Edition 2 /January 2005

CEN Guide 4

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in
product standards
















CEN Guide 4 was adopted by the CEN Technical Board through resolution BT
C108/2004.

CEN Guide 4 Guide for the inclusion of environmental
aspects in product standards



Edition 2 /January 2005









European Committee for Standardization

Rue de Stassartstraat, 36
B 1050 Brussels

Tel: +32 2 550 08 11
Fax: +32 2 550 08 19

www.cenorm.be
CEN Guide 4 Guide for the inclusion of environmental
aspects in product standards
Edition 2 / January 2005
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Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in
product standards

Foreword

In comparison with the 1998 edition of CEN Guide 4, this revised Guide includes support and
guidance for developing CEN Environmental Sector Guides.

The need for Environmental Sector Guides has emerged from the decision by CEN members
to perform environmental assessment in product standardization (BT Resolution 71/1998).
Hopefully this Guide will increase the quality of these environmental assessments and should
provide a good basis for preparing environmental Guides for different product related sectors.

The idea is to use the relevant parts of this Guide directly as well as the CEN Environmental
Guidelines, so that the Sector Guide can be a stand-alone document (whereas the Sector
Guide for e.g. the health sector is written as a supplementary document to CEN Guide 4
(1998)).

In addition to the general requirements in the former CEN Guide 4, this revised Guide
provides the structure and the basic content for Sector Guides and also proposes how and
where to include the CEN Environmental Guidelines and the Environmental Checklist from
CEN/BOSS. The additional information to the relevant clauses is given in informative
helpboxes.

Further help for integrating environmental aspects into standards and for developing
Environmental Sector Guides is available at the CEN Environmental Help-Desk on
Standardization, which can be contacted through:

http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/workarea/advisory+bodies/environmental+helpdesk/environme
ntal+helpdesk.asp.
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Introduction

Every product has some impact on the environment during its manufacture, distribution, use or
disposal. These impacts may range from slight to significant; they may be short-term or long-
term; and they may occur at the global, regional or local level. Provisions in product standards
may have a significant influence on the extent of these environmental impacts.

Helpbox Introduction

For Sector Guides, the following introduction may be appropriate:

"This document is a Guide to assess environmental aspects of standards within the sector.
The aim is to provide a helpful tool for people involved in standardization who are not
necessarily environmental experts. This Environmental Sector Guide can be used by the TCs
and WGs within the sector as a tool to take the potential environmental aspects related to their
standards into account."

Further text should be provided with information on the sector and the sector environmental
group.


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1 Scope

1.1 This Guide provides guidance on the consideration and inclusion of environmental impacts
in product standards. It is intended for standard writers; its purpose is

a) to describe the environmental aspects in product standards;

b) to outline the relationship between product standards and the environment;

c) to help avoid provisions in product standards that may lead to adverse environmental
impacts;

d) to emphasize that addressing environmental aspects during the development of
product standards is a complex process and requires balancing competing priorities;

e) to recommend the use of life-cycle thinking and recognized scientific techniques when
addressing environmental aspects of a product being standardized.


1.2 In order to achieve the purposes listed in 1.1, this Guide

a) sets forth some general considerations that should be taken into account when
developing product standards that achieve a proper balance between product function
and environmental impacts;

b) outlines ways in which provisions in product standards may affect the environment
during the stages of a product's life cycle;

c) addresses techniques for identifying and assessing the environmental impacts of
provisions in product standards;

d) highlights some ways to reduce adverse environmental impacts resulting from
provisions in product standards.

To reflect the diversity of environmental impacts that products can have, this Guide may
need to be supplemented by Sector Guides.


NOTE CEN BOSS (Business Operations Support System) also gives information on when, how and by
whom environmental aspects should be considered during the standards development process.
See http://www.cenorm.be/boss/supporting/guidance+documents/gd050+-
+environmental+aspects+in+standards/index.asp


Helpbox Scope

For the designing of Sector Guides in general further notes could be relevant.
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2. References

prEN ISO 14001 - Environmental management systems - Requirements with guidance for use
(estimated publication in 2005)

ISO 14040 - Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and Framework
(expected to be split into two parts)

ISO/TR 14062 - Environmental management Integrating environmental aspects into product
design and development

ISO/IEC Guide 2 - Standardization and related activities - General vocabulary

ISO Guide 64 - Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product
standards

IEC Guide 109 - Environmental aspects - Inclusion in electrotechnical product standards


Helpbox References

For Sector Guides, always be aware of adding references relevant to the specific product
group in addition to the general references named above. This may include European
Directives and Regulations of any importance.
Information and text of European Directives may be obtained from the following web-site:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html




3 Definitions

For the purposes of this Guide, the following definitions apply.

