ASQ ISO 14021-2001 Environmental labels and declarations Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling) (T14021E).pdf

1、ANSI/ISO 14021-2001AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDEnvironmental labels and declarations Self-declared environmental claims(Type II environmental labelling)AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR QUALITYP.O. BOX 3005MILWAUKEE, WI 53201-3005ANSI/ISO 14021-2001AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDEnvironmental labels and declarationsSel

2、f-declared environmental claims(Type II environmental labelling)Approved as an American National Standard by:NSF International (NSF)American Society for Testing b) increased potential for market forces to stimulate environmental improvements in production, processes and products; c) prevention or mi

3、nimization of unwarranted claims; d) reduction in marketplace confusion; e) facilitation of international trade; and f) increased opportunity for purchasers, potential purchasers and users of the product to make more informed choices. 5 Requirements applying to all self-declared environmental claims

4、 5.1 General The requirements set out in clause 5 shall apply to any self-declared environmental claim made by a claimant, whether it is one of the selected claims referred to in clause 7 or any other environmental claim. 5.2 Relationship to ISO 14020 In addition to the requirements of this Internat

5、ional Standard, the principles set out in ISO 14020 shall apply. Where this International Standard provides more specific requirements than ISO 14020, such specific requirements shall be followed. 5.3 Vague or non-specific claims An environmental claim that is vague or non-specific or which broadly

6、implies that a product is environmentally beneficial or environmentally benign shall not be used. Therefore, environmental claims such as “environmentally safe“, “environmentally friendly“, “earth friendly“, “non-polluting“, “green“, “natures friend“ and “ozone friendly“ shall not be used. NOTE This

7、 list is illustrative and not exhaustive. 5.4 Claims of “. free“ An environmental claim of “ free“ shall only be made when the level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level. NOTE Attention is drawn to the requireme

8、nts of 5.7 k) and 5.7 p). 5.5 Claims of sustainability The concepts involved in sustainability are highly complex and still under study. At this time there are no definitive methods for measuring sustainability or confirming its accomplishment. Therefore, no claim of achieving sustainability shall b

9、e made. 5.6 Use of explanatory statements Self-declared environmental claims shall be accompanied by an explanatory statement if the claim alone is likely to result in misunderstanding. An environmental claim shall only be made without an explanatory statement if it is valid in all foreseeable circu

10、mstances with no qualifications. 5.7 Specific requirements Self-declared environmental claims and any explanatory statements are subject to all requirements in 5.7. Such claims, including any explanatory statement: ANSI/ISO 14021 20014 a) shall be accurate and not misleading; b) shall be substantiat

11、ed and verified; c) shall be relevant to that particular product, and used only in an appropriate context or setting; d) shall be presented in a manner that clearly indicates whether the claim applies to the complete product, or only to a product component or packaging, or to an element of a service

12、; e) shall be specific as to the environmental aspect or environmental improvement which is claimed; f) shall not be restated using different terminology to imply multiple benefits for a single environmental change; g) shall be unlikely to result in misinterpretation; h) shall be true not only in re

13、lation to the final product but also shall take into consideration all relevant aspects of the product life cycle in order to identify the potential for one impact to be increased in the process of decreasing another; NOTE This does not necessarily mean that a life cycle assessment should be underta

14、ken. i) shall be presented in a manner which does not imply that the product is endorsed or certified by an independent third-party organization when it is not; j) shall not, either directly or by implication, suggest an environmental improvement which does not exist, nor shall it exaggerate the env

15、ironmental aspect of the product to which the claim relates; k) shall not be made if, despite the claim being literally true, it is likely to be misinterpreted by purchasers or is misleading through the omission of relevant facts; l) shall only relate to an environmental aspect that either exists or

16、 is likely to be realized, during the life of the product; m) shall be presented in a manner that clearly indicates that the environmental claim and explanatory statement should be read together. The explanatory statement shall be of reasonable size and in reasonable proximity to the environmental c

