Green certifications

Many organizations choose voluntarily to get eco certified, to comply with specific eco standards or make use of established indicators. Certain international, country-specific, or activity-specific actions may also legally require the use of standards and certification.

Certification, compliance with approved standards and the use of recognized indicators are mechanisms which can help to eliminate “green-washing” and can give organizations a competitive advantage, both in terms of green marketing and by saving costs and resources. For example, the ISO 14000 certification standard defines a voluntary environmental management system, which can help improve corporate performance, and also provides an objective basis for verifying a companies’ claims about its performance.

There are a variety of associated benefits from eco-certification, which include increased business efficiency, increased recognition and media, trust by consumers, increased sales and overall increased sustainability. However, there are an escalating number of eco-certifications, standards and indicators. As a consumer, this can make it quite confusing to make a choice between products. As a manufacturer or service provider, it can be equally overwhelming to decide what eco label to go for and it’s worth investigating your options properly.

The following is a list of some certification organizations, standards and indicators – ranging from standards and certifications relating to water quality, fishing and fish-breeding, eco-labels, environmental management, pollution and pollution control, waste, recycling, air quality, agriculture, food & beverage, travel & tourism, climate change, biodiversity, and heritage.