Product development that favours the climate and circular economy
Today, The Nordic Swan Ecolabel sets environmental, health and quality requirements for almost 60 product groups. The requirements are set from a holistic perspective, considering climate, chemicals, resources, biodiversity and other relevant aspects, throughout the products lifecycle; from raw materials, production, and use – to re-use, recycling, and waste.
As part of Nordic Ecolabelling’s efforts under the Sustainable Living Programme, the focus has been on business areas with high potential for climate impact. The goal has been to develop new product categories or revise existing ones, contributing to the realization of the Nordic Council of Ministers' vision and climate goals.
The objective has been to:
- Develop three new product groups in areas relevant to climate impact.
- Strengthen the climate requirements in 60% of relevant existing products groups.
Entering new areas of product development
Not only have we successfully introduced three new product groups — E-commerce logistics, Building operations, and Window replacement — but we have also expanded existing categories. The criteria for New Buildings and Renovation have been broadened to include more areas, effectively equating to the development of two additional product groups.
In March 2023, we launched the criteria for E-commerce logistics, and already two licence holders in Sweden are offering Nordic Swan Ecolabelled transport options for online shoppers. This ensures that a significant portion of Nordic consumers can now choose more sustainable delivery options.
By expanding the types of new buildings and renovation projects that can be ecolabelled we have enhanced the opportunity for the building sector to build more sustainable within a broader scope of building projects. This means that more people will live, work, or gather in ecolabelled buildings during their everyday life.
Additionally, the newly developed criteria for Building operations ensure that the ongoing management of buildings can be done in a more sustainable way. The introduction of the Window replacement product group will lead to savings in energy, resources, and contribute to overall climate benefits.
We need to continue exploring new product groups for the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, thereby helping consumers, buyers and professional purchasers to make more sustainable choices in their everyday life. And to assure companies guidance in what is a sustainable progression of their products.
Strengthening existing requirements
We have strengthened the climate requirements in more than 70% of the product groups with high relevance for climate, thereby surpassing the target of 60%. These improvements include both direct climate-related requirements and indirect requirements, such as those related to circularity and biodiversity.
Within the scope of the programme Nordic Ecolabelling has also set new, more specific requirements on energy consumption in multiple product groups. This has been done even in product groups where it is relatively difficult to set energy-requirements, due to lack of information on energy consumption both in production and further down the supply chain. While this will present challenges to some license holders, it also prepares them for future demands, such as those under the EU Green Deal.
By taking a broader perspective, and also tightening requirements on for instance circularity, there is also a positive effect on climate performance without creating a burden shift. During this programme we have explored and developed new ways of setting requirements to circular economy, addressing new areas like design for reuse and take back systems.
Some of the product groups that have been revised include Coffee Services, Floor Coverings, Construction and Façade Panels, Grocery Stores, and Greaseproof Paper. These revisions are expected to significantly reduce climate impact across a wide range of industries.