Do Green Certifications Address Sustainable Cleaning Products?

Do your certifications take into account sustainable initiatives like manufacturer processing, transportation or disposal?

We offer a variety of standards that products can be certified to. All of them are science driven, life-cycle based, and robust stakeholder developed.  The requirements differ by standard, and our key ones do include performance requirements. Our new Sanitary Papers Standard does include manufacturing processing (GHG, chemicals used, water discharge, etc.). It is always best to review the applicable standard, and to compare it to others available for a product so that you know the key differences and the benefits those differences provide.
— Mike Sawchuk, Commercial Sector Business Manager, UL Environment, Marietta, Georgia


Our standards address those portions of the life cycle of a product that are under the control of the manufacturers, and that have significant impacts on human health and the environment. The life-cycle stages of processing, transportation, and disposal are included in our different standards as appropriate for the specific product or service.

For example, our standards for paper products set requirements for processing without the use of chlorine and heavy metals, or establish limits for the amount of energy and water that can be used per ton of final product. Similarly, most of our standards require product labels to have explicit instructions for proper disposal, recycling, reuse, or refill, and require training materials on the proper use of the product to be provided by the product manufacturer, its distributor, or a third party.

The transportation of products is an important life cycle stage. However, transportation is usually not under the full control of the product manufacturers, and is very difficult to verify for certification. Requirements for transportation are included in some of our service standards, where transportation may be a major impact area. Additionally, transportation is indirectly included in key standards that require products to be concentrated. Concentrating products reduces the amount of water added at the factory, the volume and weight that need to be transported, and the number of vehicles required to transport the products.
— Linda Chipperfield, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Green Seal, Washington D.C.



Do you foresee certifications like that coming in the future (or being added as criteria to your certifications?)

As current standards are reviewed and enhanced, or new ones developed, yes the scope of requirements will grow. Our standards are intended to represent the leaders, typically the top 20 percent – not just a set a bare minimum.
— Mike Sawchuk, Commercial Sector Business Manager, UL Environment, Marietta, Georgia


Yes, sustainable initiatives will continue to be incorporated into Green Seal’s standards where they are found to cause significant impacts on human and environmental health.
— Linda Chipperfield, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Green Seal, Washington D.C.