar focusedon successful Thai textile companies on the Europeanmarket and attracted about 50 buyers and producers.

Flower promotion team at Biostyl Bratislava

On the web

Calendar

A new page on Green Public Procurement and theFlower is now available online. The page gives anoverview of the efforts to create a stronger link betweenGPP and the European Ecolabel. It provides somegeneral information on Green Public Procurement andits benefits, as well as practical information on how touse the Flower in Green Public Procurement. In addition,you can find a PowerPoint presentation that includesexamples of successfully implemented GPP and a linkto the download of the GPP toolkit. The page can befound at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/whats_eco/gpp_en.htm.

In light of the recent interest in Carbon footprintmeasurement and labelling, the European Commissionis looking into how carbon footprinting can beintegrated into the criteria development processof ecolabelled products. In this context a newwebpage is available on the Ecolabel website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/carbon_en.htm.

It presents reports, a study on “Carbon footprintingwithin the EU Ecolabel”, an excel-based toolkit tomeasure the GHG emissions for the Ecolabel, anda background manual on how to use the toolkit. Thisstudy is seen as the beginning of a discussion processon exactly how carbon footprinting might beincorporated into the EU Ecolabel.

Revision of product groups (scheduled adoption)

Bed mattresses Mid 2009Camp sites Mid 2009Floor coverings Mid 2009Laundry detergents Early 2010Dishwashing detergents Early 2010Paints and varnishes Late 2008

Printed Paper To be determinedTelevisions Early 2009Textiles Mid 2009Tourist accommodation services Mid 2009

New product groups (scheduled adoption)

Wooden Furniture Mid 2009

Subscribe to the EU Ecolabel Email News Alert by sending an email to ecolabel@biois.com,entitled “Subscribe EU Ecolabel News Alert”.

This news is published by the Ecolabel sector of the European Commission both in printed form andon the Internet http://ec.europa.eu/comm/environment/ecolabel/news/flowernews_en.htm

For a free subscription, comments or further information, please contact the EU Ecolabel Helpdeskecolabel@biois.comfax: +33 1 58 46 09 95c/o BIO Intelligence Service, 1 rue Berthelot, 94200 Ivry/Seine, France

Printed on paper awarded the EU Ecolabel

The Flower

Flower News, The European EcoLabel_issue #02 / 2008

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Publications Office

Publications.europa.eu

The French Competent Body successfully launched thefirst meeting of the “Club de Titulaires” in Paris inSeptember. More than 50 holders of the Flower andthe French NF-label (i.e. about a quarter of all the

French holders), took part in the meeting aimed atgiving general information on the Flower, its revision,as well as the link between ecodesign and ecolabels.For the future, it is also planned to deal with topics

brought forward by holders themselves. The Club willmeet again in 2009.For more information, please contact Patricia Proia atpatricia.proia@afnor.org.

New page: GPP and the Ecolabel

Flower promotion on different fairs in Europe

News in Brief

New Club for French Ecolabel Holders

CO2 Toolkit