ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Celebrating
Sharing and learning
2015
Since the start of GEN back in 1994 one of the most important activities for members has been meeting colleagues from all over the world at annual meetings. At these, we often discover that the issues in focus ”back home” are the same as those for our colleagues in their own ecolabelling schemes. Even when the member schemes differ a lot in size, history or product group focus, the standard ISO 14024 lies there as the basis, and the principles described in it give us the guidance needed. Being a standard focused around principles, and not simply a strict, technical, detail-describing standard, it creates and allows the variety of ecolabelling that we see in our GEN members today. Through the GENICES peer review process we build trust between the members, and facilitate a more detailed exchange of experiences.
Through the GENICES peer review process we build trust between the members, and facilitate a more detailed exchange of experiences.
The explosion in digital information, and realtime exchange of news, gives us rapid snapshots of what is happening all over the ecolabelling world. We can subscribe to newsletters from colleagues, and follow them actively on social media. This is also a challenge for the GEN communication channels, and many alternative ways of performing better are available to us. Despite our limited resources, we are still present in the digital world and we depend on active contributions from the membership.
At the same time, the week of the GEN AGM is very valuable, with a tradition of possibilities for deeper discussions, face-toface with colleagues. Active use of this week for improving the whole ecolabelling society and the members' own schemes is important. I ask you to show your engagement for both these GEN "channels" - our homepage and the GEN week.
Recent work to make the website more vivid and dynamic has helped us reach a new level of exchange of experiences. I ask all our members to help us communicate even further by engaging on-line.
ANNUAL REPORT • 2015
Björn-Erik Lönn Chair
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Development and recognition I attended my first GEN AGM in Taipei in 2002, very new to the world of ecolabelling – I was almost overwhelmed by the international nature of the event and indeed the friendliness of the delegates; their willingness to exchange experiences and information – nothing has changed over the years from that perspective. I joined the Board a couple of years later and was appointed Chair in 2008. Some remarkable things have occurred during those years. Type 1 ecolabels have been transformed from a 90's WTO view as a “barrier to trade” to a mainstream tool for recognising environmentally preferable products, supported by international bodies like UNEP, IGPN and of course many governments around the world.
I think it important to recognise the initial work carried out by Arthur Weismann, John Polak and Ning Yu in the early days ensuring the ISO 14024 principles were seen as independent and had true integrity- making it the valuable tool in the search for sustainability that we all know – thank you.
As an organisation GEN has grown significantly maturing into a well-recognised international body – embracing a number of new organisations, developing our successful GENICES programme, working on C.C.C's, representing our position at ISO meetings, working with UNEP, OECD, GIZ and other international bodies not to mention the individual efforts of our member countries. This is in the context of some part time staff and volunteers – something of which we can be very proud.
I would like to thank all the people with whom I have worked both on the Board and incountry who have shown professionalism, kindness and friendship and allowed me to experience and understand many different cultures. I wish the new Chair, Bjorn-Erik Lonn, with whom I have worked for many years, good luck. I know GEN is in good hands particularly as he has an equally talented set of Board members. I look forward to reading of further progress in the next few years.
There is a strong balance sheet, professional marketing and PR advice all handled with limited resources.
Robin Taylor Retiring Chair
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A demonstrable worldwide contribution The Global Ecolabelling Network is a nonprofit association of Type 1 ecolabelling organisations around the world. We believe that truly and demonstrably 'greener' products are an integral component to the broader sustainability movement and know that our members encourage environmentally better products and services through the stringent environmental criteria demanded by their published standards. Since its inception in 1994, the reach of GEN has continued to expand and gather influence and profile internationally. With members representing more than 50 territories and countries, GEN works tenaciously to improve, promote and develop the ecolabelling of products and services on a global scale. While GEN does not actually develop its own criteria or certify products, we support all members and their respective programmes as they undertake the development of environmental leadership standards, and the ecolabelling of products and services.
developing a framework for quantifying the benefits of ecolabelling, a process which requires even greater harmonisation of terms and standards across our diverse network of practitioners, and that has nourished a rich and developing dialogue. GEN promotes and lifts Type 1 ecolabels above the plethora of unsubstantiated green claims and, in doing so, we empower consumers, professional purchasers and industry to make informed green purchasing decisions, providing them with sciencebased, accurate and transparent information about the environmental attributes of a product or service.
