Green Policies, Regulations & Standards

Green Seal Certification is a voluntary third-party ecolabel for products, services, and spaces that meet Green Seal’s health, environmental, sustainability, and performance standards. Green Seal certifies individual products, services, and spaces rather than entire companies. Its standards cover categories such as cleaning products, paints and coatings, commercial cleaning services, residential cleaning services, and hotels and lodging properties. Green Seal’s standards evaluate impacts across the product or service life cycle, including raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, use, and disposal. The certification helps buyers identify products and services that meet defined environmental leadership criteria.

ISO 14024 is the international standard that defines how Type I environmental labelling (ecolabelling) programs should be developed, operated, and verified. Rather than certifying individual products directly, the standard establishes requirements for ecolabel schemes that award labels to products or services meeting predefined environmental criteria. ISO 14024 promotes life cycle thinking, independent third-party verification, transparency, and stakeholder participation. It is widely used as the foundation for ecolabel programs such as the EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan, and Blue Angel, helping purchasers and consumers identify products with comparatively lower environmental impacts.

ISO 14020 is an international standard that establishes the principles and general requirements for product-related environmental statements and environmental statement programmes. Rather than defining specific environmental labels or claims, it provides the overarching framework for communicating environmental information in a credible, transparent, and verifiable manner. The standard applies to self-declared environmental claims, ecolabels, environmental product declarations (EPDs), and footprint communications. It is intended to reduce misleading environmental claims and improve consistency across environmental communication while serving as the foundation for the wider ISO 14020 family of standards.

The Environmental Code underpins nearly all environmental regulation in Sweden. It provides the legal basis for permitting, enforcement, and liability across climate-relevant sectors such as energy, industry, waste, and infrastructure.

Denmark enforces ambient air quality standards aligned with EU rules, requiring monitoring, mitigation, and action plans where limits are exceeded. While enforcement focuses on systemic improvement, operators contributing significantly to pollution may face restrictions or permit tightening. Non-compliance typically involves failure to implement mitigation measures in exceedance areas.

Portugal’s Decree-Law 119/2019 establishes the legal regime for producing reclaimed water (ApR) from wastewater treatment and regulating its use to protect health and the environment. It creates an authorisation and control framework for operators producing and distributing ApR and for end users, supported by quality and risk management requirements linked to the intended uses (such as irrigation, urban, and industrial applications). Compliance risk concentrates on authorisation sequencing and continuous monitoring: supplying reclaimed water without the correct title or with poor quality and risk controls can trigger suspension and corrective enforcement actions.

Portugal’s waste and EPR framework obliges producers to finance and organise the management of waste arising from their products, covering packaging, electronics, batteries, and other regulated streams. Compliance requires registration, reporting, and payment of eco-fees, as well as meeting recycling and recovery targets. Enforcement is active, and non-compliance can lead to fines and loss of market access. EPR obligations are a core operational and cost factor for companies selling products in Portugal.

Portugal’s Framework Climate Law establishes climate neutrality by 2050 and a binding 55 percent emissions reduction target by 2030. It requires climate objectives to be integrated across public policies, planning and investment decisions, supported by national mitigation and adaptation strategies. While it does not impose direct emissions caps on private companies, it strongly shapes sectoral regulation and permitting. Enforcement relies on administrative control, judicial review, and policy accountability rather than fines, making climate alignment a material legal and strategic consideration for public authorities and regulated sectors.

Portugal’s building energy performance regime under Decree-Law 101-D/2020 sets minimum requirements for new buildings and major renovations and operates the Energy Certification System (SCE). Energy certificates are mandatory for sale and lease transactions and must be issued by qualified experts under regulated procedures. Compliance risk is highest in real estate transactions and certification practices, where missing, expired, or inaccurate certificates can trigger administrative fines and corrective measures. The framework is central to Portugal’s energy efficiency and renovation strategy and increasingly relevant for building owners, developers, and property market actors.

Sweden’s Energy Taxation Act anchors the country’s long-running use of energy and carbon dioxide taxes to reduce emissions, especially outside the EU ETS. It is compliance-heavy for fuel and energy supply chains because eligibility for exemptions or reduced rates depends on precise categorisation, recordkeeping, and correct procedural handling.