The European EU Ecolabel mark recognizes the ecological quality of products and services with high quality standards by certifying that they have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle compared to others of the same type.
This is a certification of excellence that can be requested, on a voluntary basis, by any virtuous company that respects the environment belonging to one of the member states of the European Union or the EEA (European Economic Area), therefore Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
For Italy, the Ecolabel is issued by the Ecolabel and Ecoaudit Committee and the procedure from application to issue is followed by ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) according to the "Procedure for the granting of the license to use the Ecolabel "indicated on the Institute's website.
The Ecolabel logo is represented by a daisy whose petals are represented by the 12 stars of the European Union and the corolla is represented by an E placed in the center
The parameters considered for the issue of the Ecolabel vary according to the product or service analyzed and concern their production, their average lifespan, how much they are recyclable, how much they are reusable, how much recyclable material the packaging consists of, transport and disposal. As regards the various environmental parameters, emissions into the atmosphere, if toxic substances have been used, discharges into water, respect for biodiversity, energy and water consumption, are evaluated, among others.
Buying a product that has the Ecolabel mark means buying an environmentally friendly product that maintains high quality standards.
The European eco-label also extends to various types of services and has been applied since 2017 also in the tourism sector where accommodation and recreational facilities can apply for the Ecolabel mark as regulated by the European Commission in Decision (EU) 2017/175. The parameters evaluated for the accommodation facilities concern among others: energy efficiency, correct separate collection, the limitation of water and energy waste, respect for environmental biodiversity, the use of food at Km 0 and from local productions.