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Home Self-Declared Environmental Claim The Credibility of Self-Declared Environmental Claims

Self-declared environmental claims can only be considered rock-solid if their reliability and credibility is ensured. However, it is inherent in their nature that the declaration of such claims is not subject to any approval. So, how can true claims be distinguished from false and misleading ones?

An international standard (ČSN ISO 14021 – Environmental Labels and Declarations – Self-Declared Environmental Claim) has been issued in order to establish clear rules as to what a true and credible environmental claim should look like. Even though compliance with this standard is purely voluntary, it is a precondition for the claim to be considered reliable. The standard specifies requirements for the self-declaration of environmental claims, including the claims, labels and symbols related to the products. It also explains some selected terms commonly used for environmental claims (e.g. degradable, compostable, refillable etc.) and specifies conditions for their use. To ensure the necessary credibility of a claim, it requires it to be substantiated by scientific analysis whose outcomes are to be publicly available.

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