INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

ENVIRONMENTAL LABELLING AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Environmental labelling is a major issue for every international body that deals with the environment or trade. While organisations such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Trade Organisation have concentrated on the policy side of the issue, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has been carrying out work on standardising environmental labelling schemes. The ISO work, begun in January 1993, is being carried out under the rubric of the ISO Technical Committee number 207 (TC207). TC207 is the umbrella body for environmental standards setting. It is working on standards ranging from corporate activity (environmental management systems, environmental auditing), to product evaluation (environmental labelling, environmental performance evaluation).

The committee is also working on the standardisation of Life-Cycle Analysis, which is seen as the backbone of much of the work of TC207. The work of the ISO TC207’s Subcommittee-3 on environmental labellings divided into work on the types of labels mentioned above (Ecolabel, Eco-Profile labels and manufacturers own claims), plus work on general principles.