The EU Ecolabel is the official European Union voluntary label for environmental excellence. It's doing well, which is good news for businesses and consumers.

A few facts:

• The Ecolabel has become a worldwide reference for green goods and services.
• 57% of EU Ecolabel license holders are SMEs.
• More than 109 096 products and services are now available in Europe, a 7% increase since March.
• The number of awarded licenses has grown to 3 384, up by 4% since March.
• The top categories are tourist accommodation services, paints and varnishes, tissue paper and tissue products, textiles, and hard surface cleaning products.
• Italy tops the rankings with 17% of all certified products, followed by Spain (15%), France (12%) and Germany (9%).
• Denmark, Czechia, Portugal and Sweden are expanding their ecolabelled range.

The Ecolabel is good for sellers and buyers. It helps businesses boost their environmental performance, drive innovation and stay competitive. On the other side of the coin, it helps consumers cut through straight-up greenwashing and exaggerated claims and really know what it is they're buying. The EU Ecolabel is regulated by Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 and has a set of objective criteria. These criteria are geared to the best 10-20% of the products available on the EEA market in terms of environmental performance - so the bar is being set pretty high. They look at the main environmental impacts of the product and its technical performance, including health, safety, social and ethical aspects. Hazardous substances should be replaced by safer ones and durability, reusability, recyclability and recycled content of products are key factors. The criteria are revised frequently as technology and product design do not stand still. Companies awarded the label are monitored for ongoing compliance.

The Ecolabel is a strong driver of the circular economy: it supports products and services that have a lower environmental impact and are energy efficient, durable and repairable.

To learn more, take a look at all of the latest facts and figures now and watch the video on why public procurers should choose EU Ecolabel certified products

Do you want to be a part of the initiative to grow and green your business by joining the EU Ecolabel scheme? Learn more about all the product groups and criteria.