TCO Certified celebrates 20th anniversary. Continues to move IT industry in a more sustainable direction.

In a landmark achievement for the advancement of Sustainable IT, TCO Development today marks the 20th Anniversary of TCO Certified, the international sustainability certification for IT products.

TCO Certified began in 1992 as a single certification – TCO’92 – focusing on user health & safety and aimed at reducing the energy consumption and electro-magnetic emissions from computer displays.

The program has now grown to include seven IT product categories and a broad spectrum of criteria, ensuring that the manufacturing, use and recycling of IT products is carried out with regard to environmental, social and economic responsibility. From the beginning TCO Certified has played an important role in influencing the IT industry and the development of displays and computer products.

Sören Enholm, CEO of TCO Development, commented on the 20-year milestone: “Making sure that our IT products and their manufacturing processes are more sustainable is more important than ever. We use more devices now than ever before, which places a greater challenge on industry to deliver products that meet buyer sustainability demands throughout the life cycle.”

Used by purchasers, environmental managers and other policymakers all over the world, TCO Certified has become a powerful influencer of the IT industry and sustainable product development. A cornerstone of the program’s development is the ongoing stakeholder dialog with buyers, industry, environmental professionals, independent experts and decision makers worldwide.

Enholm concludes: “We are undeniably proud of how TCO Certified has evolved into a sustainability certification and that we continue to influence both IT product design and the IT industry as a whole”

Among the key achievements of TCO Certified to date:

• Contributed to the first energy saving “sleep mode” function in computer displays
• Drove industry to minimize electro-magnetic emissions from displays, resulting in zero static emissions and 24 times lower magnetic emissions today.
• First certification to require a reduction in hazardous material content of IT products, such as lead, cadmium, mercury and the 1992 restriction of chlorinated and brominated flame retardants.
• Initiated requirements for eliminating ozone-depleting CFCs from IT production.
• First certification program to combine criteria for low energy consumption and high performance display image.
• First environmental certification to require IT manufacturers to demonstrate socially responsible production practices, resulting in greater transparency, improved working conditions and a more open dialog with industry.
• Over 8700 TCO Certified product models worldwide.