– Frequently asked questions for industry

Answers to frequently asked questions

Find answers to questions about TCO Certified, criteria, application process 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 Technical Update newsletter.

Verification of compliance

Without independent verification of compliance, you can never know if the criteria are met. To test and audit products and their manufacturing facilities, extensive resources and technical expertise are needed. For credible results, it is also important that the verifiers have 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.

With TCO Certified, compliance with all criteria is independently verified by accredited experts. They spend more than 20,000 hours on product testing and supply chain assessments each year. Verification is mandatory and continuous — it is carried out both before and after certification, throughout the certificate’s validity period.

However, finding sustainability issues is only the first step on the way to more sustainable practices. We ensure progress by holding the industry accountable for also solving the issues. TCO Certified includes a structured system for continuous improvements and guides the industry to more sustainable ways of working. Corrective action plans must be developed and implemented within a set timeframe. Non-compliance is met with real consequences — certificates can be removed and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.

Learn more about verification of compliance

Criteria for socially responsible manufacturing were introduced in 2009 and developed further in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021. Since then, the engagement from brand owners has increased, leading to measurable, positive effects in the factories. Demand for certified products by purchasing organizations is a key factor in achieving actual improvements.

The independent verification of compliance that is included in TCO Certified is a crucial aspect in driving positive development. All identified cases of non-compliance must be corrected, which is followed up continuously. If necessary corrections are not made within a reasonable time and with satisfying results, the certificate can be withdrawn and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.

Read more about our impact in our latest progress report: Impacts and Insights.

Certification process

Getting your products certified according to TCO Certified is an effective way of meeting the growing demand for more sustainable products and taking greater social and environmental responsibility. Our system for verification and continuous improvement helps you structure your work with sustainability, and communicate your progress in a credible way.

Learn more about the benefits

Start with reviewing the criteria, then sign a contract with us and contact an approved verification organization. The verifier then tests the product and reviews the social and environmental documentation. When all the documents and the product sample are delivered to the verification organization, the certification process generally takes three to five weeks.

Read our step-by-step guide.

Generally, the certification process takes between three and five weeks, once the product sample and all the documents are delivered to the independent verifier. Assuming all the correct test and verification reports are in place, the process can take as little as two weeks. It can also take longer if the brand owner needs to make a lot of improvements in order to meet the criteria in TCO Certified.

A certificate is valid for two years from the date of issue, with the option to extend for one year at a time. Once the generation of TCO Certified that your product model is certified to is no longer valid, the certificate will expire automatically, if it’s not upgraded to the latest generation.

A representative product sample must be sent to an approved verification organization for testing. The social and environmental documentation must also be reviewed by an approved verifier.

Independent verification organizations

Compliance with criteria is always independently verified. Each year, accredited experts spend more than 20,000 hours on product testing and supply chain assessments. Verification includes product tests, factory audits, brand owner assessments, and follow-up. This solid process ensures fair competition and helps you communicate your sustainability progress in a credible way.

Learn more about independent verification in TCO Certified.

No. Audits must be independent, conducted by organizations accredited to ISO 17021 and carried out by SA8000 or RBA lead auditors. An independent party is considered to be a person or body that is recognized as being impartial of the parties involved, regarding the issue in question. After the audit, the audit report and the corrective action plan are verified by independent and accredited verification organizations.

We’re driving change where it is needed the most by categorizing factories depending on risk and requiring audits more often in high-risk factories than in low-risk factories. Risk category 1 is audited every 12 months, risk category 2 every 24 months, risk category 3 every 36 months. For details, please refer to the clarification in chapter 2.1.2 in any of the criteria documents for TCO Certified, generation 9.

The brand owner must submit the following to an approved social verifier at one of the approved verification organizations for verification:

  • Public code of conduct
  • Proof of supply chain communications about code of conduct
  • List of all final assembly factories manufacturing certified products
  • An independent audit report from a final assembly factory manufacturing certified models
  • Corrective action plan for all non-conformities
  • Supply Chain Identification Template for risk assessment of next tier major suppliers
  • Responsibly sourced minerals template
  • Process chemical data collection tool
  • Self-assessment questionnaire, covering their anti-bribery management system and assessment of their supplier engagement.

We definitely encourage you to use the TCO Certified brand in your communications related to certified products. The demand for more sustainable IT products is growing and offering certified products will help you compete in the growing market for more sustainable IT products.

Our brand book includes guidance on how to speak and write about TCO Certified and how and when you can use the TCO Certified logo. You are always welcome to contact us for more details.

Our brand book includes guidance on how to speak and write about TCO Certified and how and when you can use the TCO Certified logotype. You are always welcome to contact us for more details.

