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Integrated Supply Chain Information 10. Annex
Annex 1 Establishing Eco-label criteriaProcedureThe procedure for establishing the eco-label criteria, including mapping and selection of the most important environmental aspects, comprise the following steps, schematically presented in figure 1.
Figure 1: Overview of the activities suggesting criteria for the EU Eco-label. Feasibility and market investigationsFeasibility and market investigations map the various types of products within the product group in question on the common market, the amounts produced, imported and sold as well as the market structure in the member states. Trade inside and outside the Union is also considered. Consumer perceptions, functional differences between the product types and the need to establish sub-groups are mapped and evaluated. Lifecycle evaluationsThe most important environmental conditions for which criteria are to be prepared are defined using lifecycle evaluations. This work is carried out according to internationally recognized methods and standards. Resource consumption, chemical consumption, packaging consumption, transport contribution as well as various removal and emission scenarios are all considered. Improvement analysisImprovement considerations primarily include the following aspects:
Suggestions for eco-label criteriaThe final suggestion for environmental criteria includes the relevant environmental conditions for the product group. Criteria to be included in the final criteria and to be omitted are a political decision. The criteria agreed upon are prepared on the basis of lifecycle evaluations. The centralized organ has established which factors are so significantly potentially damaging to the environment that they are to be included in the criteria. The most essential environmental conditions are established by identifying the categories of environmental influences where the product investigated offers the biggest contribution seen from a lifecycle perspective and among these conditions, those for which there is a substantial potential for improvements. The result of this selection is a number of criteria clearly defining boundaries for the acceptable. These limit values are established as well-defined acceptance criteria to be met in order to obtain the EU eco-label. The criteria are established by the authorities along with the different interest groups within the product type in question. Click here to see the Figure 2. The selection of criteria can be decided using various figures and tables. A normalization [1_1] of the various environmental impact categories can be used to compare the environmental impact potentials across categories by means of which the categories with the greatest environmental impact potential can be identified. An example of such a graphic presentation for a lifecycle screening of paint is given in figure 2. Criteria will be established for a number of different paints in order to create a reliable standard of comparison. Whenever possible, the paint types must come from a representative number of countries in the Union. The different categories can of course be divided further and categories with a big environmental impact can be identified. The final step in the selection of environmental impact categories is to find those categories, which have the greatest potential for being lowered. The categories which make up the largest environmental impact are listen in a form as shown below in table 1.
Table 1 Example of a segment of a scheme identifying categories of importance for eco labelling criteria. The criteria, for which there is a possibility of reducing the environmental impact potential, are identified in the right column of the table above. If it is realistic to obtain the reduction potential without overwhelming expenses, the category in question will be included in the criteria. In practice, the criteria are worked out as a ban on specific ingredients, a limitation in the allowed content in the goods or a demand for declaration of certain ingredients. The limits for the individual parameters must be reasonable and agreement must be reached about the values. Thus, a number of environmental criteria are listed. The number of criteria listed varies greatly among the different product categories. The purpose of the established criteria is that no more than 1/3 of the existing products on the market are able to meet the criteria [1_2] but that the criteria must be obtainable for the remaining products within the category. Other criteriaAs mentioned previously, consumer products carrying the eco-label, must fulfil a number of environmental demands, which have been defined based on lifecycle evaluations. In addition to the criteria, which are established based on the lifecycle analysis, the criteria include demands for health and for handling the product, i.e. manuals, noise, return declaration among others. These criteria are included since the order dictates that the eco-label must contribute to consumer protection. The aim has been to protect both the environment and the consumers' health when preparing the criteria for the various product types. Health criteria The criteria illustrated in figure 3 below include certain considerations relating directly to the health aspect. Regulation EC No. 1980/2000 of 17 July 2000 (extract) Article 2 section 4: Article 3, section. 