legislation-profile

EU Ecolabel Regulation

Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (Text with EEA relevance)

Scope

This Regulation lays down rules for the establishment and implementation of the voluntary EU Ecolabel scheme. It applies to any goods or services which are supplied for distribution, consumption or use on the Community market, whether in return for payment or free of charge.

Exemptions

Exempt from the regulation are medicinal products for human use, as defined in Directive 2001/83/EC relating to medicinal products for human use, or for veterinary use as defined in Directive 2001/82/EC relating to veterinary medicinal products. Also, the regulation does not apply to any type of medical devices.

Regulatory activities

EU Ecolabel criteria for different product groups are established through Commission Decisions that are developed according to Annex I of the EU Ecolabel Regulation and adopted through the Regulatory Procedure with Scrutiny. The Regulation defines for any operator who wishes to use the EU Ecolabel the rules for application and award of the EU Ecolabel, and also terms and conditions of its use. EU Ecolabel competent bodies are responsible for assessing and verifying compliance with the EU Ecolabel criteria and to award the EU Ecolabel. They shall verify compliance on a regular basis. The competent bodies shall, as appropriate, also undertake such verification upon complaint. These verifications may take the form of random spot-checks.

Relevant product types

EU Ecolabel can be awarded to products for which criteria have been established. They include*: Absorbent Hygiene Products Animal Care Products Cosmetic Products Hard Surface Cleaning Products Detergents for Dishwashers Industrial and Institutional Automatic Dishwasher Detergents Hand Dishwashing Detergents Laundry Detergents Industrial and Institutional Laundry Detergents Indoor Cleaning Services Textile products Footwear Paints and Varnishes Electronic Displays Wood-, cork- and bamboo-based floor coverings Hard Covering Products Furniture Bed Mattresses Growing Media, Soil Improvers and Mulch Lubricants Graphic paper, Tissue paper and Tissue products Printed Paper, Stationery Paper, Paper Carrier Bag Products Tourist Accommodation *For the complete, up-to-date list of products with EU Ecolabel criteria, please visit the European Commission’s EU Ecolabel website.

Reference documents

Complementary to the EU Ecolabel Regulation, technical EU Ecolabel criteria for each product group are defined in corresponding Commission Decisions. These criteria have as their objective to decrease the main environmental impacts over the entire life cycle of the product. For example, following are several Commission Decisions and the respective product types they cover*: • Commission Decision 2014/763/EU of 24 October 2014 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for absorbent hygiene products • Commission Decision (EU) 2021/1870 of 22 October 2021 establishing the EU Ecolabel criteria for cosmetic products and animal care products • Commission Decision (EU) 2017/1217 of 23 June 2017 establishing the EU Ecolabel criteria for hard surface cleaning products • Commission Decision (EU) 2017/1216 of 23 June 2017 establishing the EU Ecolabel criteria for dishwasher detergents The process is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Annex I of the EU Ecolabel Regulation and can be led by the Commission, Member States, competent bodies and other stakeholders. It is currently led almost always by the Commission, DG ENV, with the scientific support of JRC. *For the complete, up-to-date list of these Commission Decisions, please visit the European Commission’s EU Ecolabel website.

Obligations based on CLP hazard class

Pursuant to Article 6(6), the EU Ecolabel may not be awarded to goods containing substances or mixtures meeting the criteria for classification as toxic, hazardous to the environment, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR), in accordance with the CLP Regulation (1272/2008/EC).

Obligations based on properties of concerns

Pursuant to Article 6 (6) and (7), the EU Ecolabel may not be awarded to goods containing substances referred to in Article 57 (i.e., substances of very high concern (SVHCs)) of the REACH Regulation (1907/2006/EC), nor to goods containing substances that are identified according to the procedure described in Article 59(1) of REACH, present in mixtures, in an article or in any homogeneous part of a complex article in concentrations higher than 0,1 % (weight by weight).

EU-level occupational exposure limits

Not applicable

EU-level emission limit values

No provision. Product-specific emission limits are set in Commission Decisions establishing EU Ecolabel criteria for product groups, where applicable.

Substance-centric data source(s) at the EU level

Regulation does not contain any explicit list of substances and/or list of products.

Industry submission system in place

Operators applying for the EU Ecolabel are required to submit an application to the relevant competent body. The application procedure is explained on the European Commission's EU Ecolabel website at the following location: Ecolabel/Ecolabel for Businesses/How to Apply for EU Ecolabel. The Ecolabel Product Catalogue (ECAT) is the online registry of EU Ecolabel products that is also hosted on the European Commission's website.

Format for industry submission

A User Manual is established for each product group to facilitate the application process. To access the User Manuals, please visit the European Commission's EU Ecolabel website.

Owner

DG Environment - for issues related to Ecolabel

Update process

DG Environment and MS competent bodies

Amendments

Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel Commission Regulation (EU) No 782/2013 of 14 August 2013 amending Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the EU Ecolabel Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1941 of 24 October 2017 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the EU Ecolabel