A new generation of TCO Certified is released every three years. When a new generation is launched, products can no longer be certified to the previous generation.

A certificate has a limited validity period: it is valid for two years from the date of issue, with the option to extend for one year at a time. Find a complete listing of all products that are currently certified at our Product Finder.

Products may no longer be promoted as certified according to TCO Certified once the certificate expires or the generation of criteria is discontinued.

Current generation of TCO Certified
All product categories can be certified to TCO Certified, generation 9 from December 2021 to December 2024.

The manufacturer can handle the application process but the brand owner must also be involved. For example, it is the brand owner’s responsibility to submit the necessary documentation related to socially responsible manufacturing criteria on an annual basis. Both the brand owner and the manufacturer need to sign an agreement with TCO Development.

About TCO Certified

IT products come with a number of sustainability challenges throughout their life cycle:

  • Human rights violations occur in the factories.
  • Hazardous substances are used both in products and their manufacture.
  • Products can often have a shorter life span because of poor ergonomics, low quality and when they are not able to be repaired or upgraded.

TCO Certified is the world’s most comprehensive sustainability certification for IT products. Criteria in TCO Certified drive social and environmental sustainability throughout the IT product life cycle and compliance is independently verified, both pre and post certification. TCO Certified is available for 12 product categories: displays, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, desktops, all-in-one PCs, projectors, headsets, imaging equipment, network equipment, data storage products and servers.

The purpose of TCO Certified is to drive progress toward more sustainable IT products. Organizations that buy IT products can use TCO Certified as a tool for specifying relevant and current sustainability criteria. The certification also helps the IT industry structure their work with sustainability and offers a platform for continuous improvement.

It means that the criteria in TCO Certified cover both environmental and social responsibility criteria throughout the product life cycle, and that the certification meets the requirements of an ISO 14024, Type 1 Ecolabel. Independent verification organizations review and verify that products meet all criteria in TCO Certified. Criteria and verification methods are science-based and are developed in an open process with our international network of stakeholders.

Learn more about TCO Certified

We certify specific product models. Brands cannot be certified.

The certification system in TCO Certified is regularly reviewed, both internally and externally, for accuracy and consistency with the principles in ISO 14024 for Type 1 Ecolabelling. The system has also been assessed by the Global Ecolabelling Network as part of the GENICES peer review process.

All verification of criteria is handled by independent verifiers accredited in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025. Each test and verification body is reviewed regularly, both by TCO Development and independent accreditation organizations.

No. As TCO Certified is a complete sustainability certification, all certified product models have been verified to meet the full set of criteria for that category. TCO Certified Edge is a supplemental certification that can be added to certified models, for those leading edge products showing superior performance in select sustainability criteria.

No. The correct name of the certification is “TCO Certified”. This name should be used consistently wherever the certification is mentioned. “TCO label” refers to earlier generations and is obsolete. Our brand book offers guidance on how to use the TCO Certified brand correctly, including terminology and general facts.

The organization behind TCO Certified is TCO Development. We have worked with independent certification of IT products since 1992, and are based in Stockholm, Sweden with regional presence in other parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Our purchaser support team offers help on all markets globally, in eight different languages. TCO Development is owned by TCO, a non-profit organization.

Learn more about us

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Criteria in TCO Certified

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. Criteria go beyond legislation and industry standards and cover hazardous substances, circularity, socially responsible manufacturing, environmentally responsible manufacturing, and much more. To drive incremental change and push sustainability where it matters most, a new generation of criteria is released every three years. All criteria are mandatory — certified product models must meet all criteria.

Learn more about the criteria in TCO Certified.

To create long-term sustainability benefits, criteria must be up-to-date, challenging and possible to meet and verify. We regularly evaluate which criteria are most important for driving real sustainability progress. A new generation of TCO Certified is released every three years, to meet new sustainability challenges and keep pace with advances in technology.

Learn more about the criteria in TCO Certified.

Criteria cover local labor laws, ILO’s core conventions, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Energy Star’s energy efficiency requirements and go beyond RoHS to regulate hazardous substances.

Criteria and verification methods are science-based and are developed in an open process with our international network of stakeholders that includes users, buyers, brands, manufacturers, researchers, NGOs and subject matter experts.

Subscribe to our newsletters to stay up to date with our criteria development process.

To make it possible for purchasing organizations to help drive incremental change and push sustainability where it matters most, a new generation of TCO Certified is released every three years. This allows us to address the most pressing sustainability challenges and stay current with the latest technology developments.

TCO Certified, generation 9 was launched in December, 2021. The next generation of criteria and verification methods will be ready three years after this launch, by the end of 2024.