3.1 standard writer
any person taking part in the preparation of standards

3.2 environmental aspect
element of an organization's activities or products or services that can interact with the
environment

NOTE A significant environmental aspect has or can have a significant environmental impact.

[prEN ISO 14001]

3.3 environmental impact
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any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting
from an organization's environmental aspects
[prEN ISO 14001]

3.4 life cycle
consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or
generation of natural resources to the final disposal
[ISO 14040]

3.5 prevention of pollution
use of processes, practices, techniques, materials, products, services or energy to avoid,
reduce or control (separately or in combination) the creation, emission or discharge of any
type of pollutant or waste, in order to reduce adverse environmental impacts

NOTE Prevention of pollution can include source reduction or elimination, process, product or service
changes, efficient use of resources, material and energy substitution, reuse, recovery, recycling,
reclamation and treatment.

[prEN ISO 14001]

3.6 product standard
standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a product or a group of products, to
establish its fitness for purpose

NOTE 1 A product standard may include in addition to the fitness for purpose requirements, directly or
by reference, aspects such as terminology, sampling, testing, packaging and labeling and, sometimes,
processing requirements.

NOTE 2 A product standard can be either complete or not, according to whether it specifies all or only
a part of the necessary requirements. In this respect, one may differentiate between standards such as
dimensional, material and technical delivery standards.

[ISO/IEC Guide 2]

Helpbox Definitions

For Sector Guides, additional definitions should be considered, depending on the product
group.



4. General considerations

4.1 Every product has some impact on the environment. These impacts may occur at any or
all stages of the product's life cycle and can be local, regional or global, or a combination of all
three.

4.2 Anticipating or identifying a product's environmental impacts is complex and agreement is
occasionally lacking on environmental cause-and-effect relationships. Attempts to address a
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given environmental impact may have consequences at any or all of the stages of a product's
life cycle.

4.3 Despite the difficulties involved, a product's environmental impacts should be considered
when product standards are developed. Prevention of pollution, resource conservation and
other ways to reduce adverse environmental impacts should be considered. The intended use
and reasonably foreseeable misuse of a product should also be considered.

4.4 A product's environmental impacts should be balanced against other factors, such as
product function, performance, safety and health, cost, marketability and quality; legal and
regulatory requirements have to be met.

4.5 Because the rate of innovation is high, review of product standards should be considered
whenever the adverse environmental impacts might be significantly reduced by the application
of new knowledge.

4.6 Provisions in product standards that are too restrictive may have the unintended effect of
stifling innovation and environmental improvements.



5 Influence of provisions in product standards on the
environment

5.1 In developing product standards, it is important to recognize how products can affect the
environment at different stages of their life cycle. The specific provisions of the product
standard will, to some extent, determine the relevant environmental aspects peculiar to the
product covered by the standard. In order to avoid excessive or inefficient material or energy
use, provisions should be no more stringent than necessary to achieve the product's purpose
throughout its expected life. Conversely, provisions that are unduly lax may force the product
to be frequently replaced.

5.2 When specifying requirements, such as descriptive requirements or performance
requirements, provisions in product standards affect the choices made during the design and
production of a new or improved product. For example, during all stages of the product's life
cycle these choices can influence

a) the inputs and outputs associated with production processes;
b) the inputs and outputs associated with packaging, transportation, distribution and use;
c) the options for reuse and recovery, including recycling or energy recovery of the product, as
well as its ease of disassembly, repair and restoration;
d) the options for disposal of the product and associated waste.

5.3 The impacts these choices have on the environment will vary from product to product. All
products will not necessarily affect the environment equally at all stages of their life cycle.

5.4 Because a product's environmental impacts are usually interrelated, an arbitrary emphasis
on a single environmental impact may alter environmental impacts at other stages of the
product's life cycle or in other aspects of the local, regional or global environment.

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Helpbox Influence of provision in products standards on the environment

In order to identify the main environmental influences, it is essential in Sector Guides to
describe more purposive and precise where in the product group the major environmental
aspects could be. In this context it is advisable to use examples from the specific product
group. For this purpose it is advisable to use the relation diagram (figure 1) and the CEN
Environmental Checklist (see clause 7.4).

