Environment-Friendly Label for Europe

Eric Johnson

Europe's PC vendors could be selling units with an official label of eco-friendliness in 1998. The environment directorate of the EC began a project to establish an EU ecolabel for PCs early this year.

Today, there are six national ecolabels in Europe (e.g., the German Blue Angel and the White Swan in the Nordic countries) plus several energy-saving stickers. The E C initiative hopes to replace this European patchwork quilt with a uniform system.

At press time, EC project managers could not commit to specific criteria. They aim to have EU ecolabel criteria for desktop PCs ready by the end of the year. Notebooks and portables will be in the next round.

Do ecolabels influence buying decisio ns? Not much, say vendors, when it comes to private customers. But many corporate and public users do consider greenness when they buy. A survey of German state environment ministries, which was conducted last year, shows that many public organizations have included environmental specifications in their PC purchasing guidelines.

(A good site at which to follow these ecolabel discussions and upcoming specifications is http://www.ecosite.co.uk .)

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Symbolically Speaking

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A European ecology symbol may soon replace national labels.