Answers to frequently asked questions
Here are answers to questions about using TCO Certified, the criteria and verification methods. If something isn’t covered, please contact us, and we’ll gladly help you. Another way to stay up-to-date is to subscribe to our newsletters.
No. A code of conduct alone does not mean that supply chain non-conformities are detected or solved. The code of conduct must also be implemented and backed up by independent verification of compliance — not just at the point of certification, but continuously over the life of the certificate. Both pre-certification verification and post certification monitoring is included in TCO Certified.
Independent verification is essential for validating sustainability claims and reducing the risk of greenwashing when using an ecolabel. Without independent verification of compliance, you can never know if the criteria are met. To be effective, independent verification must be mandatory and carried out by verifiers with no affiliation with industry, purchasers or any other interest group that could influence the test results. This is why compliance with all criteria in TCO Certified is verified by independent and accredited verification organizations, in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025.
Use our Report Generator to get data and claims specific to your portfolio of certified products. Report Generator helps you track progress in climate, substances, circularity and supply chain specifically for the certified products you buy and use.
The most effective way is to let your supplier know! Make sure to specify ahead of time that TCO Certified will be required in your upcoming procurement. For further help, contact our purchaser support team.
You can search our Product Finder for a complete listing of all certified product models.
TCO Certified and all criteria are valid globally, wherever a certified product model is sold. Criteria levels are also the same in all regions.
It’s as simple as citing “TCO Certified” in relevant procurement language: guides, product specifications and policy language. There’s no need to refer to a specific generation of criteria. Also, make sure to signal your product suppliers in advance that you intend to specify TCO Certified for your upcoming procurement. For further support, refer to our purchaser guide, Product Finder, and Report Generator.
By citing TCO Certified in your IT procurement, you’re part of a worldwide signal that promotes sustainability and directly impacts how IT products are designed and manufactured. You are also selecting products designed for greater circularity, lower climate impact, supply chain accountability and safer material content. Citing TCO Certified in procurement also puts our verification system into action, driving IT industry accountability, transparency and improvements in high-impact sustainability areas.
Criteria and verification methods are science-based and are developed in a continuous, open process with our international network of stakeholders that includes subject matter experts, users, buyers, brands, manufacturers, researchers and NGOs.
Yes. Some of the existing regulations harmonized within TCO Certified include ILO’s core conventions, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Energy Star’s energy efficiency requirements, and RoHS.
A new generation of TCO Certified is released every three years, supporting our long-term Roadmap for Sustainable IT.
TCO Certified includes a comprehensive set of sustainability criteria that cover social and environmental responsibility in the supply chain and throughout the product life cycle. Priority areas addressed by our criteria are climate, substances, circularity and supply chain.
The organization behind TCO Certified is TCO Development. We have certified IT products since 1992, beginning with user health and safety issues and have since grown to become a global sustainability certification for IT products, covering both social and environmental aspects. TCO Certified is valid worldwide and we offer market support globally. TCO Development is owned by TCO, a non-profit organization.
All certified products must be independently verified to meet all criteria in TCO Certified, and factories are independently verified and monitored throughout the life of the certificate. Certification requirements include mandatory product testing, factory risk assessments, and ongoing monitoring. All verification is handled by independent verifiers accredited in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025. Each test and verification body is reviewed regularly by TCO Development and independent, accreditation organizations.
We certify specific IT product models, not IT brands or manufacturers as a whole.
TCO Certified is a comprehensive system of rigorous sustainability criteria and independent verification of compliance that provides purchasers and the IT industry with a trusted, science-based solution for IT product sustainability. Independent testing and assessment of products and factories to ensure criteria are being met is mandatory.
TCO Certified is freely cited in IT procurement by organizations around the world as a way to identify more responsible IT product choices. The more organizations that ask for TCO Certified, the stronger the signal to the IT industry to implement sustainable change.
IT products come with a number of sustainability challenges throughout their life cycle, such as:
- Greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the production phase (Scope 3)
- Hazardous substances used in products and their manufacture.
- E-waste, resulting from short lifetimes and linear business models.
- Supply chain working conditions and environmental risks.