Descrizione 1
Maria Alessia Alessandro, Stefania Fusani, Piera Pellegrino
The EU Ecolabel is the voluntary environmental quality mark of the European Union, regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 66/2010 and subsequent amendments, which distinguishes products and services characterized by a reduced environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle, while ensuring high performance standards. The indicator reflects the number of active certifications granted by the Italian Competent Body to companies for their products and services, which stand out in the Italian market for their environmental responsibility and consumer awareness. The number of licenses and certified products/services has increased from 1998 to 2023. Specifically, as of 31 December 2023, there are 464 active EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy, covering a total of 14,128 certified products/services, distributed across 17 active product/service groups.
The number of EU Ecolabel licenses and certified products/services can be considered a response indicator. It reflects the supply of environmentally friendly products and services by companies and, consequently, the demand for more sustainable consumption by consumers, thus highlighting environmental awareness in both the production sector and among consumers. The total number of EU Ecolabel licenses does not always correspond to the total number of EU Ecolabel-certified companies, as a single company may obtain multiple licenses for different product groups. Licenses are issued per EU Ecolabel product group, not per company. Each granted license is associated with one or more certified products or services. Products bearing the EU Ecolabel demonstrate reduced environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle, as they comply with criteria based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, while maintaining high performance and environmental standards. The EU Ecolabel promotes products that: minimize environmental impacts, reduce the use of raw materials and energy, exhibit longer lifespans, reduce emissions and waste generation, limit the use of toxic and/or hazardous substances, and ensure reliable and transparent information, while guaranteeing performance standards equivalent to comparable non-certified products. A license is a contract, requested by the company, authorizing the use of the label on certified products and services. The number of certified products corresponds to millions of items sold in the market for that specific certified product type. Currently, the services eligible for EU Ecolabel certification include "Tourist accommodations" and "Indoor cleaning services." Therefore, the indicator serves as a measure of the business sector’s awareness of the importance of environmental quality, in alignment with the principles of environmental sustainability promoted by the European Community.
Describe the evolution, in Italy, of the supply of products and services with reduced environmental impact. In particular, describe the evolution of business interest in environmental product certification.
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Regulation (EC) No. 66/2010
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Regulation (EC) No. 782/2013
The relevant legislation does not establish quantitative targets, as the EU Ecolabel is one of the voluntary instruments of European environmental policy. The purpose of the Regulation is to steer production and consumption, and thus the market, towards products with reduced environmental impact.
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Law No. 221 of 28/12/2015 "Provisions on environmental matters to promote green economy measures"
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New Public Procurement Code (Legislative Decree No. 50 of 18/04/2016)
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Decision 2017/175/EU
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Decision 2018/680/EU
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Decision 2019/70/EU
Descrizione 2
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ISPRA, Annuario dei dati ambientali, anni vari
At the address http://ec.europa.eu/ecat/ it is possible to consult the ECAT (E-catalogue), the European online registry containing all products and services certified with the EU Ecolabel in Europe.
Development of an indicator for the "market penetration of EU Ecolabel green products".
Qualificazione dati
The EU Ecolabel license is granted by the Italian Competent Body (Ecolabel Section of the Committee for Ecolabel and Ecoaudit), which, in carrying out its activities, relies on the technical support of the Ecolabel Sector of the Environmental Certification Service of ISPRA.
National, regional
1998-2023 (31 December)
Qualificazione indicatore
Number (n) of EU Ecolabel licenses issued in Italy and number (n) of products certified with the EU Ecolabel in Italy.
As of December 2023, there are 464 active EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy (Table 1 and Figure 1). The product/service groups with the highest number of licenses are: “Indoor cleaning services” (Decision 2018/680/EU) with 175 licenses; “Accommodation establishments” (Decision 2017/175/EU) with 68 licenses; “Hard surface cleaning products” (Decision 2017/1217/EU) with 46 licenses; “Paper-based textiles and paper-based textile products,” which, with the entry into force of the new criteria in Decision 2019/70/EU, saw many companies renew their contracts and others obtain the label for the first time, totaling 41 licenses (Figure 2).
