Environmentally friendly

Environmentally friendly, environment-friendly, eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green are ambiguous terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict reduced, minimal, or no harm at all, upon ecosystems or the environment. Companies sometimes use these terms to make environmental marketing claims when promoting goods and services, for example with eco-labels. Doing so is sometimes referred to as greenwashing.

The International Organization for Standardization has developed ISO 14020 and ISO 14024 to establish principles and procedures for environmental labels and declarations that certifiers and eco-labellers should follow. In particular, these standards relate to the avoidance of financial conflicts of interest, the use of sound scientific methods and accepted test procedures, and openness and transparency in the setting of standards.

Europe


Products located in members of the European Union can use the EU's Eco-label pending the EU's approval. EMAS is another EU label that signifies whether an organization management is green as opposed to the product. Germany also uses the Blue Angel, based on Germany's standard.

North America
In the United States, environmental marketing claims require caution. Ambiguous titles such as environmentally friendly can be confusing without a specific definition; some regulators are providing guidance.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has deemed this language useless in determining whether a product is truly "green".

In Canada, one label is that of the Environmental Choice Program. Created in 1988, only products approved by the program are allowed to display the label.

Oceania
The Energy Rating Label is a Type III label that provides information on "energy service per unit of energy consumption". It was first created in 1986, but negotiations led to a redesign in 2000.

International
Energy Star is a program with a primary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Star has different sections for different nations or areas, including the United States, the European Union and Australia. The program, which was founded in the United States, also exists in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan.