Véronique Fuxis
Communication Officer
Cofrac

France has the third highest number of products and services covered by the European Union (EU) Ecolabel, behind Spain and Italy. There are 88,045 certified products and services on the European market, including 11,085 in France.

The objective of the EU Ecolabel is to improve consumer information and eco-design practices of manufacturers in line with EC Regulation No. 66/2010.

What is the EU Ecolabel?

The EU Ecolabel was created in 1992, to promote products and services having a reduced environmental impact throughout their whole life cycle. From this date onwards, an increasing number of service and product categories were developed. Today, the European Commission website lists 24 groups, for example cleaning products, household equipment and clothing.

The EU Ecolabel aims to promote the transition to a circular economy. It does not apply to agri-food products covered by other regulations.

Based on ISO 14024, “Environmental labels and declarations – Issuance of the type I environmental labels – Principles and procedures”, the EU Ecolabel is founded on a life cycle approach which consists of analysing a product’s impact on the environment at each stage of its life, from the extraction of raw materials to its manufacture, use and disposal. The granting of an EU Ecolabel gives the assurance that the product complies with a certain number of environmental criteria.

The choice of an accredited certification

In France, the Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) and the General Commission for Sustainable Development (CGDD) manage French EU Ecolabel policy.

Even though the European regulation for the EU Ecolabel does not require it, the French government decided to request an accredited certification to give credibility to the Ecolabel and to move toward excellence. This accreditation is then specific to France (and applying to French manufacturers); for other Member States, the supervision is performed by the authorities.

The certification achieves two objectives:

• Improving consumer information and corporate eco-design practices
• Promoting products and services that are more respectful of the environment while keeping the same performance

How does it work?

The system is based on criteria established by the European Commission for each product and service. At the national level, the implementation of the EU Ecolabel certification is provided for in the official Decree No. 2022-410 of March 23, 2022. Certification bodies must be accredited by the Comité Français d’Accréditation (Cofrac) according to ISO/IEC 17065 and specific requirements.

Manufacturers undergo an initial certification audit, followed by an annual surveillance audit to check whether the products and services they offer comply with the EU Ecolabel criteria. After two years, surveillance audits can be spaced out, under certain conditions.

To date, eight types of products and services are covered by accredited certification: detergents, cosmetics, animal care products, as well as organic soil improvers and growing media. The other categories will be open to the accreditation system by mid-2025, as European decisions are revised.

EU Ecolabel is an operational and pragmatic approach to engage manufacturers to limit and reduce the environmental impact of the products and services they deliver. It is an efficient and reliable tool, a stone in the edifice of sustainable development and preservation of biodiversity.