Brussels, 10/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has new plans for the Community ecological label system. This system was created in 1992 for companies to join on a voluntary basis and was designed to promote products with a reduced environmental impact in the 15 Member States and the three Member States of the European Area (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). The 2002-2004 Working Plan which has just been adopted as an environmental marketing tool, aims to increase market penetration and promotion of the Flower as a logo for increasing the number of product that meet the very strict criteria established by the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB). In a press statement, Margot Wallström, Commissioner for the Environment declared that, ""Consumers and public purchasers should be entitled to the best environmental performance, and that is assured by the eco-label," says Environment Commissioner Mrs Margot Wallström. "And manufacturers and retailers should be prepared to meet the increased demand from consumers for superior products". The Commission's working plan is focused on three major points and intends to achieve the following objectives:
- Marketing and promotion: strengthen and better co-ordinate efforts made by the various consumer and environmental NGOs, trade unions, industry, SMEs and other organisations in the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB) to define and review eco-label criteria and re-orientate more resources to the scheme for marketing and promotion.
- Establishing the categories eligible for benefiting from label: define the ecological criteria of around 30 product groups (criteria have already been established for about 17 categories: textiles and footwear, detergents, certain types of household appliances, paper products, paints and varnishes, fertilisers) and systematically develop co-operational and co-ordination with other national labelling programmes.
- Long-term Policy: review the scheme in 2005, promote synergies with the European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), encourage organisations to use eco-label criteria more systematically in their calls for tender, obtain an agreement between the EUEB, the Commission and member States on long-term funding for the system, define the ecological label in sustainable consumption policy and "Integrated Product Policy" (IPP). This new strategy aims to reduce the environmental impacts along the life cycles of products and strengthen the market for green products