In a spirit of trust, we work towards international cooperation and recognition and harmonisation of ecolabelling standards; we share knowledge, and build and sustain a global network of authoritative environmental labelling practitioners. During this year, special attention has been paid to
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A ready tool for consumer-powered redress of climate change With 31 members and associate members spanning the planet from Norway to New Zealand, the collective expertise of the Global Ecolabelling Network is unparalleled. The product and service standards which members develop, promote and enforce have at their heart the core issues of climate change. Their power lies in influencing the choices exercised by the increasingly ecoconscious consumer. GEN member standards promote the manufacture of greener products, and guide governments and businesses into more environmentally benign procurement policies. In many countries, government bodies and agencies are responsible for a significant proportion of product and service consumption, and the increasing adoption of green public procurement applies a ready and existing tool to address some of the causes of climate change. 74 percent of members operate ecolabels that are recognised by green purchasing programmes (member survey 2015/16). GEN members mainly operate transparent “Type 1” ecolabelling programmes that rely on experts and stakeholder groups to inform the development of stringent environmental criteria, and use independent third-party auditors to determine whether a product meets these stringent criteria. You can trust that a product bearing the mark of one of our members provides genuine environmental benefits.
GEN endeavours in 2016, and beyond, are to help government officials, retailers and consumers understand that not all environmental labels are created equal, and that it is important to understand what a standard requires, who developed the standard, what process was used to develop it, and how a product is verified as actually having met requirements. Type 1 ecolabelling programmes develop their standards in an open, public, transparent process. Criteria and product category differ among the membership, reflecting local and regional variables, but all standards address multiple environmental attributes and most have requirements for items such as toxicity, air quality, energy use, recyclability, VOCs, carcinogens and other issues of concern. Life cycle thinking is used by our members in developing standards which minimise environmental impacts across the entire life cycle of a product or service, from raw material extraction through to use and eventual disposal or breakdown. While core membership comprises Type 1 ecolabelling organisations, associate or affiliate status can be granted to organisations that formally support ecolabelling principles and goals, but which are not actually ecolabelling practitioners. GEN currently has six associate members: The Confederation of Indian Industry, Falcão Bauer Brazil, the International Green Purchasing Network, The ISEAL Alliance, TÜV Rheinland and the Vietnam Green Label.
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Type 1 ecolabel – the “gold standard” There are many different environmental performance labels and declarations being used today, however the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has identified three broad types of voluntary labels. The premium category is referred to as “Type 1” and it has a unique combination of strengths.
Type 1 ecolabelling programmes: Ÿ are voluntary Ÿ their standards address multiple
environmental criteria Ÿ they consider the entire life cycle of
the product or service Ÿ they are transparent in their standards
development process Ÿ they rely on independent verification
of products to these standards Type 1 ecolabels clearly identify products representing environmental leadership, rescuing consumers from having to interpret vague and often confusing environmental claims, or compare highly scientific data, to determine environmental preferability of one product over another.
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How Type 1 ecolabels help to counter greenwash Never has the importance of Type 1 ecolabelling been more obvious and relevant. Government bodies, NGOs and quasi-government agencies have all begun to pay increasing attention to green claims and symbols — and many are taking action against those that may be misleading, vague, or downright false. Class action lawsuits pertaining to environmental claims are also on the rise in many jurisdictions around the world as well. Outside GEN, there is no globally agreed set of principles to test an environmental claim, and as a result greenwashing persists and can be treated differently from one country to the next. Type 1 ecolabels can help protect a product manufacturer from unfair scrutiny and even legal action. This is because products bearing the mark of a Type 1 ecolabel have independent, thirdparty proof to support the fact that their product is environmentally preferable across a variety of product attributes. Consumers can look up the particular standard that the product has been certified against to gain further insight into what environmental parameters the product had to meet before being awarded use of the label. In this respect, Type 1 ecolabels not only help to protect manufacturers from green-washing allegations, but they also enhance consumer trust, brand reputation, and possibly the legal position of the license holder. According to a new membership survey, most programmes review greenwash specifically as part of product or service certification.
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AGM 2015
New leadership, a growing membership, and development of a visionary strategy marked a buoyant mood at the annual general meeting of GEN in Hong Kong. At 21 years of age, GEN seemed set to stretch. Gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, members voted Bjorn-Erik Lonn from The Nordic Swan ecolabel as the network's new chair. He indicated his expectation of greater activity from board members and more input from the global membership, and immediately set about creating working groups in the areas of measuring the impact of ecolabelling globally, and completing a new 5-year strategic plan. He also established board member responsibilities for marketing communications and consumer information.
