Indian Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change Notifies Draft for Ecomark Rules

On 11 October 2023, India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified the draft Ecomark Certification Rules, 2023. The final day for comments is 60 days from the date of notification. These rules apply to all products produced or supplied for distribution, or use in the market, unless otherwise excluded under the Ecomark Certification Rules. 

Introduction: 

The Ecomark Certification Rules, 2023 ('the Ecomark Rules') provide for the labelling of products designed to minimize their environmental impact. The primary objective is to encourage consumer acceptance of such products and to motivate manufacturers to move towards producing Ecomark certified products, thereby promoting sustainability. 

The Ecomark Rules aim to promote environmentally friendly products and ensure the level of environmental performance of such products in terms of consumption of resources and environmental effects. This includes effects on climate change, effects on nature and biodiversity, energy consumption, waste production, discharges into all environments, pollution caused by physical effects and the use and release of hazardous substances. 

The Ecomark Rules will provide labels for products that meet approved environmental criteria. 

Purpose: 

The purpose of the Ecomark Rules is to increase demand for environmentally friendly products that have less negative environmental impacts, in line with the principles of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment). The rules promote resource efficiency and the circular economy and aim to prevent misleading information on the environmental aspects of products. 

The following are the key objectives of the Ecomark Rules: 

1. To raise consumer awareness regarding environmental issues and the consequences of their choices, thereby encouraging a shift towards more environmentally friendly behaviors and consumption patterns. 

2. To encourage manufacturers to switch to the production of Ecomark certified products. 

3. Take measures to avoid deceptive or misleading information about the fraudulent use of the EcoMark label.