The Austrian Eco-Label (Österreiches Umweltzeichen)

www.umweltzeichen.at

Target

The Austrian Eco-Label provides information on environmental impact of production, use and waste disposal of products and presents the environment friendly product alternatives to consumers. The label should motivate producers and service companies to produce and offer less environment-polluting products. This should cause a dynamic process on the market for more environmentally products and services.

Product/service group

The label is awarded to a variety of product groups in the building sector, households, traffic, cleaning and sanitary, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, office equipment and gardening. The eco label products comprise, for example, mineral water, cleaning agents, wooden furniture, lacquer, light bulbs, or green electricity. Additionally, the label is given to tourism industry (hotels, restaurants, inns) and schools and training facilities.

Awarding Institution & Criteria

Issuing body is the National Ministry of Environment. For the product groups for which the label is awarded a list of criteria was set up which has to be fulfilled.

Relevance

By using the Austrian Eco-Label for their products and services, companies have the possibility to use a standardised instrument for presenting their environmental commitment to the public.
Since the market introduction in 1990, the label is very well-established on the market and it is the only relevant eco-label in Austria. In Austria, the federal government, the regional governments and municipalities are favouring more and more products using this label in public procurement processes.