Green Seal’s Environmental Standards & Certification

1. Green Seal’s Environmental Standards & Certification The Role of Standards Setting Processes: Defining "What is Green?" NPPR Webinar March 5, 2009 Mark T. Petruzzi VP of Certification & Strategic Relations mpetruzzi@greenseal.org

2. About Green Seal, Inc. • Celebrating 20th Anniversary - 1989-2009 • 501(c)(3) non-profit • Science-based • Environmental mission through exclusive focus on environmentally responsible products and services • Product standards and technical reports • Green Lodging Program • Institutional Greening Program • Meets ANSI, EPA, ISO, GEN criteria

3. Third-party certifiers should meet the applicable guidelines • ISO 14020 and 14024 • Principles of Environmental Labeling • Principles and Procedures for Type I Ecolabels • Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) membership criteria • GEN Internationally Coordinated Ecolabelling System (GENICES, evaluation for conformance with ISO 14024) • ANSI-accredited standards developer • EPA Guidelines for Third-Party Certifiers • Consumers Union criteria for “What makes a good eco-label?”

4. The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)founded 1994, currently 26 member programs

5. Voluntary participation Run by organizations without conflicts of interest Standards process that involves stakeholders & the public Criteria, assumptions, methods & data used are open & transparent (i.e., publicly available, easily accessed & understandable) Legally protected mark Criteria based on product/service lifecycle Open access to licensees of all sizes, all countries Authority to inspect manufacturing facility or service location Criteria that encourage products & services that are significantly less damaging to the environment (i.e., leadership, usually top 15-25% in category) Periodic review of criteria, considering technology & marketplace Commonalities Among Guidelines

6. Principles of Green Seal’s Environmental Leadership Standards • Objective • Explicit • Science-based • Transparent • Life-cycle environmental & health considerations • Include functional performance • Balanced stakeholder input • Attainable for leadership products or services • Economically feasible

7. Multi-Attribute, Life-Cycle Approach • Raw materials extraction & processing • Manufacturing • Functional Performance • Packaging • Transportation • Use & Maintenance • End-of-life (disposal, recycling, reuse)

8. How Green Seal SetsEnvironmental Standards • Register stakeholders (including end users, manufacturers, trade groups, scientists, government, environmentalists, NGOs, others) • Study category • Environmental Evaluation • Draft standard • Public review • Response-to-Comments • Stakeholder ballot* • Publish standard * where appropriate

9. Example Green Seal Criteria • Product Performance: To ensure products perform like “conventional” products in the category and meet the expectation of users • Environmental and Health Requirements: • Acute toxicity limits; skin and eye irritation; skin sensitization and absorption limits; prohibited toxins (ex. carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, asthmagens); volatile organic compound limits; inhalation toxicity limits; bioaccumulation and eutrophication limits; aquatic toxicity limits; biodegradability; minimum concentration levels • Packaging Requirements: • Packaging resource reduction; packaging type requirements; prohibited toxins (ex. heavy metals, phthalates, chlorinated materials) • Training and Labeling Requirements: To ensure the purchaser has access to accurate information to help them decide on products (e.g., presence/absence of an added fragrance) and use the products correctly (instructions for dilution, use, multi-lingual, use of graphic icons)

10. ISO versus ANSI(not a sci-fi movie or pay-per-view boxing) No substantive difference in Green Seal’s standard-setting procedures with one exception - • ANSI procedures require consensus • ISO 14024 requires that “Reasonable efforts should be made to achieve a consensus throughout the process.” Why? Recognition that consensus is a reasonable expectation for certain types of standards (e.g., test methodologies, management/process standards, rating systems), whereas leadership environmental standards (e.g., life-cycle standards that a majority of products cannot meet) may find it difficult to achieve without “weakening” the standard.

11. Green Seal Certification • Rigorous science-based evaluation using explicit criteria • Products & services evaluated w/o bias or conflict of interest • On-site inspections of product manufacturing facilities or service locations (e.g., hotels, restaurants) • Includes review of ancillary materials (e.g., literature, labels, catalogs, website) for GS, FTC, unsubstantiated env. claims • Evaluation fees are fixed/flat, so Green Seal has no direct financial ties to certified products and services • Certified products and services must participate in ongoing compliance monitoring to remain certified

12. Green Seal “cleaning” standards • GS-34 Cleaning/Degreasing Agents • GS-37 I&I Cleaners • GS-40 I&I Floor-Care Products • GS-41 I&I Hand Cleaners* (CCD-104) • GS-42 I&I Cleaning Services • GS-45 Plastic Resin Film Bags** • GS-48 Laundry Care Products** • GS-49 Residential Cleaning Services** • GS-1 Tissue Paper*** • GS-9 Paper Towels*** * joint EcoLogo standard ** under development, see www.greenseal.org *** under revision, see www.greenseal.org

13. Why Use Environmental Standards in Purchasing? • Type I (“seal of approval”) environmental labels used worldwide for 30+ years • Principles and procedures for environmental standard-setting and third-party certification are well-established in international and domestic guidelines (with great agreement) • Credible environmental standards and third-party certification can greatly reduce the effort needed for identifying, selecting and purchasing environmentally responsible products and services • Recognized standards define “green” for purchasers & manufacturers in the context of current marketplace; help to aggregate demand • Avoid debate over single attributes (biobased OR low VOCs – neither addresses performance) • Use of credible environmental standards can provide insulation from complaints

14. Contact Information Green Seal, Inc. 1001 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 827 Washington, D.C., 20036 Tel: (202) 872-6400 Email: greenseal@greenseal.org Website:www.greenseal.org Thank You!