In this section it should be described which provisions in the product standards for the given
area will most likely influence the environmental impact of the product. Examples will often be
a valuable help.



6 Inputs and outputs to be considered in the development of
product standards

6.1 A product's environmental impacts are largely determined by the inputs that are used and
the outputs that are generated at all stages of the product's life cycle. Changing any single
input, either to alter the materials and energy used, or to influence a single output, may affect
other inputs and outputs (see figure 1).

6.2 Inputs fall into two broad categories: materials and energy.

6.2.1 Material inputs to the raw material acquisition, manufacturing, transportation (including
packaging and storage), use/maintenance, reuse/recycling, and disposal of products can
produce a variety of environmental impacts. Material inputs used in product development
should also be considered. These impacts can include depletion of renewable and non-
renewable resources, detrimental land use, and environmental or human exposure to
hazardous materials. Material inputs can also contribute to the generation of waste, emissions
to air, effluents to water, and other releases.

Helpbox Material Input

Materials will always be an essential environmental issue, and should be carefully described in
a Sector Guide. It is advisable to use the Checklist for addressing environmental aspects, for
every product group (described below). Emphasis should be made to the possibilities for use
of recycled materials, of recycling of the materials when the product is discarded (inclusive the
need to specify provisions that allow for easy disassembly of the product after end use) and
on potential environmental risks during end disposal.


6.2.2 Energy inputs are required at most stages of a product's life cycle. Energy sources
include fossil fuels, nuclear, recovered waste, hydroelectric, geothermal, solar and wind
energy, and other sources. Each energy source has its own set of environmental impacts.

Helpbox Energy Input

Energy is most often a significant environmental aspect and often an aspect that can be dealt
with in standards. If the products within the sector have significant energy consumption during
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use, the Sector Guide should address the issue and how it can be dealt with. One example is
to establish classes of energy consumption to allow easy comparison between products.


6.3 Outputs generated during a product's life cycle generally comprise the product itself,
intermediates and by-products, air emissions, water effluents, waste materials and other
releases.

6.3.1 Air emissions comprise releases of gases or vapours or particulate matter to the air.
Releases of toxic, corrosive, flammable, explosive, acidic or odorous substances may
adversely affect flora, fauna, human beings, buildings, etc., or contribute to other
environmental impacts such as depletion of stratospheric ozone or formation of smog. Air
emissions include releases from point as well as diffuse sources, treated as well as untreated
releases, and releases from normal operation as well as accidental releases.

Helpbox Emissions to Air

Especially if there are any emissions during usage of the product, the issue should be dealt
with in the Sector Guide. Provisions in the standards should aim at minimizing the emissions
from the products and the Sector Guide can give examples on how this can be done. Another
possibility is to establish classes for different levels of emissions to allow easy comparison
between products.


6.3.2 Water effluents comprise the discharge of substances to a watercourse, either surface or
groundwater. The discharge of nutrients or toxic, corrosive, radioactive, persistent,
accumulating or oxygen-depleting substances may give rise to adverse environmental.7
impacts including various pollution effects on aquatic ecosystems and undesirable
eutrophication of natural waters. Water effluents include discharges from point as well as
diffuse sources, treated as well as untreated discharges, and discharges from normal
operation as well as accidental discharges.

Helpbox Emissions to water

Especially if there are any emissions during usage of the product, the issue should be dealt
with in the Sector Guide. Provisions in the standards should aim at minimizing the emissions
from the products and the Sector Guide can give examples on how this can be done. Another
possibility is to establish classes for different levels of emissions to allow easy comparison
between products.


6.3.3 Waste materials comprise solid or liquid materials or products, which are disposed of.
Waste materials may be produced at all stages of a product's life cycle. Waste materials are
subject to recycling, energy recovery, treatment or disposal techniques associated with further
inputs and outputs, which may contribute to adverse environmental impacts.

Helpbox Recycling, Energy Recovery and Waste

The Sector Guide should address the following issues:

1. The possibilities for use of recycled materials.
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2. The possibilities of recycling/energy recovery of the materials when the product is discarded
(including the need to specify provisions that allow for easy disassembly of the product after
end use).
3. The potential environmental risks during recycling, energy recovery or end disposal.


