CSA Preface This is the second edition of CAN/CSA-ISO 14020, Environmental labels and declarations - General principles , which is an adoption without modification of the identically titled ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Standard 14020 (second edition, 2000-09-15). It supersedes the previous edition published in 1999 as CAN/CSA-ISO 14020 (adopted ISO 14020:1998). This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group. Introduction Environmental labels and declarations are one of the tools of environmental management, which is the subject of the ISO 14000 series. Environmental labels and declarations provide information about a product or service in terms of its overall environmental character, a specific environmental aspect, or any number of aspects. Purchasers and potential purchasers can use this information in choosing the products or services they desire based on environmental, as well as other, considerations. The provider of the product or service hopes the environmental label or declaration will be effective in influencing the purchasing decision in favour of its product or service. If the environmental label or declaration has this effect, the market share of the product or service can increase and other providers may respond by improving the environmental aspects of their products or services to enable them to use environmental labels or make environmental declarations, resulting in reduced environmental stress from that product or service category. Scope This International Standard establishes guiding principles for the development and use of environmental labels and declarations. It is intended that other applicable standards in the ISO 14020 series be used in conjunction with this International Standard. This International Standard is not intended for use as a specification for certification and registration purposes. NOTE Other International Standards in the series are intended to be consistent with the principles set forth in this International Standard. Other standards currently in the ISO 14020 series are ISO 14021, ISO 14024 and ISO/TR 14025 (see Bibliography).