Outgoing chair Robin Taylor (Environmental Choice New Zealand) was presented with a gift to acknowledge eight years of service on the GEN board, during which time the organisation has advanced its internal processes and has attained its goal of accumulating a moderate financial reserve. “That will allow us to invest in the future,” said Mr Lonn.
Green Council CEO Linda Ho welcomes delegates to Hong Kong
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Two new members were voted to the board of directors: Chen Chin-Yuan from the Green Mark programme of Chinese Taipei, and Edwin Seah of the Singapore Environment Council. They fill vacancies left by Angela Griffiths (Ecologo) and Robin Taylor (Environmental Choice New Zealand), and join sitting members Hans-Hermann Eggers (Germany's Blue Angel), Eva Eiderström (Good Environmental Choice, Sweden), Guy Ladvocat (ABNT Brazil) and Xiaodan Zhang (China Environmental Labelling).
The meeting agreed to a new category of affiliate membership which will allow the GEN family to expand and include like-minded groups that are not actively engaged in assessing and issuing ecolabels but share the environmental objectives of GEN. “The five-year strategy resulting from our working group discussions will bring us to a more visionary position,” said Bjorn-Erik Lonn. The 5-year strategy will empower further input into other international programmes, such as the UNEP 10-year framework, he said, “where we have a lot more to do.”
The chairman's gavel was formally passed from Robin Taylor to Bjorn-Erik Lonn, who commented that it was travelling about as far as was possible, from New Zealand to Norway.
Citing the success of the network's formal member peer review process, GENICES, Mr Lonn says the organisation is poised to broaden its outreach, having strengthened its internal relationships. “Most members have been through the peer review, and we have now grown from being an organisation of exchange-of-experiences to one of greater trust and confidence in each other. That means we can now focus more on external relationships. I would like to see us grow and then play a much greater role on the world environmental stage.”
The incoming Chair thanked the Hong Kong Green Council for hosting and facilitating the meeting.
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A year of input and influence Robin Taylor summarised the activities the Board has been involved with in the past year. Specifically, he noted the Board's involvement in GIZ events in Berlin and South East Asia, participation in ISO Working Group reviews of the ISO 14024 standard, participation in Consumers International's Congress, completion of five GENICES audits, contributions to ISEAL's “challenge the label” campaign, and participation in a committee contributing to UNEP's 10 YFP (Framework of Plans) initiatives. Robin also noted the Board's work on the by-law revision, the GEN website upgrade, the updated GENICES information package, a meeting with ANSI regarding its accreditation program for certification bodies (which the GEN Board did not endorse), and the development of a longrange strategic plan. Some of the year's activity is detailed below.
ISEAL's challenge the label campaign This arose through the ISEAL sustainability claims multi-party steering committee, driven in part by the GEN Secretariat, reported Robin. Katherine Larocque, the GEN representative on the committee, brought to the project her experience as an analyst for the TerraChoice Seven Sins of Greenwashing. GEN encouraged ISEAL to produce a more user friendly tool to help users discern legitimate green claims.