6.3.4 Other releases may encompass emissions to soil, noise and vibration, radiation and
waste heat.

Helpbox Other Releases

Especially if there are any potential releases during usage of the product, the issue should be
dealt with in the Sector Guide. Provisions in the standards should aim at minimizing the
potential releases from the products and the Sector Guide can give examples on how this can
be done.


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Figure 1. Conceptual relationship between provisions in product standards and the
environmental impacts associated with the product during its lifecycle [ISO Guide 64]

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Helpbox Figure 1

It is recommended for every product group to use the figure above, in order to visualize
the environmental aspects. With this in mind use the CEN Environmental Checklist (see
clause 7.4) for further investigation of the environmental aspects.



7 Techniques for identifying and assessing environmental
impacts

7.1 Accurate identification and assessment of how provisions in product standards influence
the product's environmental impacts is complex and needs careful consideration and may
need consultation with experts. Certain techniques are evolving to Guide the identification and
assessment of a products environmental impacts. Although a complete understanding of
these techniques and their limitations requires extensive experience and study of the
environmental sciences, awareness of them offers some general understanding of how
provisions in product standards may influence a product's environmental impacts.

7.2 One example of such techniques, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), is the subject of
standardization by ISO/TC 207/SC 5.

LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated
with a product, by
- compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs of a system;
- evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs;
- interpreting the results of the inventory and impact phases in relation to the objectives of the
study.

LCA studies the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout a product's life (i.e.
cradle-to-grave) from raw material acquisition through production, use and disposal. The
general categories of environmental impacts needing consideration include resource use,
human health, and ecological consequences.

LCA can assist in
- identifying opportunities to improve the environmental aspects of products at various points
in their life cycle;
- decision-making in industry, governmental or non-governmental organizations (e.g. strategic
planning, priority setting, product or process design or redesign);
- selection of relevant indicators of environmental performance, including measurement
techniques; and
- marketing (e.g. an environmental claim, ecolabelling scheme or environmental product
declaration)

7.3 The respective relevance and value of the technique used to identify and assess a
product's environmental impacts will vary depending upon the product and the product sector
involved. Incomplete or distorted pictures of the environmental impacts and trade-offs
associated with a product may result whenever a technique is applied improperly or in an
abbreviated form.

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Helpbox Techniques

The above methods for identification and assessment of environmental impacts are general.
Furthermore, this issue is very critical for the success, and it can often be difficult to cope with
for non-environmental experts. Therefore, the Sector Guide should address the issue very
thoroughly and if possible identify the most significant environmental aspects for the
product groups within the sector. Another possibility is to provide more specific tools for this
purpose that can easily be adapted by the TCs and WGs in the sector. Examples will be of
great value in this place. If adequate information of this kind is provided, clause 7.2-7.4 can be
excluded from the Sector Guide.

For accurate identification and assessment of environmental impacts it could be useful to
consult an expert within this field.


7.4 Use of the CEN Environmental Checklist
The CEN Environmental Checklist provides an easy tool for a quick overview of the
environmental aspects of a standard. The Checklist can be found together with the
Environmental Guidelines in CEN/BOSS:
In Annex A, it is described in detail, how the Checklist should be applied.



8. Relationship of product standards to strategies and techniques
for environmental improvement

8.1 General considerations
Provisions in product standards may both facilitate and hamper environmental improvement.
Unless necessary for important reasons (e.g. health, safety or performance of the product),
standards should, whenever possible, avoid specifying materials to be used in products.
Specifying materials may preclude innovation and the development of new ways of reducing
adverse environmental impacts through the use of alternative materials. For instance,
provisions in product standards should not preclude the appropriate use of secondary or
recycled materials. If materials are to be specified, consideration should be given to how the
use of the specified material will affect the environment at all stages of the products life cycle.

In the context of writing product standards, strategies and techniques for environmental
improvement may be represented by resource conservation, prevention of pollution and
design for the environment.

If it may not be possible to avoid the description of certain materials in every case, the
description should detain a reference to a given legislation. As an example, the use of
some materials could be justified where use is due to health and safety.

8.2 Resource conservation

8.2.1 Beside the environmental impacts associated with resource acquisition and use,
resource depletion is of great interest environmentally. Resource depletion refers to the
process of diminishing stocks of natural resources. Usually, the less of a particular resource
that is depleted, the better.
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Renewable resources can be replenished at significant rates. Examples include most
biological populations, such as timber resources and soil fertility. Human activity can affect the
rate of replenishment of biological populations and lead to serious declines.

