In recent years, the European Commission has increasingly promoted the sale of energy-efficient products in the European market. As a result, various energy and environmental certificates and labels have been created for different types of products. All certificates are voluntary, meaning the EC does not require manufacturers to certify their products.
The European Ecolabel (EC 66/2010) is a voluntary scheme established in 1992 to promote businesses offering products with a positive environmental impact. Products and services „awarded” the Eco-label bear the flower logo, allowing consumers—including private and public buyers—to easily identify them. All Eco-label assessments use methods to analyze environmental impact and the potential for product improvement, with Eco-label opportunities evaluated from a life-cycle perspective.
Energy labeling (based on Directive 92/75/EEC COM(2008)778) provides consumers with useful and comparable information on the energy consumption of household appliances, cars, and electric bulbs. This allows consumers to choose products with higher efficiency, which can reduce their costs and offer savings that offset and exceed the price difference. Energy labeling also helps retailers position their products in the market, capitalize on their investments, and offer better and more innovative products.
The European Energy Star program is a voluntary program for office equipment. Its logo helps consumers identify office products that can save money and protect the environment by reducing energy consumption. Office equipment such as computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, copiers, scanners, and multifunction devices contribute to the increasing share of electricity consumption in the European Union.
The CE marking ensures the free movement of products on the European market that meet European requirements (e.g., safety, health protection, and environmental protection) and is a key indicator of a product’s compliance with legislation. The CE marking is affixed to the product by the manufacturer. By placing this marking, the manufacturer declares responsibility that the product meets all legal requirements in force in Europe. It is the manufacturer’s duty to verify that the products comply with the relevant legislation or, if necessary, have them assessed by a conformity assessment body.
In 2004, the European Commission launched the Green Buildings program. This program aims to increase energy efficiency and expand the integration of renewable energy sources in non-residential buildings in Europe, on a voluntary basis. The program is targeted at owners of public buildings, with the goal of implementing cost-effective measures to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings in one or more technical areas.
More information about energy certificates, as well as updates regarding them, can be found here (English).