The trend of licenses and certified products/services shows long-term growth, with fluctuations due to specific regulatory events. Notably, in 2010, there was a slight decline due to companies adjusting their licenses to new published criteria. From 2011, the trend resumed upward until 2016, when a subsequent reduction occurred due to the withdrawal of some licenses by the Italian Competent Body and decisions by some license holders to withdraw from the label. In 2017 and 2018, the decrease in certified products resulted from companies withdrawing from the Ecolabel contract, particularly those associated with the “Hard surfaces” group. In 2018, the decline in licenses was due to the expiration of numerous licenses for tourist accommodations and campsites and the implementation of revised EU Ecolabel criteria for various product groups (especially cleaning products), requiring existing license holders to comply. With the publication of Decision 2021/476/EU for “Hard surfaces,” many licenses expired in 2022, leading to a reduction in the total number of certified products (Table 3). Considering the total number of certified products, a partial balance occurred in 2023 due to requests from manufacturers in the following categories: “Paper-based textiles and paper-based textile products,” “Textiles,” and “Hard surface cleaning products.” From 2019 to December 2023, the trend is positive, with increases in both the number of licenses and certified products/services (Figure 1), despite no licenses being approved after July 31, 2023, due to the conclusion of the three-year mandate of the Ecolabel Ecoaudit Committee.
Dati
Table 1: Evolution of the EU Ecolabel in Italy
ISPRA
The data is cumulative.
Table 2: Number of active EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy by product/service group
ISPRA
(*) Modification of the product group name following the publication of a new decision.
(-) Indicates that the data is not available because it is included in another product/service group or due to the absence of relevant legislation.
It is specified that the data for certain product/service groups is not available because the products/services fall under a different product/service group:
− "Camping service" in "Accommodation facilities" (Decision 2017/175/EU);
− "Interior paints" in "Exterior and interior paints" (Decision 2015/886/EU);
Table 3: Number of EU Ecolabel certified products/services by product group in Italy
ISPRA
(*) Modification of the product group name following the publication of a new decision.
(-) Indicates that the data is not available because it is included in another product/service group or due to the absence of relevant legislation.
It is specified that the data for certain product/service groups is not available because the products/services fall under a different product/service group:
− "Camping service" in "Accommodation facilities" (Decision 2017/175/EU);
− "Interior paints" in "Exterior and interior paints" (Decision 2015/886/EU);
Table 4: Regional distribution of EU Ecolabel licenses (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
Table 5: Distribution of EU Ecolabel certified products by product group in Italy (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
Figure 1: Number of EU Ecolabel licenses and certified products/services in Italy
ISPRA
The data is cumulative.
Figure 2: Distribution of EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy by product/service group (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
Figure 3: EU Ecolabel licenses issued by the Italian Competent Body by geographical area (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
Figure 4: Regional distribution of EU Ecolabel licenses (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
Figure 5: Distribution of EU Ecolabel certified products by product group in Italy (31 December 2023)
ISPRA
As of 31 December 2023, there are 464 active EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy, covering a total of 14,128 certified products/services across 17 active product/service groups (Table 5 and Figure 2). The geographical distribution of EU Ecolabel licenses issued by the Italian Competent Body (Ecolabel Section of the Committee for Ecolabel and Ecoaudit) shows a clear prevalence of licenses in the North (61.2%), followed by the Centre with 20.5%, and South and Islands with 17.7%. Additionally, 3 licenses (0.6%) are assigned to companies with legal headquarters abroad (Figure 3). The Italian regions with the highest number of total EU Ecolabel licenses (products and services) are: Lombardy (79 licenses), Veneto (54 licenses), Piedmont (49 licenses), Lazio (48 licenses), and Trentino-Alto Adige (47 licenses) (Table 4 and Figure 4). For the top three regions, the majority are product licenses, while for Lazio and Trentino-Alto Adige, the majority are service licenses. Specifically, in the Services sector (“Accommodation establishments and cleaning services”), Lazio leads with 42 licenses, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige with 36 licenses, and Sicily with 31 (Table 4 and Figure 4). The group with the highest number of certified products is “Paper-based textiles and paper-based textile products” with 4,891 Ecolabel-certified items, followed by “Textiles” (3,359) and “Hard surface cleaning products” (2,069) (Figure 5). With the enactment of Law No. 221 of 28/12/2015 “Provisions on environmental matters to promote green economy measures” and the new Public Procurement Code (Legislative Decree No. 50 of 18/4/2016), which include provisions to promote both directly and indirectly EU Ecolabel products and services within public procurement (GPP), there has been an increase in applications for certain products (e.g., cleaning products) and services (e.g., cleaning services). The indicator can be considered valid for Objective 2c of the 7th Environmental Action Programme (“Transition to a low-carbon economy: structural changes in production, technology, and innovation, as well as in consumption patterns and lifestyles, lead to a reduction in the overall environmental impact of production and consumption, particularly in the sectors of food, construction, and mobility”), especially concerning EU Ecolabel product groups related to construction.