Global Ecolabelling Network Sustainability Profile

Who is GEN and why the world needs us

The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is the leading network of the world’s most credible and robust ecolabels. We are a non-profit organisation and together we set the global benchmark for ecolabel excellence.

Purchasing a product certified by a GEN ecolabel member is a vote for the right kind of future- a future where care for people and planet is embedded into everything we make, do and consume.

GEN membership – how GEN membership works – levels of membership
GEN Full and Associate members offer certified green products and services. They operate Type 1 ecolabelling programmes and develop standards in an open, public, and transparent process.

GEN Full members run an ISO 14024 ecolabelling scheme and have successfully completed GENICES- our peer review assessment. ( see below)

Associate members are on the way to becoming a full member. They run an ecolabelling scheme and cover full aspects of the life cycle but have yet to complete GENICES.

And last but not least, we have our affiliate members.

They are supportive partners and organisations that believe and share in our mission but do not run an ecolabelling scheme themselves.

They are an important part of our ecosystem and theory of change.

There are five roles that Full and Associate GEN Members must fulfil in order to fulfill the GEN requirements. They are:

Set and publish environmental criteria
Certify products and services with lower environmental impact than comparable products/services
Provide information, advice and technical assistance to organisations contemplating or developing ecolabelling programmes
Disseminate information to the public
Represent the interests of ecolabelling in various international meetings and events
Local and regional conditions do create differences in criteria and product categories among the membership however, all ISO 14024 standards or criteria address multiple environmental attributes and address key issues such as toxicity, air quality, energy use, recyclability, VOCs, carcinogens and other concerns.

Our members use life cycle thinking to develop standards which minimise environmental impacts across the whole entire life cycle of a product or service, from raw material extraction right through to use and eventual disposal or breakdown.

Have you heard of circular economy solutions? Ecolabelling delivers just that.