UL Environment Revises and Combines ECOLOGO® Printing Services Standard

MARIETTA, Ga., May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), today launched its revised ECOLOGO third-party environmental standard for printing services. The revised standard combines and consolidates two former ECOLOGO standards – Lithographic Printing Services (CCD 041) and Digital Printing Services (CCD 141) – and includes new criteria aimed at reducing risk to human and environmental health during the printing process.

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"We believe that a more harmonized Printing Services Standard is in the best interest of our customers, as it facilitates the certification process and minimizes the potential for confusion," says Angela Griffiths, director of research and service delivery at UL Environment. "Additionally, the inclusion of new health-based and environmental criteria means that manufacturers whose products earn certification to the standard can tout this achievement to the marketplace and bolster their position as environmental leaders."

Specifically, the standard's health-based criteria state that ECOLOGO Certified printing services may not contain hazardous substances in concentrations proven to have carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or reproductive and developmental effects according to the European Union Directive 1272 (2008). See the standard online for further health-based conditions.

Other additions to the standard (UL 2803) include strict requirements on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to better protect indoor air quality, criteria for biodegradability to mitigate impacts on waterways and other environments, and use of recycled content in cardboard packaging to reduce resource consumption.

ECOLOGO Certifications are voluntary, multi-attribute, lifecycle based environmental certifications that indicate representative samples of a product have undergone rigorous scientific testing, exhaustive auditing, or both, to demonstrate compliance with stringent, third-party, environmental performance standards.

Printing services covered under this standard include lithographic – heatset web, non-heatset web (non-newspapers and newspapers), and sheetfed – and digital – laser operations, ink-jet operations, and digital publishing operations.

To learn more about UL 2803, to participate in a complimentary webinar on the standard on May 23 at 1 p.m. EDT, or to inquire about initiating the certification process, visit www.ul.com/environment. To download a free copy of the standard, visit www.comm-2000.com.

About UL Environment
UL Environment works to advance global sustainability, environmental health, and safety by supporting the growth and development of environmentally preferable products, services, and organizations. We help companies achieve their sustainability goals—and help purchasers, specifiers, retailers, governments, and consumers find products they can trust. UL Environment offers environmental claim validations, multi-attribute product certifications, environmental product declarations, indoor air quality certification, product emissions testing, organizational sustainability certification, and consulting. For more information, visit www.ul.com/environment.

About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 118 years of history. Employing more than 10,000 professionals with customers in over 100 countries, UL has five distinct business units – Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge Services, and Verification Services – to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. For more information on UL's family of companies and network of 95 laboratory, testing, and certification facilities, go to UL.com.

SOURCE UL Environment