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  3. Paints and varnishes 096

Paints and varnishes 096

With long shelf lives and strict quality requirements, paints and varnishes with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel help reduce resource use. They promote circular economy and reduces the climate impact of paints and varnishes.

The requirements include:

  • Test of quality, durability, and efficiency.
  • Environmental and health properties of chemicals. There are strict requirements on substances that are classified with respect to carcinogenicity, can damage genes or reproductive capacity. There is also a ban on phthalates as well as problematic substances such as identified or potential endocrine disruptors on up-to-date lists from the EU and national authorities.
  • Limits on emissions from harmful substances.
  • Limits on greenhouse gases from raw materials with high climate impact such as titanium dioxide and cement/hydraulic binders.
  • Use of recycled materials in packaging.
  • Use of renewable raw materials that originate from responsibly produced and controlled sources.

The product group includes indoor and outdoor paints and varnishes, wood stains and related products. In addition, industrial paints and varnishes, anti-corrosion paint for industry and infrastructure and wood oils are included.

    1. Start your application process by reading the criteria document and find out if your product can obtain the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. 
    2. Read your Application Guide.
    3. Request login credentials.
    4. Now you are ready to enter the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal.

     

    Portal sign in                               Get login credentials

     

    Should you wish to transfer your licence, please use this form. 

  • The criteria document for paints and varnishes is an overall document for the commodity groups:

    • Indoor paints and varnish
    • Outdoor paints and varnish (including wood oils for outdoor use)
    • Anti corrosion paints for industrial and infrastructure applications
    • Other industrial paints and varnishes

    Commodity groups “Indoor paint and varnish” and “Outdoor paint & varnish” are counted as one commodity group when calculating licence fees.

    Valid from 1/1 2025

    Amount excluding VAT

    Application fee

    		  
    Application for a new licence including inspection of eight recipes 3 348 EUR
    Inspection of additional recipes 418 EUR per recipe.
    Application for a renewal including inspection of eight recipes when the requirements have been tightened 1 673 EUR
    Inspection of additional recipes 209 EUR per recipe.

    Annual licence fee

    The licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic region.

    Up to 30.9 million EUR. 0,3% of the products' turnover
    More than 30.9 million EUR. 0,05% of the products' turnover
    Minimum fee in the Nordic region 2 232 EUR per year.
    Fixed fee applicable to turnover outside the Nordic region 2 232 EUR per year for turnover exceeding 300 000 EUR.

    Fee for extension / change of licence

    Fixed fee that is charged depending on how long the work takes.

    Up to 4 hours 418 EUR
    4-8 hours 836 EUR
    8 or more hours 1 673 EUR

    Fee for on-site inspections

    One on-site visit within the Nordic region is included in the application for a new or renewed licence.

    Additional on-site inspection within the Nordic region 557 EUR per visit
    On-site inspection outside the Nordic region, but within Europe 1 673 EUR per visit
    On-site inspection outside Europe 2 790 EUR per visit
    Additional fee for on-site inspections lasting longer than one day 1 115 EUR per day

     

  • In the criteria document, you can read about how to document and verify compliance for each requirement. You can also find other application documents here.

  • Information on the latest version of the criteria for paints and varnishes

    4.3 ⇛ 4.4: Adjustment of criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided 12 November 2024 in O12 to include a clarification regarding the prohibition against PFAS for halogenated organic compounds. The new version is called 4.4 and is valid until 15 September 2028.

    4.2 ⇛ 4.3: Adjustment of criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided 24 September 2024, to extend the time-limited exemption in O3 for TMP to 2027-05-31. The new version is called 4.3 and is valid until 15 September 2028.

    4.1 ⇛ 4.2: Adjustment of criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided 9 April 2024 to add an exemption for the antioxidant BHT that can be present in raw material in requirement O12. Furthermore, O2 has included the new CLP classifications that were added in O3 for communicative reasons. Lastly, an exemption that was part of the public consultation for industrial packaging >18 L are exempted from there requirement of recycled material. The new version is called 4.2 and is valid until 15 September 2028.

