Singapore’s most recognised ecolabel, the Green Label, which is administered by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), received a global boost with its election into the Global Ecolabelling Network’s (GEN) Board on 29 October 2015.
This is the first time an ecolabelling body from Singapore sits on the board of an international ecolabelling network of 29 countries.
“On behalf of SEC, we are pleased to be given the privilege and opportunity to serve as a GEN’s Board Member and contribute towards the globalisation of ecolabelling. GEN has seen fantastic and impactful growth and outreach in recent years as reflected in the ever-increasing traffic to its website and membership enquiries. The growing invitations to GEN to participate in stakeholder engagements at various levels recognises GEN as an important partner in environmentalism. I look forward to working with GEN Board to foster greater co-operation with other ecolabelling programmes and encourage green procurement and green consumerism,” said Mr Edwin Seah, Executive Director of SEC.
Six other board of directors include representatives from Denmark (Chairman), Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Taiwan and China. The election took place at the 2015 GEN Annual General Meeting in Hong Kong on 29 October 2015.
The Green Label was officially accredited by GEN, an international non-profit association of third-party, environmental performance recognition, certification and labelling organisations in 2011. This independent accreditation from a global authority on eco-labelling sets the Green Label apart as Singapore’s main international eco-labelling scheme.
SEC had a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Environmental United Certification Center in 2014, and a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the Japan Environment Association (JEA) recently signed on 28 October 2015. This is to promote each other’s eco-certification and green best practices, both members of GEN.
About the Singapore Environment Council
Established in 1995, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) is an independently managed, non-profit and non-government organisation (NGO). We influence thinking on sustainability issues and coordinate environmental efforts in Singapore.
We are also an approved charity and offer tax exemption to donors. SEC continuously engages all sectors of the community by formulating and executing a range of holistic programmes, such as the Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards, Asian Environmental Journalism Awards, School Green Awards, Singapore Green Labelling Scheme, Project: Eco-Office, Project: Eco-Shop and Project: F&B. In addition, we build a pool of committed volunteers under our Earth Helpers programme.
The SEC has also incorporated a new Training & Education arm to provide the people, public and private sectors with the opportunity to develop awareness, knowledge, skills and tools in order to protect and improve our environment for a sustainable future.
Strong partnerships with corporations, government agencies and other NGOs are valued by us. These partnerships are vital for sustaining our programmes, leading to positive action and change. Over the years, SEC has given strength and direction to the environmental movement in Singapore. For more information, please visit: http://sec.org.sg/web/
About the Global Ecolabelling Network
The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is a non-profit association of Type-1 ecolabelling organizations as defined by the ISO 14024 standard. Type-1 programs are voluntary, their standards address multiple environmental criteria across the life cycle of the product or service and, most importantly, they are transparent in their development process and employ independent, third-party verification. GEN currently has twenty-nine associate members operating ecolabelling programs around the world. To access a recent list of member organizations and their representatives. For more information, please visit their website: http://www.globalecolabelling.net/
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