17、laim it accompanies; n) shall, if a comparative assertion of environmental superiority or improvement is made, be specific and make clear the basis for the comparison. In particular, the environmental claim shall be relevant in terms of how recently any improvement was made; o) shall, if based on a

18、pre-existing but previously undisclosed aspect, be presented in a manner that does not lead purchasers, potential purchasers and users of the product to believe that the claim is based on a recent product or process modification; p) shall not be made where they are based on the absence of ingredient

19、s or features which have never been associated with the product category; q) shall be reassessed and updated as necessary to reflect changes in technology, competitive products or other circumstances that could alter the accuracy of the claim; and r) shall be relevant to the area where the correspon

20、ding environmental impact occurs. NOTE A process-related claim can be made anywhere, so long as the environmental impact occurs in the area where the production process is located. The size of the area will be determined by the nature of the impact. 5.8 Use of symbols to make environmental claims 5.

21、8.1 When a self-declared environmental claim is made, the use of a symbol is optional. 5.8.2 Symbols used to make an environmental claim should be simple, easily reproducible and capable of being positioned and sized to suit the ANSI/ISO 14021 20016 6 Evaluation and claim verification requirements 6

22、.1 Responsibilities of the claimant The claimant shall be responsible for evaluation and provision of data necessary for the verification of self-declared environmental claims. 6.2 Reliability of evaluation methodology 6.2.1 Prior to making the claim, evaluation measures shall be implemented to achi

23、eve reliable and reproducible results necessary to verify the claim. 6.2.2 The evaluation shall be fully documented and the documentation retained by the claimant for the purpose of the information disclosure referred to in 6.5.2. This shall be for the period that the product is on the market, and f

24、or a reasonable period thereafter, taking into account the life of the product. NOTE For guidance on reproducibility and reliability, see references 8 through 11 in the Bibliography. 6.3 Evaluation of comparative claims 6.3.1 Comparative claims shall be evaluated against one or more of the following

25、: a) an organizations own prior process; b) an organizations own prior product; c) another organizations process; or d) another organizations product. The comparison shall only be made: using a published standard or recognized test method (as set out in 6.4); and against comparable products serving

26、similar functions, supplied by the same or another producer, currently or recently in the same marketplace. 6.3.2 Comparative claims involving the environmental aspects of the products life cycle shall be: a) quantified and calculated using the same units of measurement; b) based on the same functio

27、nal unit; and c) calculated over an appropriate time interval, typically twelve months. 6.3.3 Comparative claims may be based on: a) percentages, in which case they should be expressed as absolute differences; or NOTE The following example is provided to clarify how relative measurements could be ha

28、ndled: For a change from 10 % to 15 % recycled content, the absolute difference is 15 % - 10 % = 5 %, in which case, a claim of an additional 5 % recycled content could be made; however, a claim of 50 % increase, while accurate, could be misleading. b) absolute (measured) values, in which case they

29、should be expressed as relative improvements. NOTE The following example is provided to clarify how absolute measurements could be handled: For an improvement that results in a product lasting 15 months instead of the previous 10 months, the relative difference is 15 1010100 50months monthsmonths%=i

30、n which case, a claim of 50 % longer life could be made. If one of the values is nil, the absolute difference should be used. 6.3.4 As there is a high risk of confusing an absolute claim with a relative claim, the claim should be worded to be clear that it is a claim of absolute difference and not a

31、 claim of relative difference. 6.3.5 Improvements related to a product and its packaging shall be stated separately and shall not be aggregated. ANSI/ISO 14021 2001 7 6.4 Selection of methods Methods for evaluation and claim verification shall follow, in order of preference, International Standards,

32、 recognized standards that have international acceptability (these may include regional or national standards) or industry or trade methods which have been subjected to peer review. If there are no methods already in existence, a claimant may develop a method, provided it meets the other requirement

33、s of clause 6 and is available for peer review. NOTE Some typical International and national standards, as well as some specific industry methods relevant to some selected claims are listed in the Bibliography (references 12 through 66). 6.5 Access to information 6.5.1 A self-declared environmental

