The European Commission has updated its Ecolabel scheme to include a greater range of printed products and giving recognition that most printed products are one-off jobs.
The introduction, which supplants the Ecolabel scheme introduced in 2014 and due to expire at the end of this year, has been welcomed by Intergraf. General secretary Beatrice Klose says: “The new EU Ecolabel for printed products allows European printers to demonstrate the environmental performance of their products and processes. It recognises the specificity of printed products and enables printers to apply for a product line and not only for a single product.”
However, as the UK has left the EU, it cannot apply for Ecolabel certification for its products even if these are to be exported to the EU and will be in competition with similar jobs produced in EU member states which may qualify for certification.
The new definition covers “printed paper, stationery paper and paper carrier bags”, superseding the converted paper products definition that has been in place until now. With interest in sustainability, resource reuse and elimination of plastics and hazardous materials increasing, the new Ecolabel is arriving at the right time.
Arriving at the new certification “required a more strategic approach with a new set of criteria” says the EU. Fibre must come from sustainably managed forests or recycled products and the printed product needs to be manufactured in a more sustainable way, it continues.
Intergraf, the federation of European wide print industry bodies (including the BPIF), provided substantial input into the ten criteria used to assess whether a product qualifies for the label. Previously, the product needed to be produced in the same way to gain the certification. This is no longer the case.
If a product is assessed and meets the criteria, say a 16pp stitched brochure with a 4pp cover, then other similar products that share the definition will be judged to qualify for certification.
There are ten points by which a product applying for Ecolabel status will be assessed. These include emissions, recyclability, energy use, chosen substrates, waste generated and so on. Employees need to be trained to recognise the importance of maintaining the standards.
The Ecolabel will cover printed sheets and simple products where 90% by weight of the finished item is paper; books and catalogues which are 80% paper by weight. It does not cover packaging, corrugated, labels stuck to packaging, food contact materials, tissue papers and anything with PVC. Lamination is only permitted for products with an expected life of more than a year and double lamination is an immediate fail.