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The result was a micro-site on the ISEAL website which offered guidance in examining credibility of sustainability claims. It summarized “five universal truths” for credible claims: clarity, accuracy, relevance, transparency and robustness. Read more at: http://www.isealalliance.org/challenge
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GIZ - German International Cooperation Hiro Kobayashi (Eco Mark, Japan Environment Association) attended a GIZ event early September 2015 themed “SCP in Southeast Asia: Achievement and Advancement”. At the event, KEITI (Korea ecolabelling) and Eco Mark shared their experience in ecolabelling, green public procurement (GPP) and Mutual Recognition Agreements. The GIZ 3-year-project “SCP4LCE” (Sustainable Consumption and Production for Low Carbon Economies) ended this year and is being replaced by Advance SCP. One of its objectives, reports Hiro, is to integrate climate friendly criteria into Type 1 ecolabelling of specific countries. Along with China's Environmental Development Centre (EDC), KEITI and the International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN), GEN is officially a partner in the AsiaPacific GPPEL project (GPP-Ecolabelling) which is funded by Korea and China to strengthen ecolabelling across the ASEAN+3 countries. For more information visit: http://www.thaigerman-cooperation.info/news/content/85
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Engagement with other standards initiatives Bjorn-Erik Lonn provided further information on some of the activities undertaken by the Board over the past year with respect to other organisational standards initiatives. He also called on members to take action in support of changes supported by GEN. Some of the discussion included: ●
International Trade Center: Bjorn-Erik explained that the organisation's purpose is to promote North-South trade, and South-South trade; their approach in the field of greening this trade is through public procurement. Some of GEN's members' labels are represented in their standards map of 170 sustainability organizations. Bjorn-Erik recommended that more GEN members seek to have their standards represented. See www.standardsmap.org
●
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: The EPA initiative developed out of President Obama's Executive Order 13693, requiring sustainable procurement in the U.S. federal government. The EPA is trying to help federal procurement officers to determine which labels are preferable for public procurement by developing a label classification system. They are piloting a few product groups now. Bjorn-Erik advised that if GEN members are trying to sell into the U.S. government, they ought to keep track of this initiative and make sure their labels are represented.
●
German initiative by GIZ: GIZ is working on classification for public procurement in Germany, with the program including social labels as well as ecolabels. The purpose is to create more transparency and better in-depth understanding of labels, and to provide a tool for more comparability between standards systems, thus increasing the up-take of credible standards systems. Susanne Heutling (Blue Angel) explained that presently information regarding labelling in five product groups is available on the website; more are to follow. Target groups are consumers, public procurement/ governments, private sector and standards organisations. The website is currently available only in German. See www.siegelklarheit.de
●
EcolabelIndex.com: This is a commercial effort, often cited in the press. The program is self-declared and users must pay to access more details about the labels referenced. Bjorn-Erik has not seen a lot of development with the ecolabelling index and noted that some information included in the database is dated. He suggested that it may be useful for members to reach out to EcolabelIndex to correct / update records, but noted that his organisation had attempted to do that, with no response.
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Sören Enholm noted that his organisation is often asked to respond to these portal lists, but that they do not have the resources to evaluate them. It was agreed this subject should be included in the five-year strategy. ● ISO: Discussions have been progressing in the reviews of standards applying to all three ecolabel types defined by the ISO. Sören Enholm (TCO Certified) noted that his organisation is often asked to respond to these “portal” lists, but that they do not have the resources to evaluate them. It was agreed this subject should be included in the five-year strategy. Bjorn-Erik Lonn provided an update on GEN's engagement, specifically on ISO Technical Committee 207/Subcommittee 3, Working Group 7, which is convened by GEN and is evaluating proposed amendments to ISO 14024. Guy Ladvocat (ABNT, Brazil) and Fallight Xu (TÜV Rheinland) are the GEN members involved. Bjorn-Erik recommended that GEN members contact their national standards organisation and ask them to support the amendments made in 14024. Sweden is leading Working Group 5 on development of product category rules for Type III-labels (ISO 14027), and Canada is leading WG 6 related to communications of footprint information (ISO 14026). Bjorn-Erik also reported on Technical Committee 277, convened to address sustainable procurement in ISO 20400 (and referencing ISO 26000 “Guidance on social responsibility”). Work is led by the French organization AFNOR and the Brazilian standardisation organization (ABNT). ISO 20400 is a guidance document, not a mandate, and focuses on public procurement. Bjorn-Erik and ISEAL were contacted by GECA (Australia) to comment about reference in these texts to Type 1 ecolabels; the text was eliminated from the draft standard. ISEAL sent a letter to GEN and asked GEN members to bring this to the attention of own their standards organisations, as it is likely that every country has a mirror organization working on these issues. Dr Shaila Divakarla from GECA is following this work closely on behalf of GEN.
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DIGITAL INITIATIVES
Website GEN communications consultant Michael Hooper addressed the AGM on developments in communicating the GEN message and more effectively engaging with the changing media environment. A full redesign and rebuild of the GEN website is well underway to make it more mobile friendly, with the ability to adapt itself to the medium being used to view it, from smart phones through tablets to desktops, and to ensure continuing visibility in Google searches. Michael noted that in the last 12 months, people looking up websites on mobiles and small tablets increased 10-15%. He also noted that site visitors stay on the GEN webpage on average 3 minutes – longer than most sites.
