Eco-labels are voluntary schemes based on specific environmental criteria. They were created to promote companies supporting environment-friendly goods and services. They are open to all businesses and awarded in a non-discriminatory manner. Eco-labels allow consumers to choose those which have been recognised as less harmful to the environment.

Separate countries, the European Union, non-governmental organizations and manufacture groups have created many different logos and schemes of labelling and certificating. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (www.iso.org) distinguishes three types of eco-labelling:

·        ISO Type I. A system where the use of an environmental label (symbol mark) is awarded by a third-party organization in a neutral and indifferent position called the eco label steering group. The evaluation is based on a voluntary standard that takes into account the lifecycle of a product (lifetime from resource gathering to disposal). Consumer goods are usually labelled with this type. The labels of this type are called ecological labels or eco-labels.

·         ISO Type II. Claims are based on self-declarations by manufacturers or retailers. They help retailers to advertise environment friendly features of products. These claims usually inform about one aspect of a product that has effect on environment. There are numerous examples of such claims, e.g. “made from x% recycled material” or effectiveness of used energy. Self-declarations are called first-party labeling, because the reliability of it has not been confirmed by independent organization.

·        ISO Type III. Claims consist of quantified product information based on life cycle impacts. These impacts are presented in a form that facilitates comparison between products, e.g. a set of parameters. However, there is no comparing or weighting against other products inherent within the claim.

Provisions of the Article 25 of the Law on Public Procurement allow (but not require) a contracting authority laying down environmental characteristics in terms of performance or functional requirements to use the detailed specifications, or, if necessary, parts thereof, as defined by European or (multi-) national eco-labels, or by any other eco-label. Public purchasers are allowed to make use of the environmental information contained in eco-labelling schemes (and underlying the eco-label) if they meet the following conditions:

• Specifications are appropriate to define the characteristics of the supplies or services that are the object of the contract;
• Requirements for the label are drawn up on the basis of scientific information;
• Requirements for the label are adopted using a procedure in which all stakeholders, such as government bodies, consumers, manufacturers, distributors and environmental organisations, can participate;
• They are accessible to all concerned parties.

The above mentioned ISO types I and III mostly satisfy these requirements.

            Contracting authorities in the contract documents can request that products comply with underlying technical specifications, and then recognise the label as one possible (not exclusive) way for the bidder to prove compliance of its bid with the said specifications. However they cannot require that purchased products or services bear the eco-label as such, because eco-labelled products often present a small part of particular products’ market. The provisions of the Article 25 of the Law on Public Procurement require contracting authorities to accept appropriate means constituted by a technical dossier of the manufacturer or a test report by the notified body.

Notified bodies are test and calibration laboratories, and certification and inspection bodies, which comply with applicable European standards. Information on institutions accredited by Lithuanian National Accreditation Bureau is available on its internet website (http://www.nab.lt). A contracting authority should accept conformity certificates from notified bodies established in the EU Member States.