Green Seal’s Environmental Standards & Certification The Role of Standards Setting Processes: Defining "What is Green?" NPPR Webinar March 5, 2009 Mark T. Petruzzi VP of Certification & Strategic Relations

2 About Green Seal, Inc. Celebrating 20th Anniversary (c)(3) non-profit Science-based Environmental mission through exclusive focus on environmentally responsible products and services Product standards and technical reports Green Lodging Program Institutional Greening Program Meets ANSI, EPA, ISO, GEN criteria

3 Third-party certifiers should meet the applicable guidelines ISO and –Principles of Environmental Labeling –Principles and Procedures for Type I Ecolabels Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) membership criteria GEN Internationally Coordinated Ecolabelling System (GENICES, evaluation for conformance with ISO 14024) ANSI-accredited standards developer EPA Guidelines for Third-Party Certifiers Consumers Union criteria for “What makes a good eco-label?”

4 The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) founded 1994, currently 26 member programs

5 Commonalities Among Guidelines Voluntary participation Run by organizations without conflicts of interest Standards process that involves stakeholders & the public Criteria, assumptions, methods & data used are open & transparent (i.e., publicly available, easily accessed & understandable) Legally protected mark Criteria based on product/service lifecycle Open access to licensees of all sizes, all countries Authority to inspect manufacturing facility or service location Criteria that encourage products & services that are significantly less damaging to the environment (i.e., leadership, usually top % in category) Periodic review of criteria, considering technology & marketplace

6 Objective Explicit Science-based Transparent Life-cycle environmental & health considerations Include functional performance Balanced stakeholder input Attainable for leadership products or services Economically feasible Principles of Green Seal’s Environmental Leadership Standards

7 Multi-Attribute, Life-Cycle Approach Raw materials extraction & processing Manufacturing Functional Performance Packaging Transportation Use & Maintenance End-of-life (disposal, recycling, reuse)

8 How Green Seal Sets Environmental Standards Register stakeholders (including end users, manufacturers, trade groups, scientists, government, environmentalists, NGOs, others) Study category Environmental Evaluation Draft standard Public review Response-to-Comments Stakeholder ballot* Publish standard * where appropriate

9 Example Green Seal Criteria Product Performance: To ensure products perform like “conventional” products in the category and meet the expectation of users Environmental and Health Requirements: –Acute toxicity limits; skin and eye irritation; skin sensitization and absorption limits; prohibited toxins (ex. carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, asthmagens); volatile organic compound limits; inhalation toxicity limits; bioaccumulation and eutrophication limits; aquatic toxicity limits; biodegradability; minimum concentration levels Packaging Requirements: –Packaging resource reduction; packaging type requirements; prohibited toxins (ex. heavy metals, phthalates, chlorinated materials) Training and Labeling Requirements: To ensure the purchaser has access to accurate information to help them decide on products (e.g., presence/absence of an added fragrance) and use the products correctly (instructions for dilution, use, multi-lingual, use of graphic icons)

10 ISO versus ANSI (not a sci-fi movie or pay-per-view boxing) No substantive difference in Green Seal’s standard-setting procedures with one exception - ANSI procedures require consensus ISO requires that “Reasonable efforts should be made to achieve a consensus throughout the process.” Why? Recognition that consensus is a reasonable expectation for certain types of standards (e.g., test methodologies, management/process standards, rating systems), whereas leadership environmental standards (e.g., life-cycle standards that a majority of products cannot meet) may find it difficult to achieve without “weakening” the standard.

11 Green Seal Certification Rigorous science-based evaluation using explicit criteria Products & services evaluated w/o bias or conflict of interest On-site inspections of product manufacturing facilities or service locations (e.g., hotels, restaurants) Includes review of ancillary materials (e.g., literature, labels, catalogs, website) for GS, FTC, unsubstantiated env. claims Evaluation fees are fixed/flat, so Green Seal has no direct financial ties to certified products and services Certified products and services must participate in ongoing compliance monitoring to remain certified

12 Green Seal “cleaning” standards GS-34 Cleaning/Degreasing Agents GS-37 I&I Cleaners GS-40 I&I Floor-Care Products GS-41 I&I Hand Cleaners* (CCD-104) GS-42 I&I Cleaning Services GS-45 Plastic Resin Film Bags** GS-48 Laundry Care Products** GS-49 Residential Cleaning Services** GS-1 Tissue Paper*** GS-9 Paper Towels*** * joint EcoLogo standard ** under development, see *** under revision, see

13 Why Use Environmental Standards in Purchasing? Type I (“seal of approval”) environmental labels used worldwide for 30+ years Principles and procedures for environmental standard- setting and third-party certification are well-established in international and domestic guidelines (with great agreement) Credible environmental standards and third-party certification can greatly reduce the effort needed for identifying, selecting and purchasing environmentally responsible products and services Recognized standards define “green” for purchasers & manufacturers in the context of current marketplace; help to aggregate demand Avoid debate over single attributes (biobased OR low VOCs – neither addresses performance) Use of credible environmental standards can provide insulation from complaints

14 Contact Information Green Seal, Inc Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 827 Washington, D.C., Tel: (202) Website: Thank You!