The EcoLogo program compares products/services with others of the same category, developing stringent and scientific criteria of environmental sustainability. It is one of two programs in North America that has been audited, successfully, by the Global EcoLabelling Network and meets international standards for eco-labeling. Thousands of products carry its logo and certification.

Sanitary paper products that have been certified are evaluated on the most significant environmental impacts in the products' life cycles, especially the production and processing of pulp and paper. The parameters are related to consumption of resources (materials and energy) and emissions (toxicity and wastes).

The five specific parameters that EcoLogo uses are:
1.    Resource consumption — metric tons of resource consumed per metric ton of sanitary paper produced
2.    Energy consumption — energy used to produce a metric ton of sanitary paper
3.    Chemical oxygen demand — total organic chemical in water, per metric ton of sanitary paper produced
4.    Sub-lethal toxicity — indicator of the toxicity of the mill reaching aquatic life
5.    Net solid waste — quantities diverted from and directed to the solid waste stream per metric ton of sanitary paper produced




POSTED ON: 12/6/2012