Certifications are important
for the objective assessment of components
Do you know which directive is relevant for the finished coated surface? For many, this is not clearly recognisable. If there are discrepancies in objects and surfaces, the question often arises: Who is responsible for enquiries and inspections? The manufacturer of the component, the paint supplier or even the company carrying out the work?
The number of enquiries is increasing, especially when it comes to sustainability. We would like to provide you with an overview.
In these tables you will find all the national and international guidelines on sustainability that we consider relevant. As a manufacturer for lacquers and stains, we have included all certifications that may have an impact on the coating. The relevance of the coating is indicated from high to low.
National guidelines (Germany)
Certification system / guideline | Description | Relevance for lacquer | Specific conditions for lacquer | Type of certification | Links |
| RAL UZ (eco-label) | German Ecolabel for environmentally friendly products. | High | Different requirements regarding the coating material depending on the product type. No CMR substances, no SVHC (ECHA candidate list) 1C-Hydro partially fulfils the requirements | Product certification or manufacturer's declaration respectively | https://www.blauer-engel.de/de |
| ECO Label (Eco-Institut) | A German label that sets high environmental and health standards for building products and other articles. | High | Depending on product type, low VOC emissions, no harmful chemicals, environmentally friendly systems, specific limit values (particularly low: e.g. organotin components). | Product certification required | https://www.eco-institut.de/de/ |
| BImSchV (Federal Immission Control Act) | German law (immission control of plants, products, traffic) | High | Regulations for coating lines | BImSchG - nichtamtliches Inhaltsverzeichnis (gesetze-im-internet.de) | |
| DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) | Evaluates the sustainability of buildings. | Medium | Environmentally friendly materials, classification in quality levels (QS), low VOC content (< 300 g/l QS 1) respectively requirements of RAL UZ 12a (Blue Angel - low-pollutant paints - QS 4) are fulfilled. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://www.dgnb.de/de/ |
| Passive house certificate | Standard for energy-efficient buildings. | Low to medium | Indirectly, focus on energy efficiency, possibly favouring environmentally friendly lacquers. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://passivhaus-info.de/de/zertifizierung/ |
| QNG (Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings) | State seal for buildings for sustainable construction | depending on application: low residual VOC emissions (AgBB scheme verification); VOC content, certain GISCODES,... | Manufacturer's declaration or emissions test depending on the component | https://www.qng.info/ |
International guidelines
Certification system / guideline | Description | Relevance for lacquer | Specific conditions for lacquer | Type of certification | Links |
| EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) | Evaluates the environmental performance of a product over its life cycle. | Very high | Detailed information on environmental impact, including production and disposal. | Product certification | https://www.environdec.com/home |
| CARB (California Air Resources Board) | Regulatory agency in California that enforces strict air quality standards. | Very high | Strict limits for VOCs in lacquers and coatings. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ |
| LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) | International system for assessing the ecological power of buildings. | High | Low VOC content, depending on the use of the coating material, maximum VOC values in g/l are | Product certification | https://www.usgbc.org/leed |
| Cradle to Cradle Certified | Evaluates products according to ecological and social power. | High | No CMR substances, own "banned list" (heavy metals, flame retardants, phthalates, halogenated polymers, chlorinated hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, organotin components (PAH)) | Product certification | https://c2ccertified.org/the-standard |
| NF Environnement | French eco-label for a variety of products. | High | Strict environmental criteria, low VOC content. | Product certification | https://marque-nf.com/nf-environnement/ |
| Green Seal (USA) | Ecolabel for products and services in the USA. | High | Low VOC content, no toxic ingredients. | Product certification | https://greenseal.org/splash/ |
| EU Ecolabel | A European Union label that awards environmentally friendly products and services. | High | Low VOC content, environmentally friendly and sustainable production processes. | Product certification required | https://eu-ecolabel.de/ |
| IED Industrial Emissions Directive | EU Directive | High | Use of solvents in production lines | https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/industrial-emissions-and-safety/industrial-emissions-directive_en | |
| Al Sa'fat - Dubai Green Building System | Guideline of the Dubai administration | High | It concerns VOC emissions in the processed, finished state. All coatings used in the building must not exceed specified limit values. | Product certification | Al Sa’fat – Dubai Green Building System (dm.gov.ae) |
| BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) | British system for assessing the sustainability of buildings. | Medium to high | Low residual VOC emissions, environmentally friendly and non-hazardous ingredients. (no heavy metals, PCB, asbestos) | Product certification | https://www.breeam.com/ |
| HQE (Haute Qualité Environnementale) | French standard for environmentally friendly buildung | Medium to high | Environmentally friendly and non-hazardous paints are preferred. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://www.hqegbc.org/qui-sommes-nous-alliance-hqe-gbc/la-certification-hqe/ |
| WELL Building Standard | Focussed on health and well-being in buildings. | Medium | Influence on indoor air quality, possibly low VOC content. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://www.wellcertified.com |
| Effinergy (incl. BBC, BEPOS) | Focussed on energy efficiency in buildings in France. | Medium | Energy-efficient buildings often favour environmentally friendly materials. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://www.effinergie.org/web/ |
| E+C- Label | Assesses the energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of buildings in France. | Medium | Focus on environmentally friendly and low-emission materials. | Manufacturer's declaration | Bâtiment à énergie positive et réduction carbone | Ministère de la Transition Écologique et de la Cohésion des Territoires (ecologie.gouv.fr) |
| Energy Star (USA) | Programme for energy efficiency in products and buildings in the USA. | Medium | Indirectly, as energy-efficient buildings often favour environmentally friendly materials. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://www.energystar.gov |
| Green Mark (UK) | Environmental standard for companies and organisations in the UK. | Medium | Focus on environmentally friendly practices, can influence the selection of environmentally friendly paints. | Manufacturer's declaration | https://greenmark.co.uk/ |
| CSS Chemical Strategy for Sustainability | Chemicals strategy for sustainability in the EU | https://cefic.org/policy-matters/chemicals-strategy-for-sustainability-css/ | |||
| CEAP Circular Economy Action Plan | Action plan for the EU circular economy | Circular economy action plan - European Commission (europa.eu) | |||
| PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) | Environmental footprint for EU products | Environmental Footprint: Der Umwelt-Fußabdruck von Produkten und Dienstleistungen | Umweltbundesamt | |||
| ZPAP (Zero-Pollution Action Plan) | Zero Pollution Action Plan | Zero Pollution Action Plan - European Commission (europa.eu) | |||
| GD Green Deal | EU framework concept: Climate-neutral continent by 2050 | https://gdorb.beis.gov.uk/ | |||
| RTS M1 (Finnish emission label) | Emission labels for building products and furniture | Emission Classification of Building Materials (rakennustieto.fi) | |||
| AgBB (Committee for the Health-Related Evaluation of Building Products) | Guidelines for the assessment of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from construction | Residual emissions over 3, 7 and 28 days, each with specific limits | Product certification | AgBB-Bewertungsschema 2021 | Umweltbundesamt | |
| Emicode mark of conformity | Monitoring of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building products | Very strict limit values | https://www.emicode.com/ | ||
| GREENGUARD | Certifying and testing of products for toxicity and emissions | GREENGUARD Certification | UL | |||
| FloorScore | Emissions / indoor air quality | Floor coverings | FloorScore® | SCS Global Services | ||
| Prop 65 (Proposition 65) aus Kalifornien | Protection from toxic chemicals | Labelling of products, certain ingredients are included on this list which are considered to be carcinogenic or reprotoxic. | https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65 | ||
| Ecolabel (Austria) | Free from substances that are harmful to the environment or health | https://www.umweltzeichen.at/de/home/start | |||
| Environmental label (Switzerland) | voluntary eco-label | 7 categories, free from substances harmful to the environment or health, VOC content | Schweizer Stiftung Farbe | ||
| Möbelfakta (Sweden) | Certification and labelling of furniture | Certain labelling not permitted (e.g. CMR) SVHC, maximum VOC content regarding application quantity must be indicated | Product certification | https://www.mobelfakta.se/about.html | |
| Natureplus | Certification of building products based on laboratory tests: Climate protection, health protection, | Free from substances that are harmful to the environment or health | https://www.natureplus.org/ | ||
| Nordic Swanen Ecolabel | Product certification: Consideration of environmental impact from preliminary products to disposal | Low VOC content, environmentally friendly and sustainable production processes. No use of certain ingredients (halogenated organic compounds, phthalates, SVHC, CMR, ...) | Product certification | https://www.nordic-swan-ecolabel.org/ | |
| LCA Life Cycle Assessment | Life cycle analysis, environmental balance, ecological balance according to ISO 14044, analysis of the environmental impact of products | European Platform on LCA | EPLCA (europa.eu) |
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