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The website update is designed to enhance all this through the use of more graphical elements and simpler statements.
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GEN News In the year ahead it is planned to adapt the GEN news format to take advantage of the new functions available with the website evolution. Michael indicated that the site revision also reflects how people are using the internet today, in smaller “bites” of information, not “National Geographic” bites. While favourable comment has been received on the styling of the GEN magazines, emphasis will now move to making smaller and frequent changes to the website.
This may entail more frequent outreach to GEN members for content, but the opportunities to highlight activities by members will increase. It may be that a stylish annual GEN news will still be produced, following each AGM, in a similar downloadable format as presently. Michael also noted that it will be important for GEN eventually to consider a social media strategy alongside its website upgrade.
Personnel Catherine Sheehy from UL Environment will serve as replacement for Katherine Larocque for the 12 months that Katherine will be on maternity leave. Robin Taylor noted that Katherine Larocque had done tremendous work in 2014-2015. Attendees at the AGM concurred and expressed gratitude for Katherine's work.
Update regarding review of GEN By-Laws ● There will be legal clarification on the proposal for staggered Board elections with 2-year term limits after initial year transition to enable this change
Robin Taylor explained that the Board took steps agreed to at the last AGM to complete the by-law review process. He walked through the process undertaken, the summary of key changes, and a summary of member feedback received. ● A Code of Conduct will be developed to include provision for expelling an organisational representative who is disruptive rather than handling this issue in the by-laws
● It was recommended that a Board member may have a non-voting representative attend a meeting on his/her behalf. Proxy voting for member organizations at the AGM will be addressed in the by-laws. Draft by-laws with amendments will be sent by the Board to members for a vote.
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Future strategy The board had committed at the 2014 AGM to develop a long-range strategic plan, and members were surveyed for input. This was summarised and presented for discussion.
It was agreed that the GEN mission remain much as it is, essentially to promote and sustain ecolabelling through cooperation and communication.
In the survey, when asked what type of activities GEN should engage in more, respondents generally identified two focus areas: ● Development of common core criteria ● Enhanced collaboration between members In answer to the question of what GEN should be doing in five years, the top responses were twofold: greater media presence and more marketing collateral.
Working groups on the final day discussed the emerging five-year strategy, using a standard pyramid framework. A working group under Guy Ladvocat will include Eva Eiderstöm, Fallight Xu, Gordon Renouf, S. Karthikeyan, and Xiaodan Zhang. At the October 2016 AGM, the strategic plan, from the mission at the pyramid apex down to the projects, will be presented to members. Following its adoption it will be formatted for the website in its new “accordion” format which will be especially viewable on mobile devices. This will introduce the heart and mind of GEN to online browsers in some detail.
Asia Carbon Footprint Network Conference Several GEN representatives attended the Hong Kong conference which preceded the AGM. A presentation was made by Bjorn-Erik Lonn (back centre) while Hong Kong Green Label CEO Linda Ho (front centre) hosted the conference. One of the six sessions brought up the experiences gained in ecolabelling Type 1 through presentations by the Blue Angel (Germany) and EDF (Chinese Taipei) among others. The difficulties in achieving the wanted information value from a carbon ANNUAL REPORT • 2015
footprint figure for the end consumer was questioned by many of the GEN representatives. International cooperation is called for in standardising the footprint communication. Work on that within ISO was referred to by several speakers. 15
Indicator working group formed Chen Chin-Yuan (Chinese Taipei) proposed that GEN undertake a study on revising product categories in the light of the Environmental Benefit Index that his label has been developing.
Bjorn-Erik Lonn presented a report from Lund University that could ultimately accelerate harmonisation of standards for global environmental labelling. Work has already been done at member level in quantifying the benefits of ecolabelling, but for this to be extended to international benchmarking, there would need to be agreement on generic definitions of a product, groups and sub-groups of products and services. For example, what one member calls paint, another might call a pigmented subgroup of surface coatings.
Bjorn-Erik Lonn instigated a working group to address the issue of “indicators” covering this issue. Chen Chin-Yuan, Linda Ho, Sirithan Pairoj-Boriboon, Xiaodan Zhang, and a member of Keiti (Korea) will form the group, which will report to the Board.
