View Standard (Original English)
As the awareness of nature conservation rises, manufacturers and consumers, and society as a whole, attach more importance to the environmental impact of a product when it is produced, used and waste. In this sense, ecological labels are an application that shows how environmentally friendly products or services can be in their entire life cycle, how sensitive they are to nature and how well they fulfill environmental requirements.
Our company Ekomark © has developed the Ekomark © Standard with this sense of responsibility. Products and services that carry the Ekomark © Label will be different from similar products and services on the market.
According to the Ekomark © Standard, there is no obligation to get an ecological label, this is a completely voluntary application. This application is a system that envisages consumers to turn more towards environmentally friendly products.
However, the Ekomark © Standard, which is a completely unique standard, provides a serious competitive advantage to the companies that obtain the Ekomark © Label on their products and services, as well as providing evidence of the reliability of these products and services.
There are many ecological label programs developed not only in Europe but also in various countries of the world today.
1. Login
1.1 Thread
Ekomark © Standard determines the criteria to be complied with for the establishment and implementation of the European Union Eco-Label System or Ecological Label System.
1.2 Purpose
The Ekomark © Standard applies to products and services shipped to countries of the European Union for distribution, consumption or use.
Ekomark © Standard is not used for medical products used for human health, veterinary products used for animal health and any medical devices.
1.3 Definitions
Product group: products with common purposes, similar usage patterns, similar functional characteristics and similar in terms of consumer perception.
Environmental impact: changes in the environment of a product, in whole or in part, during the life cycle.
Verification: the process of determining whether a product meets the criteria of the European Union Eco-Label System.
2. General Conditions for Ekomark © Standard
- The Ekomark © Standard is based on the environmental performance of the products, taking into account the strategic objectives of the European Union in the field of environment.
- The Ekomark © Standard specifies the environmental conditions of a product that meet the criteria of the European Union Eco-Label System.
- The Ekomark © Standard applies the criteria of the European Union Eco-Label System, taking into account the entire life cycle of the products and applies them on scientific basis. The most important environmental impacts are climate change, nature and biodiversity, energy and resource consumption, waste generation, emissions and release of hazardous substances into the air.
- Ekomark © Standard has the criteria to meet the intended usage of the products.
3. Ekomark © Standard Certification Works
The stages of the certification work under the Ekomark © Standard are as follows:
3.1 Ekomark © Certification Application Stage
For products or services Ekomark © certification For companies requesting a study, a preliminary assessment is carried out after the application is received.
In this context, possible environmental benefits are evaluated regarding the product group, taking into account ISO 14024 Ecological labels and declarations, principles and methods standard and similar national and international standards.
Verification is done for the product, that is, the certification is found to be in the right product group. Also possible commercial issues and other environmental impacts are analyzed.
Existing legal regulations and other initiatives concerning the sector of the product group are taken into consideration.
Alternative materials and design methods for safer production and the ways to use safer substances that can replace dangerous substances are analyzed.
The market share in the sector is evaluated including the volume and turnover possibilities of the product. It also takes into account what the market share of the product will be, including the European Union market today and in the future.
3.2 Ekomark © Certification Contract Phase
After the application is received, a contract is made with the company requesting certification for products and services. This agreement shall contain provisions that determine the terms of the service to be rendered and the responsibilities and obligations of both parties.
After the contract to be made, documents, statements, test results and similar information proving that the products or services meet the Eco-Label criteria are requested from the company. After the preliminary evaluation to be made, the application of the company is sent to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, which is determined as the authorized institution in the ecological label system, in order to get an opinion.
3.3 Ekomark © Certification Sample Acceptance
Ekomark © Tag In order to carry out the test and analysis of the product to be placed, the company must deliver a sample from the product. In order to attach the Ekomark © Label to the product, the sample must meet the criteria determined by the European Union Eco-Label Board.
In determining these criteria, every stage has been taken into consideration from raw material selection for production to production, distribution of finished products, offering to the consumer, consumption and recycling when the use is finished.
3.4 Ekomark © Certification Testing
Product tests must be carried out in laboratories operating in accordance with the General Conditions for the Qualification of ISO 17025 Test and Calibration Laboratories or in a laboratory accredited by an equivalent system of this standard. A list of these laboratories is available on the website of the European Accreditation Agency.
The tests are used to determine that the environmental impact of the product to be placed on Ekomark © Label is reduced throughout the whole life cycle from raw material extraction to production, consumption and destruction. In this respect, Ekomark © Label also contributes to energy usage, waste reduction and environmental awareness.
3.5 Ekomark © Certification Approval Phase
After the test and analysis studies are completed and it is determined that the sample complies with the criteria determined by the European Union Eco-Label Board, the order comes to the approval stage. However, in the meantime, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization should have received the appropriate opinion.
3.6 Ekomark © Certification Label Usage Permission
The last step of the certification studies carried out by our organization Ekomark © is to give permission to use the label. After it has been determined that the products and services of the company comply with the criteria set by the European Union on the basis of product groups within the framework of Ekomark © Standard and meet all the necessary conditions, the manufacturer is allowed to place Ekomark © Label on its products or services.
Companies can place the Ekomark © Label on their products in accordance with the following standards:
Ekomark ©: AAAA / BBB / CCCCC |
Here AAAA refers to the country code, BBB product group and CCCCC refers to the number given by the competent authority.
4. Meaning of Ekomark © Tag
When our company Ekomark © performs certification studies upon the request of the company and allows the company to use the Ekomark © Label, the products bearing this label express the following:
- The damage to the natural environment is very low
- The product is manufactured in accordance with natural conditions.
- The product vanishes spontaneously in a natural environment.
- The packaging on the product has no negative effect on nature.
- It is not a guarantee of product quality but evokes the quality of the product.
5. Legal Basis
The Ecological Label System, or Eco-Label System, was established by the European Union Council of Ministers with the regulation issued in 1992. In 2010, this regulation was reconsidered and updated and published as the Eco-Label Regulation No. 66/2010/EC. Ekomark © Standard has also been prepared on the basis of this regulation.
The working group responsible for the development and revision of the criteria at the ECO-Etiket Board of the European Union deals with the entire life cycle of the products and develops criteria for each product group in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. The working group meets about three times a year, either considering the applicability of criteria, various developmental analyzes, environmental and market research and the current life cycle of the products, or revising or, if necessary, making new analyzes and preparing a draft. The draft is approved and published at the latest Eco-Label Board of Directors. These decisions are then voted on in each country's own legislative boards.
6. Determination of Criteria
As the European Union develops criteria for products and services, it focuses on at which stage these products and services have an impact on the environment at most. This naturally varies from product to product. For example, if you take a look at textiles, the environmental effects of dyeing, bleaching or printing are high in factories. Therefore, while setting criteria for the textile product group, the experts aimed to reduce harmful effects during production as much as possible. In addition, electronic products create a high environmental risk during use. While determining the criteria in this product group, energy consumption of these products was focused on.