2: Figure 3 Health aspects in the order. The health criteria are often indirectly included due to bans against substances with particular classifications (typically chronic effects such as cancer and reproduction toxicity), limitations in the allowed amount of substances with less severe effects as well as declarations of ingredients for general consumer guidance. Criteria concerning consumer behaviour As the EU eco-label is based on lifecycle evaluations there is often, particularly for criteria for electronic products, a demand for a reuse declaration describing how dangerous parts and resource-scarce components in a given apparatus may be safely disassembled or removed. The chosen criteria will be submitted for hearing before a final approval can be made. When the consumers buy a product labelled with the eco-label the product is environmentally sound compared to other products within the same category and that there is an agreement that these criteria are generally acceptable. Annex 2 Type III EPD systemsSweden (EPD)In Sweden, an official system for type III environmental product declarations called EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) [2_1] has been developed and established. The system is voluntary and can be used worldwide by all interested companies and organizations. At the moment, interested parties from 7 other countries have joined the EPD system at various levels [2_2] . The Swedish EPD system is the most developed type III product declaration type in the world. In Sweden, EPDs have primarily been developed for energy-heavy products such as refrigerators, washing machines, pumps etc. At the moment, environmental product declarations have been prepared for the following products and services:
Table 2 Overview of existing and scheduled EPDs Other countries have developed type III product declarations as well. The systems used outside Sweden are typically used and developed within specific trades. One of the most extensively developed type III declarations is the Canadian, which is briefly described below. Canada (EPDS)An environmental profile declaration similar to the Swedish EPD is used in the Canadian pulp and paper industry. The declaration is called EPDS, Environmental Profile Data Sheet [2_3], and is certified by Terra Choice Environmental Services, inc. The EPDS is a standardized reporting form, which offers measurement data and explanatory comments related to a list of environmental attributes that cover the lifecycle of pulp and paper products. It provides pulp and paper producers with a credible and cost-effective way of measuring and reporting on the environmental performance of individual products and the mills that produce them. The data requirements of the EPDS are very similar to what is generally required in an EPD. Japan (EcoLeaf)The Japanese eco-label EcoLeaf [2_4] is designed to present comprehensive information in a quantitative form on lifetime environmental impact by the product or service, without making any judging statement by any set criteria - it is entrusted to the reader. EcoLeaf is run by JEMAI (Japan Environmental Association for Industry). By encouraging companies to participate, the EcoLeaf program aims at encouraging them to plan and then to develop eco-conscious products and services. This will give consumers a stronger awareness of eco-conscious practices and allow them to choose and use environmentally friendly products. By facilitating communication of environmental information between producers and consumers, EcoLeaf aims at creating a relationship of mutual trust, thereby contributing to the creation of a sustainable society. The system is very similar to the Swedish EPD system with Product Specific Criteria (PSC) similar to PCR for each product type. At the moment, PSC has been developed for the product categories listed in table 3.
Table 3 Present PSCs for the Japanese Eco-leaf system /10/ Norway (EPD)NHO - Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry has initiated the EPD work in Norway [2_5]. The system is almost identical to the Swedish EPD-system. The Norwegian EPDs are prepared in co-operation with The Federation of Norwegian Construction Industries, BNL. EPDs are prepared for cement, concrete and other building materials /13/. An overview of existing Norwegian EPD certified product types are presented in table 4.
Table 4. Overview of existing Norwegian EPDs /13/ South Korea (EDP)In 1998, the Korean Ministry of Environment and KELA (Korean Environmental Labelling Association) initiated the type III product declaration, EDP - Environmental Declaration of Products [2_6]. The system is very similar to the Swedish and the Japanese systems regarding the development of PCR, the lifecycle perspectives etc. At the moment, EDP is mainly prepared for electronic appliances. One EDP is developed for toilet paper as well. An overview of Korean EDPs is presented in table 5 below.