34、claim shall only be considered verifiable if such verification can be made without access to confidential business information. Claims shall not be made if they can only be verified by confidential business information. 6.5.2 The claimant may voluntarily release to the public the information necessa

35、ry for verification of an environmental claim. If not, the information necessary to verify the claim shall be disclosed, upon request, at a reasonable cost (to cover administration), time and place, to any person seeking to verify the claim. 6.5.3 The minimum information required to be documented an

36、d retained in accordance with 6.2 shall include the following: a) identification of the standard or method used; b) documentary evidence, if verification of the claim cannot be made by testing the finished product; c) test results, where these are necessary for claim verification; d) if testing is c

37、arried out by an independent party, the name and address of the independent party; e) evidence that the claim conforms with the requirements of 5.7 h) and 5.7 r); f) if the self-declared environmental claim involves a comparison with other products, then a description of the method used, the results

38、 of any tests of those products, and any assumptions made shall be clearly stated; NOTE Further requirements for comparative claims are set out in 5.7. g) evidence that the claimants evaluation gives assurance of the continuing accuracy of the self-declared environmental claim during the period over

39、 which the product is on the market, and for a reasonable period thereafter, taking into account the life of the product. 7 Specific requirements for select-ed claims 7.1 General 7.1.1 Clause 7 provides interpretation and usage qualifications for selected terms commonly used in self-declared environ

40、mental claims. The onus on a claimant to follow the principles set out in this clause shall not be diminished by substituting like terms. Clause 7 supplements, but does not replace, the requirements in other clauses of this International Standard. 7.1.2 It is not intended to imply that the claims in

41、 clause 7 are superior to other environmental claims. The principal reason for their selection has been their current or potential wide use, not their environmental importance. These claims can be applied, when relevant, to the stages of manufacturing and distribution, product usage and product reco

42、very and disposal. NOTE The terms dealt with in clause 7 have been arranged in alphabetical order (in English), as set out below: 7.2 Compostable 7.3 Degradable 7.4 Designed for disassembly 7.5 Extended life product 7.6 Recovered energy 7.7 Recyclable ANSI/ISO 14021 20018 7.8 Recycled content 7.9 Re

43、duced energy consumption 7.10 Reduced resource use 7.11 Reduced water consumption 7.12 Reusable and refillable 7.13 Waste reduction 7.2 Compostable 7.2.1 Usage of term A characteristic of a product, packaging or associated component that allows it to biodegrade, generating a relatively homogeneous a

44、nd stable humus-like substance. 7.2.2 Qualifications 7.2.2.1 A compostability claim shall not be made for a product or packaging or a component of a product or packaging that: a) negatively affects the overall value of the compost as a soil amendment; b) releases substances in concentrations harmful

45、 to the environment at any point during decomposition or subsequent use; or c) significantly reduces the rate of composting in those systems in which the product or component is likely to be composted. 7.2.2.2 All compostability claims shall be clearly qualified as follows. a) The claim shall specif

46、y whether the type of composting facility or process in which the identified component is compostable is a home-composting facility or an on-site or central composting facility, unless the product is compostable in all types of composting facilities, in which case no qualification is necessary. b) I

47、f the entire product is not compostable, the claim shall identify specifically which components are compostable. If the user of the product is required to separate those components, clear direction on how to do so shall be provided. c) If problems or risks are associated with introducing the product

48、 into either a home-composting facility or on-site or central composting facilities, then the claim shall identify which of these types of facility are capable of composting the product. 7.2.2.3 If a compostability claim refers to home composting, the following additional requirements shall apply. a

49、) If significant preparation or product modification is necessary to ensure satisfactory compostability, or if significant additional treatment of the finished compost is required as a direct result of the composting of the product or component, the compostability claim shall not be made. b) If home composting of the product or component would require materials, equipment (other than a composting unit) or specialized skills that are unlikely to be available in most households, the claim of home compostability shall not be made. 7.2.2.