Invitation accepted for AGM in Kiev The invitation of Ukraine's Living Planet programme to host the 2016 AGM and conference in Kyiv (Kiev) was accepted. Scheduled for the third week of October 2016, it will coincide with the five year jubilee of the International Forum Green Mind, arranged by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, which is expected to draw over 700 delegates from around 26 countries. An introductory video to Kiev is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfnXXOBNf7E
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GENICES
The Global Ecolabelling Network Internationally Coordinated Ecolabelling System GENICES was launched in 2003 as a peer review and knowledge sharing initiative to foster mutual trust and cooperation among GEN members. It serves as a mechanism to: ● enhance multilateral cooperation ● facilitate collaboration in development and review of criteria for product certification ● enable GEN member organisations' customers to have easier access to other GEN members' programs ● survey and assure the quality and fidelity of members' organisational performance to GEN principles and the ISO 14024 guidelines. GENICES involves submission of an application form and supporting documents, as well as an on-site audit to review the ways and means in which the audited organisation conducts ecolabelling in line with the principles of ISO14020 and ISO 14024. The process can inspire member employees around a shared goal and also encourages mutual learning for continual improvement from both the GENICES candidate and the auditors. GENICES participation is voluntary and open to full GEN members, almost all of whom have elected to take part. GEN recommends reassessment for members every 5 years. GENICES completion certificates were presented to TCO Development, Good Environmental Choice Australia, the Environment and Development Foundation (Chinese Taipei), and the Nordic Ecolabelling Board. GreenSeal in the United States also successfully completed GENICES in September 2015
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BOARD
ENERGY & EXPERIENCE BJORN-ERIK LONN Chair
HANS-HERMANN EGGERS
GUY LADVOCAT
XIAODAN ZHANG
ABNT Brazil
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel
The Blue Angel (Germany)
China Environmental United Certification Centre
Bjorn-Erik is senior adviser, International Affairs, for The Nordic Swan Ecolabel. He holds an M.Sc. from the University of Helsinki in fish toxicology. He was previously the general secretary for a sports fishermen's Association in Finland and then senior engineer at Norway's biggest sewage treatment plant near Oslo. He joined the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in 1993 as general manager.
Hans-Hermann is a chemist by profession and completed his thesis at Humboldt University of Berlin 1984. In 1991 he began his career as a scientist at the Federal Environment Agency in Germany and has since been working in product assessment. Since 2005 he has been head of the section Eco-design, Ecolabelling and Green Public Procurement at the German Federal Environment Agency which runs the Blue Angel ecolabel.
Guy is systems certification manager of ABNT Brazil, where he also coordinates a greenhouse gas management project for small and medium companies. With a degree in mechanical engineering, he has 27 years experience in quality management and auditing, and for five years was project manager of the Brazilian Institute of Nuclear Quality.
OSAMU UNO Treasurer
Ms Xiaodan ZHANG is general manager of the China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC), and Chief Expert of the Environmental Development Center of MEP. She graduated from Wuhan University of Technology in 1982 and since 1991 she has been working in the field of environmental protection, engaging in policy research and implementation of Environmental Management Systems, the China Environmental Labelling Program, Green Public Procurement, Green Supply Chain, and Clean Development Mechanism. She is deputy Secretary-General of the China Green Purchasing Network (CGPN), and has been an advisory board member of the International Green Procurement Network (IGPN) since 2015.
Ecomark (Japan Environment Association)
CHEN CHIN-YUAN Mr Chen has been involved with the Green Mark ecolabelling programme in Taiwan since 1995. Starting as an auditor, he has been the project manager of the Green Mark program for almost ten years. He has a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering, and a BS in Marine Environment.
Osamu currently serves as secretary general of the Japanese EcoMark office and managing director of the Japan Environment Association. He graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law in March 1970. He was previously employed by Mitsubishi estate company. He has served on the advisory board of the International Green Purchasing Network, a steering committee for the Biomass mark and a commission regarding ecolabelling guidelines in Japan.
EDWIN SEAH Singapore Environment Council Edwin is the Executive Director of the Singapore Environment Council, one of Singapore's oldest environmental organisations, and is an economist by training. In a career spanning more than 18 years, he has held senior positions in several public sector agencies including tourism, energy and national development. In between these, he has also worked in the public relations industry.