Table 5 Existing Korean EPD /13/ Denmark (MVD)In Denmark, a project has been initiated to establish a privately organised environmental declaration system [2_7]. The Danish system will be voluntary and internationally oriented so that if and when EU guidelines and ISO standards are established, the Danish system is already coordinated with these efforts. The construction of the system will take place during the coming three years during which concrete guidelines for the preparation of and control with environmental product declarations will be prepared. A template will also be prepared for the content and layout of an environmental product declaration. An organization will be established along with a business plan for the future running and development of the system, including a suggestion for financing. Finally, the system and its guidelines will be tested by a number of companies within some selected product groups. It has not yet been established which product groups the system will start up with, but the intention is that more and more products and services will be covered by the system. Testing will last approximately one year ending in the fall of 2006. From the turn of the New Year 2006/2007, the system must be up and running and function without support from the EPA. Companies and organizations will then immediately be able to prepare environmental product declarations according to the product specific guidelines developed during testing and begin the development of product specific guidelines for other product groups. Annex 3 Eco-label criteria and EPD requirements for washing machinesAn area, in which a direct comparison between the EU eco label and an environmental product declaration can be made, is washing machines. To compare the two sets of criteria, the EU eco label requirements [3_1] are listed together with the product specific requirements for washing machines [3_2]. The main data requirements for the two environmental performance criteria are presented in table 6. Table 6 Data inventory requirements for the EU eco label and PCR for washing machines.
Annex 4 PCR for Chemical productsThe PCR for chemical products [4_1] is defined for both substances and preparations. Preparations are mixtures or solutions consisting of two or more substances. The PCR is based of the entire lifecycle. For some product areas within chemical products further clarification could be needed. Principally, it might come into question to make a complement for chemi-cal products with a specific application and long manufacturing chains. Prerequisites for the PCR:Functional unit:The functional unit is set to 1000 kg paint. System boundaries:Data to be included in the PCR
Manufacturing phase of the EPD is including the first 5 parts of the system boundaries. Time limitations:Inventory data must be given as annual mean values and be representative for the production. The period of time when the LCA is carried out must be stated in the environmental declaration. Limitations within the lifecycle:The following is not included:
Packages in previous stages can be excluded. Boundaries towards other products life cycle:Recovered material is presented as flows out of the system and flows in to the sy-stem respectively. On the contrary refinement and transport of recovered fuel to en-ergy transformation plants must be included as well as environmental impact from combustion of the recovered fuel within the studied life cycle. Boundaries towards the nature:Waste, by-products and waste energy generated within the manufacturing phase of chemical products is presented as outflows. An exception is when system expansi-on is used. Waste management handled by the producer itself must not be included. Inflows not followed from the cradle must be presented. Waste handling in previous stages, not declared as outflows, must also be presented. Geographic boundaries:Potential environmental impact from emissions from processes in different stages of the life cycle must be included, no matter geographic location. Cut-off rule:Processes/activities estimated to contribute to less than 1 % of the total environ-mental impact of the product, for any impact category, can be omitted. Use phase:All declarations must include a presentation of the environmental impact from the transport to costumer. Most chemical products have many different fields of application and are often intermediate products used in other production processes. In the usage phase a short description of the main applications of the chemical product is given. Branch specific information can be used. When the chemical product has a predominant field of application, a quantitative description of environmental characteristics must be included, e.g. waste production, energy consumption etc. If the product is commonly used as an inflow waste data does not need to be included. Common environmental impact categories:Use of resources [kg/FE], Calculation of impact categories:Greenhouse Gases: g CO2-eq/FU Additional environmental impacts:Emission to air: CO2 (fossil), SO2, CH4, NOx, NMVOC alternatively HC, particles Emission to water: N total, P total. COD alternatively BOD or TOC. Emissions of toxic substance: Selection of toxic substances must be motivated. If no toxic substances are selected, this action must be motivated as well. Toxic substances must be specified as far as possible Declaration of contents:To be included in EPD for all chemical products. Must include health- and environ-mentally dangerous substances, categories of danger, symbol letters and risk phrases. The declaration of content must consist of a list of material nouns according to the SDS (item 2). Categories of danger, symbol letters and risk phrases must be given according to the information from item 15 in the SDS. Annex 5 Eco-label criteria for paint/varnish and PCR for chemical productsAnnex 4 contains a description of the PCR for chemical products. It is much harder to comprehend the inventory data of an EPD for chemical products than that of the criteria for the EU eco label application form, but some of the routines regarding data requirements are identical. The EU eco label focuses on chemicals in the finished product while the EPD requires data on the entire lifecycle. The EU eco label has data requirements that are very well defined whereas the PCR for chemical products requires individual choices of limitations with thorough explanations for the decisions made. To some extent, it is possible to share data (PCR and EU eco label) on the chemical contents of the products, since part of the inventory data requirements for EPDs are similar to corresponding requirements for the EU eco label. Sharing of information is possible regarding identification of risk sentences, hazard identification, general company data, emission estimation, etc. Table 7 sums up similarities and differences between the two varieties of environmental labelling.
