The "NF Environnement" mark and the EU Eco-label: transparent and objective benchmarks that stand out among the multitude of environmental signage currently in use.
Now that the environment has become a marketing element in its own right, eco-labels are a valuable tool given the current flurry of ecological information supplied with products or packaging.
Given the sheer volume of alleged "green" markings currently in circulation, users and consumers do not always have all the information needed to assess either the merits or the authenticity of the messages displayed.
Some signs are either misleading or give only the vaguest indications such as ambiguous "eco-product" statements that do not specify which ecological characteristics are targeted, or inaccurate statements such as "recycled paper", that do not specify the paper's recycled fibre content.
The growing confusion over the ecological information displayed on products and the need for clearly understandable product offers has been instrumental in driving the creation of eco-labels and still remains one of their principle functions.
This is particularly the case where public procurement contracts are concerned. The notions of scientific rationale, collaborative work effort and accessibility are core features of eco-labels, making them useful and essential tools for public procurement buyers who are required to base their choices on irrefutable characteristics that do not discriminate against economic operators.
Therefore, subject to compliance with certain general principles (link to the object of the contract, equivalence principle), public procurement regulations now accept the fact that eco-labels can be used to specify environmental characteristics for public procurement contracts involving product purchasing (Art. 6 of the French Code of Public Procurement).
