– Verification of compliance
20,000 hours of independent verification each year
With TCO Certified, all criteria are mandatory and compliance is always independently verified. Each year, accredited experts spend more than 20,000 hours on product testing and supply chain assessments. Verification is carried out both before and after certification, throughout the certificate’s validity period.
All criteria are mandatory
With TCO Certified, there are no loopholes. Certified products must comply with all criteria for its product category, without exceptions, which is always verified by independent experts.
Compliance throughout the certificate’s lifespan
Certified products and the factories where they are made must comply with the criteria in TCO Certified during the certificate’s full validity period. Products, factories and brand owners are followed up with spot checks based on risk assessments.
Non-compliances are met with real consequences
The brand owner is by contract responsible for ensuring that certified products and the factories where they are made meet all criteria in TCO Certified. Non-compliance is met with real consequences — certificates can be removed and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.
Verification organizations you can trust
The independent verification organizations that we use specialize in IT products, social responsibility or other sustainability issues. All test facilities are accredited to ISO 17025.
How verification is done
Product testing by independent verifier
The product is tested by an independent verifier to ensure that it meets the product characteristics criteria in TCO Certified.
Independent factory audit
Factories are audited to assess compliance with the criteria for socially responsible manufacturing. High-risk factories are audited more frequently.
Brand owner assessment
A code of conduct that meets our criteria for socially responsible manufacturing must be implemented throughout the supply chain.
Compliance of environmental criteria
Independent verification to make sure that products and manufacturing facilities comply with our environmental criteria.
Social audits at least every three years
Brand owners must provide proof that social audits are carried out at least once every three years at final assembly factories.
Corrective action plans
For each non-compliance, a corrective action plan is set up. Issues must be solved within a set timeframe.
Continued monitoring
To ensure that certified products continue to meet the criteria in TCO Certified, we review all brand owners once a year. Spot checks are made at factories, and a random sample of products are re-tested each year.
TCO Certified and verification organizations are also reviewed
To make sure that the certification and independent verification is accurate, both TCO Certified and the verifiers are inspected regularly. This is how it’s done.
Review of our certification system
Our certification system is regularly reviewed, both internally and externally, for accuracy and consistency with the principles in ISO 14024 for Type 1 Ecolabelling. The processes have also been assessed by the Global Ecolabelling Network as part of the GENICES peer review process.
Review of the verification organizations
All verifiers must deliver completely accurate and comparable results. They are therefore reviewed regularly, both by TCO Development and by independent accreditation organizations, according to ISO/IEC 17025.