Table 7 Comparison of EU eco label criteria for paints and varnishes and the PCR for chemical products. It would be preferable if a more specific PCR for different types of products were divided into more product-specific groups such as for the EU eco label. The EU Eco-label has its main focus on chemicals, while the PCR requires data on energy, resources, transportation, electricity, recycling potential etc. Based on the existing requirements, chemical products are not the most ideal “ product type” for which to obtain an immediate synergy improvement by integrating the two types of regulations. An interesting point regarding the PCR is that additional requirements are needed, if the chemical product has “ a predominant field of application” . If this is the case, a quantitative description of the environmental performance related to the specific use of the product is required. This will make the EPD for different chemical product groups more specific than for the general PCR guideline. However, there is no requirement to the form of this additional information. This lack of criteria can make it difficult to make a direct comparison between two products in the same group. The possibility of integrating the data collection when applying for the EU Eco-label and preparing an EPD can be beneficial to both tasks, if the planning is elaborated thoroughly. The additional data for the EPD for a specific product type and the product-specific descriptions can be performed relatively easily if consulting the EU Eco-label certification body. If the guidelines for elaborating an EPD for chemical products were described for a specific product type instead, information and data sharing between the EU Eco-label application and the EPD elaboration activities will become less complicated. To achieve a significant synergy effect by gathering the two types of product declarations, it is preferable if the declarations are performed on well-defined specific product types rather than vague definitions Footnotes [1_1]During normalization, the environmental impact potentials and resource consumption of a product is seen in relation to a common reference impact in order to evaluate which impacts are big and which are small. This makes it easier to compare the categories directly. [1_2]Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 of the european parliament and of the council of 17 July 2000 on a revised Community eco-label award scheme [2_2]Countries with existing EPD programs: Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Italy, Japan, Denmark and South Korea. In Norway, an EPD program is underway. [2_3]http://www.terrachoice.com/Home/Certification/Environmental%20Choice%20Program [2_4]http://www.jemai.or.jp/english/ecoleaf/outline.cfm [2_6]http://www.koeco.or.kr/eng/index.asp [2_7]The parties to solve the task are Erik K. Jørgensen AS (EKJ) (Project management), Instituttet for produktudvikling (IPU) Dansk Standard (DS), AB Svenska Miljostyrningsrådet and Valør & Tinge A/S. In addition, a number of trade organizations and companies participate in the work. [3_1]Commission decision of 17. December 1999 establishing the ecological criteria for award of the Community eco-label to washing machines, (2000/45/EC) [3_2]Product-Specific Requirements. Household washing machines and household dishwashers, PSR 2001:2. The Swedish Environmental Management Council, Version 1.0, 2001-11-21 [3_3]For the eco-label, only rigid statements are needed in order to fulfil the criteria. For EPDs, quantifiable data is required. Thus sharing of data is not possible if only rigid statements are received, only the other way around. [4_1]Product-Specific Requirements. Chemical Products, PSR 2000:5, The Swedish Environmental Management Council Version 1.0 2000-12-28 [5_1]Commision decision of 3 September 2002 establishing revised ecological criteria for the award of the Communityeco-label to indoor paints and varnishes and amending Decision 1999/10/EC
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