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The National Programme for Labelling Environmentally Friendly Products was declared on 14 April 1994. The system was initiated by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of the Economy.

It is based on the creation of a competitive environment in the market among products of comparable qualitative parameters by introducing an additional selection criterion, which includes the specified environmental requirements for the product. Influencing consumption and production patterns promotes the implementation of sustainable development. The labelling of environmentally friendly products is based on the prerequisite that the certification is done by an independent third party.

The goal of the eco-labelling system is to:

• select groups of products – product categories – for which the negative impact on the environment can be reduced,
• specify a set of requirements – criteria – which the products within a given group must meet,
• award the eco-label to products which meet the given criteria, the eco-label is awarded in the form of a license agreement,
• verify compliance of the actual properties of the products with the specified requirements and compliance with the license agreement.

The trademark consists of the graphic letter e with the inscription Environmentally Friendly Product (Environmentally Friendly Service) in the upper part and the identification numbers in the lower part. The mark may only be used and depicted in one colour – green or black.

The eco-label of the Czech Republic and the National Programme for Labelling Environmentally Friendly Products are subject to the international technical standard ISO 14024 Environmental Labels and Declarations – Type I Environmental Labelling – the Principles and Procedures and, therefore, they serve as an internationally recognised confirmation of the quality of a product.

The eco-label

Environmentally friendly product

provides the customer with:

• a reliable and understandable information about a completed environmental evaluation of the product and its properties,
• an easier orientation in a broad range of nearly equivalent products,
• a state guarantee of the fact that the negative environmental impacts of the labelled product were minimised,
• a proof that the negative impacts of the labelled product on the consumer’s health were minimised (e.g. the risk of provoking an allergic reaction etc.).

Role of the Minister of the Environment and of the Council for Environmentally Friendly Products

The guarantor of the programme is the Ministry of the Environment. Its task is to publish newly approved Directives and other preconditions for getting a trademark. In addition, the Minister of the Environment approves and signs Directives with requirements associated with the eco-label, confers the right to use it to individual products and comments on all fundamental and defining issues related to the development of the programme.

The expert and advisory body to the Minister of the Environment is the Council of the Programme. It voices its comments, observations and suggestions for the Programme, comments on the product categories and proposals for Directives, and defines the primary objectives and the orientation of the development of the Programme. Its members are important personalities from both the economic and social spheres, and they are appointed and suspended from office by the Minister of the Environment. The respective deputy minister is the chairman of the Council, an officer from the Department of Strategies is the executive vice chairman and the secretary of the Council, who is also the professional guarantor of the Project. The Council meets at least twice a year. Membership in the Council is an honorary function.