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EVA EIDERSTROM Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Eva is currently head of the department at “Shop and Act Green – Good Environmental Choice Ecolabel” in Sweden. This organisation is part of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
31 members* Country
Program Name
Valid Standards
Certified Products
Australia
Environmental Choice Australia
22
2,000
Brazil
ABNT- Environmental Quality
35
751
Brazil
Falcao Bauer Ecolabel Brasil
5
14
China (CEC)
China Environmental Labelling
98
178,895
China (CQC)
China Environmentally Friendly Certification
34
2000
Green Mark Program
150
5048
EU Ecolabel
35
43,160
Germany
The Blue Angel
120
12,000
Germany
TÜV Rheinland
10
400
Hong Kong Green Label Scheme
60
83
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Chinese Taipei
EU
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Hong Kong (GC)
Hong Kong (HKFEP)
Hong Kong Ecolabelling
Indonesia
Ekolabel Indonesia
Israel
Israeli Green Label
85
450
Japan
Eco Mark Program
62
5,597
Product definitions vary among members ANNUAL REPORT • 2015
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51 territories Country
Program Name
Valid Standards
Certified Products
Korea
Korea Eco-Labelling Program
162
17,324
Malaysia
SIRIM Eco-Labelling Scheme
51
353
New Zealand
Environmental Choice New Zealand
37
1600
Nordic Countries
Nordic Swan Ecolabel
58
12,000
UL ECOLOGO
60
7,000
National Ecolabelling Program - Green Choice Pilippines
39
48
Vitality Leaf
23
129
Singapore Green Labelling Scheme
73
3,300
Sweden
TCO Certified
8
900
Sweden
Good Environmental Choice
10
669
Thailand
Thai Green Label Scheme
117
481
Ukraine
Living Planet
54
312
Green Seal
31
4,400
Vietnam Green Label
14
53
North America
Philippines
Russia
Singapore
United States
Vietnam ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Product definitions vary among members 20
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2015 Financial Report For the year ended December 31, 2015
Revenues (in USD)
2015
2014
2013
158,635 19,671 2,866
151,374 14,498 722
129,878 13,067 667
181,172
166,594
143,612
62,000 11,940 5,233 4,464 2,439 13,032 32,271 4,964 13,500
59,500 15,068 4,091 4,214 11,823 9,351 20,297 1,913 -
68,000 12,795 2,490 17,110 14,224 22,080 21,777 13,500
149,843
126,257
171,976
Prior period adjustment
17,117
-
(7,834)
Increase in fund balance Fund balance at beginning of year
14,212 257,749
40,337 217,412
(22,698) 240,110
Fund balance at end of year
271,961
257,749
217,412
2015
2014
2013
300,927
308,207
249,902
294,427
291,207
244,235
Total current liabilities Total fund balance at end of year
28,966 271,961
50,458 257,749
32,490 217,412
Total current liabilities and fund balance
300,927
308,207
249,902
Contributions (Membership Fees) Donations Other income
Expenses (in USD) Personnel (incl. secretariat services) Board travel and meeting expenses Audit and legal fees (inclusive of by-law update fees in 2015) Bank charges and miscellaneous Travel Website review, redesign, and upgrade work Publications and communications (GEN news, reports) Other project work (e.g. technical assistance, etc.) GEN's support to host country of AGM
Financial Position Total current assets Includes cash:
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Our
Mission GEN exists to educate and cause government, industry and consumers to recognise the unique and important value afforded by Type 1 ecolabelling programmes. Strategic decisions are guided by following the mission objectives:
Serve our members, other ecolabelling programmes and the public by promoting and developing the ecolabelling of products and services.
Facilitate access to information about ecolabelling standards globally.
Foster cooperation, information exchange, and harmonisation among our members' ecolabelling programmes.
Participate in international organisations to promote ecolabelling.
Encourage demand for, and supply of, more environmentally preferable products and services.
The Global Ecolabelling Network | www.globalecolabelling.net
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ANNUAL REPORT • 2015
The Global Ecolabelling Network would like to thank its members, associates and partners involved in promoting the ecolabelling of products and services around the world. GEN is always open to working on collaborative initiatives of mutual interest. To discuss potential opportunities or learn more, please contact your nearest country board member or: The GEN Secretariat 171 Nepean St, Suite 400 Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0B4 Canada
Tel: +1 613 368 4419 Fax: +1 613 247 2228
gensecretariat@ul.com globalecolabelling.net
CREDITS Editorial direction: Michael Hooper | Spotlight Creative Media Design: John Newcombe Cover image: iStock
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