1、ANSI/ISO 14020-2001AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDEnvironmental labels and declarations General principlesAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR QUALITYP.O. BOX 3005MILWAUKEE, WI 53201-3005ANSI/ISO 14020-2001AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDEnvironmental labels and declarationsGeneral principlesApproved as an American National S
2、tandard by:NSF International (NSF)American Society for Testing they shall address only nontrivial environmental aspects related to the actual circumstances of natural resource extraction, manufacture, distribution, use or disposal associated with the product or service. A periodic review of the basi
3、s for environmental labels and declarations should occur to account for innovation. Information should be gathered at a frequency consistent with the pace of innovation. Environmental labels and declarations shall be understandable and not likely to mislead the intended purchaser of the product or s
4、ervice. 4.3 Principle 2 4.3.1 Statement Procedures and requirements for environmental labels and declarations shall not be prepared, adopted, or applied with a view to, or with the effect of, creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade. 4.3.2 Specific considerations For guidance on the abo
5、ve principle, the applicable provisions and interpretations of the World Trade Organization should be taken into account. 4.4 Principle 3 4.4.1 Statement Environmental labels and declarations shall be based on scientific methodology that is sufficiently thorough and comprehensive to support the clai
6、m and that produces results that are accurate and reproducible. 4.4.2 Specific considerations The information supporting environmental labels and declarations shall be gathered and assessed using methods that are recognized and widely accepted in scientific or professional disciplines or are otherwi
7、se scientifically defensible. The methods should follow recognized standards that have international acceptability (these may include international, regional or national standards) or be industry or trade methods which have been subjected to peer review, where such standards or methods exist. The me
8、thods used shall be appropriate to the claim and shall provide information that is relevant and necessary to support the claim as well as accurate and reproducible. 4.5 Principle 4 4.5.1 Statement Information concerning the procedure, methodology, and any criteria used to support environmental label
9、s and declarations shall be available and provided upon request to all interested parties. 4.5.2 Specific considerations The information shall include underlying principles, assumptions and boundary conditions. This information should be sufficient and reasonably comprehensible to allow purchasers,
10、potential purchasers and other interested parties to evaluate and compare environmental labels and declarations in terms of scientific principles, relevance and overall validity, and to assess whether an environmental label or declaration is consistent with the applicable standards within the ISO 14
11、020 series. This information shall also clearly indicate whether the environmental label or declaration is a self-declared environmental claim or is based on independent validation. The means of obtaining this information shall be made known to purchasers and potential purchasers wherever the produc
12、t or service is marketed. This can be achieved by the various means discussed in 4.10. There may be limits to the availability of specific information due to confidential business information, intellectual property rights or similar legal restrictions. ANSI/ISO 14020 2001 3 4.6 Principle 5 4.6.1 Sta
13、tement The development of environmental labels and declarations shall take into consideration all relevant aspects of the life cycle of the product. 4.6.2 Specific considerations The life cycle of a product or service ranges from activities associated with the production and delivery of raw material
14、s or generation of natural resources to the final disposal. Consideration of the life cycle of a product or service allows a party developing an environmental label or declaration to take into account a range of factors that impact on the environment. It further allows that party to identify the pot
15、ential for one impact to be increased in the process of decreasing another. Consideration should be given to the life cycle of a product or service in order to help identify appropriate and relevant characteristics and criteria for environmental labels and declarations or to determine the significan
16、ce of an environmental claim. The extent to which the life cycle is considered may vary depending on the type of environmental label or declaration, the nature of the claim and the product category. This does not necessarily mean that a life cycle assessment should be undertaken. 4.7 Principle 6 4.7
17、.1 Statement Environmental labels and declarations shall not inhibit innovation which maintains or has the potential to improve environmental performance. 4.7.2 Specific considerations Requirements shall be expressed in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics. This app
18、roach leaves maximum flexibility for technical or other innovation. Prescriptive design criteria or implicit preference for a technology should be avoided because of the possibility of restricting or discouraging improvements in products or services which do not affect conformance to applicable envi
19、ronmental criteria or which could lead to significant environmental improvement. 4.8 Principle 7 4.8.1 Statement Any administrative requirements or information demands related to environmental labels and declarations shall be limited to those necessary to establish conformance with applicable criter
20、ia and standards of the labels and declarations. 4.8.2 Specific considerations All organizations, regardless of size, should have equal opportunity to use environmental labels and declarations. Involvement should not be hindered by extraneous factors or requirements such as procedural complexity or
21、unreasonable information or administrative demands. 4.9 Principle 8 4.9.1 Statement The process of developing environmental labels and declarations should include an open, participatory consultation with interested parties. Reasonable efforts should be made to achieve a consensus throughout the proc
22、ess. 4.9.2 Specific considerations The process for developing standards and criteria shall be open to all interested parties. The parties shall be invited to participate and encouraged to become involved through timely and adequate notification. Parties may choose to participate directly or through
23、other means such as written or electronic correspondence. Comments and input shall be responded to in a meaningful way that addresses the substance of the comment or input. For self-declared environmental claims developed in accordance with ISO 14021, consultation is regarded as having occurred duri
24、ng the development of that International Standard. NOTE For further guidance see ISO/IEC Guide 2 and ISO/IEC Guide 59. ANSI/ISO 14020 20014 4.10 Principle 9 4.10.1 Statement Information on the environmental aspects of products and services relevant to an environmental label or declaration shall be a
25、vailable to purchasers and potential purchasers from the party making the environmental label or declaration. 4.10.2 Specific considerations Ultimately, the effectiveness of environmental labels and declarations depends on their ability to enable purchasers and potential purchasers to take responsib
26、ility for, and make informed choices about, the environmental aspects of their purchasing decisions and to influence purchasers and potential purchasers in their selection of products or services. This, in turn, is related to the degree of acceptance and understanding purchasers and potential purcha
27、sers have of the information provided about environmental aspects. Therefore, parties using environmental labels and declarations have an incentive and a responsibility to provide their purchasers and potential purchasers with access to information so that the purchaser and potential purchaser may u
28、nderstand the meaning of any claim, symbol or term. This can be accomplished through various means, such as advertising, explanatory panels at the retail level, free telephone numbers, and education programmes, among others. The information provided shall be appropriate and sufficient to the nature
29、and scope of the environmental claim being made. ANSI/ISO 14020 2001 5Bibliography 1 ISO 14021, Environmental labels and declarations Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling). 2 ISO 14024, Environmental labels and declarations Type I environmental labelling Principles and
30、 procedures. 3 ISO/TR 14025, Environmental labels and declarations Type III environmental declarations. 4 ISO 14040, Environmental management Life cycle assessment Principles and framework. 5 ISO/IEC Guide 2, Standardization and related activities General vocabulary. 6 ISO/IEC Guide 59, Code of good practice for standardization. (This page intentionally left blank)Quality Press800-248-1946Fax 414-272-1734www.asq.orghttp:/qualitypress.asq.orghttp:/standardsgroup.asq.orgP.O. Box 3005Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-3005T14020EPrinted in the United States of America
