Technological watch

Dessau 13/12/2022 The winter meeting of the eco-label jury took place on 6 and 7 December in Schwerin. Minister of the Environment, Dr Backhaus, welcomed the jury to the Ministry for Climate Protection, Agriculture, Rural Areas and the Environment of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The eco-label jury is the decision-making body of the Blue Angel eco-label and is composed of 14 representatives of civil society organisations. v.l.n.r.: Dr. Till Backhaus (Umweltminister Mecklenburg Vorpommern) mit dem Vorsitz der Jury Umweltzeichen Katharina Istel (NABU) und Prof. Dr. Mario Schmidt (Hochschule Pforzheim, Institut für Industrial Ecology (INEC) At its winter meeting the eco-label jury decided on criteria for new eco-labels:

Concrete roof tiles and shaped bricks
Roof tiles and shaped bricks are installed over large areas on the outer shell of buildings, which means they come into contact with rainwater and snow. Minimising the release of pollutants from these products during use is important to reduce the environmental impact on the natural water cycle. The Blue Angel requires a surface leaching test to assess the release of pollutants from roof tiles.
Given the high quantities of roof tiles used in renovation and new construction every year, climate-friendly solutions for the production and transport of the products are essential. The eco-label promotes such solutions with a strict eco-balance benchmark for greenhouse gas emissions.
The Blue Angel can be used to label concrete roof tiles and shaped bricks which - over and above the legal requirements -

• are manufactured using materials that are less harmful to the environment than usual,
• are durable and reusable or recyclable, 
• are ecotoxicologically harmless in the environment and do not contain any pollutants that significantly interfere with recycling or disposal,
• have particularly low greenhouse gas emissions during manufacture and transport and for which unavoidable and irreducible greenhouse gas emissions are compensated.

The following environmental and health benefits are mentioned in the explanatory field: 

• water-friendly
• resource-conserving
• low-emission

At its winter meeting the eco-label jury decided on criteria for new eco-labels:
Mattresses, textiles and data centres
The following other eco-labels were also revised and updated:

• Mattresses, (DE-UZ 119)
• Textiles (DE-UZ 154)
• Data Centres (DE-UZ 161 / 214)

Furthermore, the jury decided on test assignments for developing eco-labels for foam fire extinguishers and printing inks.

The revised and new criteria documents will be finalised in the coming weeks and will be available on our homepage (award criteria). Manufacturers of particularly environmentally friendly products can then apply for the label.