TCO has released the criteria draft for the next version of the TCO Certified approval – which is generation 8. The latest version (there is a new one every three years) focuses on the full product life cycle and aims to encourage the IT industry to move further towards sustainability.
Andreas Rehn, Certification Manager at TCO Development, said
“We see a trend where design is prioritized higher than durability and function which lead to a shorter life span for IT products. E-waste is the world’s fastest growing waste stream today. It’s more important than ever to handle the sustainability risks that IT products bring.
However, there is a positive development in that brand owners increasingly take responsibility for sustainability issues. Being able to offer certified products that are independently verified to meet sustainability criteria is a competitive advantage. Many organizations procuring IT products want to be environmentally and socially responsible and meet national and international sustainability goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals”, in a way that they can stand behind.”
The certification is available for eight product categories: displays, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, desktops, all-in-one PCs, projectors and headsets. In this version, as many as possible of the criteria have been applied to each of the categories to make it easier for brands to cover multiple products.
Industry and other interested stakeholders have until May 31 to comment on the proposed new and updated criteria and TCO is conducting events in in Taipei, Shanghai and Shenzhen (China) and Yokohama (Japan) to explain the development.
