Nch cen

CEN Guide 4
Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

CEN Guide 4 was adopted by the CEN Technical Board through resolution BT C108/2004.

Edition 2 /January 2005

CEN Guide 4

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

European Committee for Standardization

Rue de Stassartstraat, 36 B – 1050 Brussels

Tel: +32 2 550 08 11Fax: +32 2 550 08 19

www.cenorm.be

Edition 2 /January 2005

CEN Guide 4

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards
Foreword
In comparison with the 1998 edition of CEN Guide 4, this revised Guide includes support and guidance for developing CEN Environmental Sector Guides. The need forEnvironmental Sector Guides has emerged from the decision by CEN members to perform environmental assessment in product standardization (BT Resolution 71/1998). Hopefully this Guide will increase the quality of these environmental assessments and should provide a good basis for preparing environmental Guides for different product related sectors. The idea is to use the relevant parts of this Guidedirectly as well as the CEN Environmental Guidelines, so that the Sector Guide can be a stand-alone document (whereas the Sector Guide for e.g. the health sector is written as a supplementary document to CEN Guide 4 (1998)). In addition to the general requirements in the former CEN Guide 4, this revised Guide provides the structure and the basic content for Sector Guides and also proposes how andwhere to include the CEN Environmental Guidelines and the Environmental Checklist from CEN/BOSS. The additional information to the relevant clauses is given in informative helpboxes. Further help for integrating environmental aspects into standards and for developing Environmental Sector Guides is available at the CEN Environmental Help-Desk on Standardization, which can be contacted through:http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/workarea/advisory+bodies/environmental+helpdesk/environme ntal+helpdesk.asp.

Edition 2 / January 2005 Page 3

CEN Guide 4

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

Introduction
Every product has some impact on the environment during its manufacture, distribution, use or disposal. These impacts may range from slight to significant;they may be short-term or longterm; and they may occur at the global, regional or local level. Provisions in product standards may have a significant influence on the extent of these environmental impacts. Helpbox Introduction For Sector Guides, the following introduction may be appropriate: "This document is a Guide to assess environmental aspects of standards within the sector. The aim is toprovide a helpful tool for people involved in standardization who are not necessarily environmental experts. This Environmental Sector Guide can be used by the TCs and WGs within the sector as a tool to take the potential environmental aspects related to their standards into account." Further text should be provided with information on the sector and the sector environmental group.

Edition 2 /January 2005 Page 4

CEN Guide 4

Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

1 Scope
1.1 This Guide provides guidance on the consideration and inclusion of environmental impacts in product standards. It is intended for standard writers; its purpose is a) b) c) to describe the environmental aspects in product standards; to outline the relationship between productstandards and the environment; to help avoid provisions in product standards that may lead to adverse environmental impacts; to emphasize that addressing environmental aspects during the development of product standards is a complex process and requires balancing competing priorities; to recommend the use of life-cycle thinking and recognized scientific techniques when addressing environmental...