    4.0 ⇛ 4.1: Adjustment of criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided 7 December 2023 to remove the requirement of recycled material in metal packaging completely. Furthermore, the limit values for recycled material in plastic packaging has been lowered from 40% to 30%. In addition, lids and handles are no longer exempted from the requirement and must comply with the overall requirement.

    The new version is called 4.1 and is valid until 15 September 2028.

    4.0: New criteria generation

    The criteria for Nordic Swan Ecolabel paints and varnishes were published on 15 september 2023. Version 4.0 of the criteria is valid until 15 september 2028.

    3.12 ⇛ 3.13: Prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    On 1 October 2024, Nordic Ecolabelling decided to prolong the criteria with 6 months until 30 June 2025. The new version is called 3.13.

    3.11 ⇛ 3.12: Adjustment of requirement

    On 9 May 2023, Nordic Ecolabelling decided to extend the exemption for respirable crystalline silica with classification H350i (O3). The new version is called 3.12.

    3.10 ⇛ 3.11: Adjustment of requirement and prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    Adjustment of O2 where the EUH208 requirement has been removed. Furthermore, the validity of the criteria has been prolonged with 6 months. The new version is called 3.11 and is valid until December 31, 2024. 

    3.9 ⇛ 3.10: Adjustment of requirements

    Adjustment of wet room colors that have been included in Table 4a for requirement O5 with a separate limit value for total amount of preservative. The new version is called 3.10.

    3.8 ⇛ 3.9: Adjustment of requirements

    Adjustment of the time-based trimethylolpropane (TMP) exemption. The current exemption will apply during the period of validity of the criteria and TMP will be re-evaluated during the development of new criteria. The new version is called 3.9.

    3.7 ⇛ 3.8: Prolongation and adjustment of requirements

    The vaidity of the criteria have been prolonged by 12 months until 30 June 2024. Futhermore three have been adjustment of requirements O3, O4, O5 and O6. The new version is called 3.8.

    3.6 ⇛ 3.7: Adjustment of requirements

    Adjustment of the requirements for O3 Classification of chemical substances, O9 Titanium dioxide and O11 Nanoparticles. The new version is called 3.7.

    3.5 ⇛ 3.6: Adjustment of criteria

    Adjustment regarding the harmonization of the reclassification of MIT with the Nordic Ecolabel requirements for preservatives and the applicable exemption for the dispersant trimethylolpropane (TMP). The new version is called 3.6.

    3.4 ⇛ 3.5: Prolongation of validity of the criteria

    The criteria have been prolonged with 24 months and is valid until the 31 June 2023. The new version is called 3.5.

    3.3 ⇛ 3.4: Prolongation and adjustment of criteria

    The criteria have been prolonged with 18 months and is valid until the 31 June 2021. At the same time requirement O6 was adjusted regarding formaldehyde releasing substances and requirement O23 was removed. The new version is called 3.4.

    3.2 ⇛ 3.3: Adjustment of criteria

    Requirement O3, Classification of ingoing chemical substances, has been adjusted. The new version is called 3.3.

    3.1 ⇛ 3.2: Adjustment of criteria

    A change has been made to requirement O7, Residual monomers in polymers in the criteria for chemical building products. The new version is called 3.2.

    3.0 ⇛ 3.1: Adjustment of criteria

    Exemptions have been introduced in requirements O3 and O12. The new version, 3.1, is valid until December 31st 2019.

    3.0: New criteria generation

    The criteria for Nordic Ecolabelled paints and varnishes were published on November 15th, 2015. Version 3.0 of the criteria is valid until December 31st, 2019.

  • In the background document below you will find reasoning and facts behind the specific requirements in the criteria document.

    Here you can also read the comments, requirement for requirement, from the public hearing.

    If the documents are in a Nordic language, you can get help in understanding the sections you need by contacting the product specialist in your chosen country below.