Safer chemicals, more circular solutions, and improved transparency. With new and updated criteria, TCO Certified now helps IT purchasers take another step in environmental and supply chain social sustainability.
IT products come with a large number of sustainability risks from raw material extraction to final assembly and throughout the life cycle. However, new and updated criteria in TCO Certified, generation 9 allow for critical next steps to reduce these risks.
Improved criteria in several areas
To improve social responsibility in the supply chain, transparency about sub-suppliers is required in TCO Certified, generation 9. Criteria for anti-corruption and mineral sourcing are strengthened, and we move forward to enable circular IT solutions with more ambitious criteria aimed at extending the life of IT products, promoting material recovery, and reducing e-waste. Our ground-breaking system for safer alternatives to hazardous substances is also expanded to include process chemicals used in the manufacture of IT products.
Helping purchasers avoid greenwash
To make sure that all criteria in TCO Certified are being met, independent verifiers spend more than 20,000 hours each year on product testing and supply chain assessments. Non-compliances are met with real consequences — certificates can be removed and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products. This way, purchasers can make more informed purchasing decisions, and reduce the risk of greenwashing.
An easy-to-use tool with real impact
The majority of the sustainability impact happens in the supply chain where it is hidden from the purchaser’s view. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for a single organization to manage the sustainability risks in IT procurement by itself. TCO Certified is an easy tool for purchasers that is free to use. It gives purchasers the power to drive the IT industry toward more sustainable practices without having deep knowledge within this field, or a network of experts that have access to factories all over the world. Criteria in TCO Certified are designed to drive change where it matters most, and purchasers asking for TCO Certified is the signal that sets the process in motion.
Wide choice of certified products available
More and more purchasers demand sustainably manufactured IT products and there has been a great interest in TCO Certified, generation 9 also from the IT industry. Thousands of products from well-known brands are already certified, and more are added continuously. Find them all at our Product Finder.
