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The Blue Angel is an environmental label in Germany that has been awarded to particularly environmentally friendly products and services since 1978. [2] The owner of the label is the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
The Blue Angel is the ecolabel of the German government and was introduced in 1978 by the Federal Minister of the Interior, which was a person of the Free Democratic Party (Germany) (FDP) in these years. This ministry was also responsible for environmental protection at the time, and the responsible ministers in the German federal states. It was established with the aim of highlighting more environmentally friendly and healthy developments and alternatives in areas where standard products have a negative impact on the environment. Suppliers can label their products and services with the environmental label on a voluntary basis and provide interested customers with guidance as a result. The Blue Angel is thus a market-based, voluntary tool of environmental policy.
The logo largely corresponds to the logo of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), although with the colours reversed. The outer ring contains the words "BLUE ANGEL" and "THE GERMAN ECOLABEL". According to the official website, it reflects the aim of the German government to embed the UNEP goals in Germany. [3] In 2018 a modified version of the logo was published. [1]
The ecolabel can currently be awarded to around 100 product groups / services across the following sectors: paper products, building products, furnishing, clothing, washing and cleaning agents, cleaning services, (household) chemicals, packaging / disposal, vehicles / mobility, energy / heating, electrical devices (household), information and communication technology, other. [4]
The ecolabel is only awarded to non-food products and not to food or beverages.
The Blue Angel is a so-called "Type I environmental label" according to DIN EN ISO 14024. [5] This means that the entire life cycle of the product is taken into account and any impacts on the environment and health are fully considered during the development of the criteria ("multi-criteria evaluation"). In addition, the criteria are developed in a transparent process that includes both the suppliers affected as well as interested organisations within civil society and research institutions. Last but not least, the certification process is carried out by an independent body. The Blue Angel is a member of the international network of Type I ecolabels – the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) – which currently comprises 29 ecolabels from various different nations. [6] [7]
The following institutions are involved in the award process for the Blue Angel:
The Blue Angel is not a label that certifies that a product is completely harmless. The products labelled with the Blue Angel are more environmentally friendly and healthier than other products that have the same fitness for use and quality in the respective product group. Therefore, these products represent the "lesser evil" with respect to environmental pollution in line with the motto: as little as possible, as much as necessary.
Specific requirements are defined for each product group. This means that those criteria that are relevant for the respective product group / service are selected from a broad range of possible criteria. (For example, the criterion "noise" is relevant for municipal vehicles but not for laundry detergents, while the opposite is true when it comes to the biodegradability of the ingredients.) The criteria and methods used to verify compliance with them are continually examined and updated. The aim is to define criteria in such a way that the best products on the market are able to fulfil them and companies within the sector are thus encouraged to further develop their products.
The following aspects are analysed during the development of the criteria:
All of the criteria for the award of the environmental label to the individual product groups are published on the Blue Angel website in a transparent way. The website also includes information on the certified products, the suppliers offering them for sale and other background information such as scientific studies and consumer information brochures. The independent certification body – RAL gGmbH – ensures that the certified products and services comply with the relevant criteria.
Overall, this means that the Blue Angel is not a seal of quality for the entire product but only for those characteristics of the product that have a clear impact on environmental and health protection. Nevertheless, the Blue Angel serves its desired function as a guide for consumers because it has quickly become a generally accepted standard on the market for environmental protection in many sectors.
Environmental characteristics that are not stated in the basic award criteria are not tested.
It is also possible that there are products available on the market that meet the criteria but are not labelled with the Blue Angel because it is only awarded by application. [8]
The label only compares products with the same intended use (e.g. paper products made out of recycled fibres and virgin fibres, mechanical and chemical drain cleaners, etc.). In contrast, a comparison of bicycles with motor vehicles would be like "comparing apples with oranges" because they are two completely different products that cannot be directly compared due to their different characteristics and performance specifications.
The Blue Angel does not state which product amongst two certified products is the most environmentally friendly. [8]
In general, the products must avoid the use of terms such as "Bio", "Eco" or "Natural" in the product names if these products are also labelled with the Blue Angel. According to the criteria for the award of the Blue Angel, these advertising claims could be easily misleading to consumers especially in the case of chemical products. This also applies to claims that play down the risks such as "non-toxic" or "non-harmful to health".
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. A lesser known counterpart is certification for organic textiles that includes certification of textile products made from organically grown fibres.
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes, are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that claim reduced, minimal, or no harm upon ecosystems or the environment.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a team of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are captured in a sustainability standard. Through a verification process, usually referred to as "certification", a farm, forest, fishery, or mine can show that it complies with a standard and earn the right to sell its products as certified through the supply chain, often resulting in a consumer-facing ecolabel.
The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is a non-profit network composed of some 29 ecolabel organisations throughout the world representing nearly 60 countries and territories, with two associate members and a growing number of affiliate members, one of which is Google. GEN members have certified over 252,000 products and services for environmental leadership. GEN was established in 1994.
The Environmental Choice Program is an ecolabelling scheme that was established by Environment Canada in 1988 with over 300 categories of products to help consumers identify services/products which are less harmful to the environment.
The work of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ covers both basic research and applied research.
Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.
The Nordic Ecolabel or Nordic swan is the official sustainability ecolabel for products from the Nordic countries. It was introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1989. The logo is based on the logo of the Nordic Council adopted in 1984 which symbolises trust, integrity and freedom. The Nordic Swan covers 67 different product groups, from hand soap to furniture to hotels.
Green Seal is a non-profit environmental standard development and certification organization. Its flagship program is the certification of products and services. Certification is based on Green Seal standards, which contain performance, health, and sustainability criteria.
An eco hotel, or a green hotel, is an environmentally sustainable hotel or accommodation that has made important environmental improvements to its structure in order to minimize its impact on the natural environment. The basic definition of an eco-friendly hotel is an environmentally responsible lodging that follows the practices of green living. These hotels have to be certified green by an independent third-party or by the state they are located in. Traditionally, these hotels were mostly presented as ecolodges because of their location, often in jungles, and their design inspired by the use of traditional building methods applied by skilled local craftsmen in areas, such as Costa Rica and Indonesia.
Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) is the official ecolabel of New Zealand. The label is owned and endorsed by the Ministry for the Environment of the New Zealand Government. The Environmental Choice programme, which started in 1992, is administered by the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust on behalf of, but independently from, the Ministry for the Environment. The trust and the programme are part of the Global Ecolabelling Network.
Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture. It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies both wild and farmed seafood.
EKOenergy is a globally active nonprofit ecolabel for renewable energy. It is owned by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and managed in cooperation with other environmental NGOs.
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal.
Environmental certification is a form of environmental regulation and development where a company can voluntarily choose to comply with predefined processes or objectives set forth by the certification service. Most certification services have a logo which can be applied to products certified under their standards. This is seen as a form of corporate social responsibility allowing companies to address their obligation to minimise the harmful impacts to the environment by voluntarily following a set of externally set and measured objectives.
EU Ecolabel or EU Flower is a voluntary ecolabel scheme established in 1992 by the European Union.
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Franziska Kersten is a German veterinarian and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2021, representing the Börde – Jerichower Land district.