In the case of non-renewable resources, the likelihood of replenishment is low in comparison
with human lifespan. For example, mineral deposits, fossil fuels and biological diversity can be
considered as non-renewable resources.

8.2.2 There are several considerations associated with the conservation of energy. Among
these are the environmental impacts of various sources of energy, the conversion efficiency of
a selected source, and the efficient use of energy. Substantial environmental trade-offs may
exist between energy sources.

8.3 Prevention of pollution

8.3.1 Human and industrial activities result in releases to air, land and/or water. There are
several generally accepted means of reducing these releases, including source reduction,
material substitution, in-process recycling, reuse, recycling, and treatments to reduce hazards
and/or volume.

8.3.2 There are various types of releases, which may lead to environmental impacts about
which there is currently no international consensus on characterization and evaluation. Such
concerns include climate change, ozone depletion, habitat alteration, impacts on biological
diversity and other long-term impacts. When addressing these issues, standard writers should
consider sector-specific expertise and precautionary approaches.

8.4 Design for the environment
Evolving techniques, such as design for the environment (DFE), that include elements of
resource conservation and prevention of pollution are being applied in various product sectors.
When developing product standards, standard writers should be aware of these techniques.
For example, DFE incorporates approaches, which are part of product concept, need and
design. Considerations involve material selection, material and energy efficiency, reuse,
maintainability, and design for disassembly and recyclability.

Attention is drawn to the ISO 14000 series, which provides information on environmental
management systems and Guidelines to the integration of environmental aspects into product
standards.

Especially attention should be drawn to ISO/TR 14062 Environmental management
Integration of environmental aspects in product development and design. This document
provide valuable information on DFE principles including strategy, management and the
product development and design process.

Helpbox Design for Environment

If any sector specific strategies for DFE can be identified, it should be addressed at this place.
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Annex A Checklist addressing environmental aspects

TEMPORARY CHECKLIST ON ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS IN THE STANDARD


This temporary Environmental Checklist should be attached to all working draft starting from
stage 32 and to all prEN, including during CEN Enquiry and Formal Vote. The purpose is to
explain whether the proposal covers environmental aspects, and if so, how they are dealt with
in the draft. The EN will be published without the Environmental Checklist.



Document number (if available): prEN number
Title:
CEN/TC number/SC number
Work Item number
Version of the Environmental Checklist: number
Date of last modification of the Environmental Checklist: Date

NOTE The matrix provided in this Environmental Checklist suits particularly product standards. For
standards other than product standards, it may be difficult or even not possible to use it. In such cases,
the Environmental Checklist will contain just an explanation of the situation.


Complete the matrix in the following way:

Identify each environmental aspect relevant to the product without assessing its
relationship to the draft standard.

1. Fill each box with "yes" (if there is an environmental aspect) or "no" (if there is no significant
environmental aspect or if the box is not relevant).
2. For each box with a "yes", identify whether this environmental aspect can be addressed in
the standard. Mark these boxes with three asterisks (***).
3. Write the number of the standard clauses where the environmental aspects are addressed,
in the appropriate boxes.
4. Use the box "Comments" for providing any additional information. A short description of
each environmental aspect (boxes filled with "yes") and how they are addressed (or why they
are not) can be given here.
5. When assessing various environmental aspects during the life cycle of a product, it is
essential to avoid shifting of environmental burden from one life cycle phase to another, or
from one medium to another.

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Matrix

Environmental aspects
(Inputs and Outputs)
Product life-cycle
Production
and Pre-
production
Distribution
(including
packaging)
Use End of life
A B C D
1 Resource use
2 Energy con-
sumption

3 Emission to air
4 Emission to
water

5 Waste
6 Noise
7 Migration of
hazardous
substances

8 Impacts on soil
9 Risks to the
environment
from accidents or
misuse



Comments:

(The comments on the draft standard from the CEN Environmental Helpdesk and the TC reply
to these comments may be included here)



The matrix can be downloaded from the following website:
http://www.cenorm.be/boss/supporting/guidance+documents/gd050+-
+environmental+aspects+in+standards/fo051envcheck.doc.

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Helpbox Checklist

Examples like the one below can be included in the Sector Guide.