UAE | Environment

Abu Dhabi launches labelling for green products

Trustmark certifies compliance to environmental standards

By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Published: 21:13 August 18, 2012

Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council will give Trustmark for Environmental Performance to water fixtures.

Abu Dhabi: Environmentally-conscious residents can soon easily identify green products in the market thanks to a new label issued by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC).

The QCC, which is responsible for the development of quality infrastructure and raising awareness on quality in Abu Dhabi, has announced the launch of “Trustmark for Environmental Performance”.

It is a new application of the Abu Dhabi Trustmark that certifies products for compliance to environmental and sustainability standards.

Gaining the Trustmark for Environmental Performance is voluntary, officials said.

Products that do not bear the certification can still be sold in the market despite not meeting the Trustmark’s sustainability criteria. However, product recall and action can be taken towards products that prove to be unsafe.

Hussain Salem Al Katheeri, Secretary-General, QCC, said that the Abu Dhabi Trustmark for Environmental Performance indicates that certified products perform with certain environmental stewardship.

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To begin with, the council will give the Trustmark to six water fixtures, based on water flow rate, to ensure the efficient use of water in public and private bathroom taps, shower heads, kitchen faucets, bidets, urinals, and toilets.

Currently, domestic usage accounts for approximately 33 per cent of the water consumption within the emirate. And it may be recalled that Abu Dhabi has the highest per-capita water consumption rate in the world — 550 litres per day — whereas the global average is 350 litres.

The Trustmark is given to water faucets under the water efficient fixtures conformity scheme.

The scheme, developed through consultation with regulators and industry leaders, presents suppliers of water fixtures with an opportunity to obtain voluntary certification of products that meet Abu Dhabi’s Plumbing Code set by the Department of Municipal Affairs, and the Urban Planning Council’s sustainability criteria Estidama.

A conformity scheme is a documented programme outlining the process of certification by the QCC.

The document outlines the method of acquiring certification, detailing the standards and equivalencies, application requirements, testing regime, as well as the certification process.

The QCC started receiving application for the new Trustmark about two months ago and so far about 10 applications have been received, a senior official told Gulf News on the side-lines of the press conference.

“The applications received are from manufacturers of water fixtures. We will gradually develop schemes for other products as well ,” said Salem Bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Senior Specialist – Conformity Scheme Services, QCC.

Products that achieve certification through testing against the environmental criteria of the QCC will be granted the right to use the Trustmark for Environmental Performance in product packaging, promotion and merchandising.

Currently, applying and gaining the certification is available free of charge.

The QCC was established in 2009 to raise the quality of Abu Dhabi’s exports and products traded locally, while protecting the interest of the emirate’s consumers and supporting its competitive economy. This is achieved through enabling regulators to establish and implement product safety, legal metrology and conformity schemes. QCC also sets guidelines and benchmarks to identify and verify that the products manufactured and traded in the emirate conform to the highest quality standards.

For more information on QCC’s certification process, requirements and criteria, please visit www.qcc.abudhabi.ae

Comments (1)

Added 09:56 August 19, 2012

This is the sort of initiative that establishes UAE as a responsible nation. QCC will raise the safety, quality, value, visibility and "green credentials" of products being traded within the region.

Anthony Wilkinson, Dubai, United Arab Emirates