During 25^th-26^th March 2015,  the project  successfully organized and facilitated and the “Technical Workshop on Harmonization of Type I Eco-labels in selected countries of South East Asia through Common Core Criteria (CCC)” at Swissotel Nai Lert Park Bangkok, Thailand.

The main objective of this workshop was to develop and agree on CCC for the three products multifunctional printing devices, fluorescent lamps and fiber cement board. The identified common criteria can potentially lead to Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) or Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) among Type I eco-labels in Thailand (Thai Green Label), Indonesia (Lembaga Indonesia Ekolabel), Malaysia (SIRIM Eco-Labelling Scheme) and the Philippines (Green Choice Philippines). This type of agreement enhances companies to get certified for market-relevant Type I eco-labels, as the alignment of criteria reduces costs and efforts for product certification.

During the workshop Dr. Ulf D. Jaeckel, Head of Division – Federal Ministry for Environment Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Germany  shared experiences on the challenges and cooperation of German Blue Angel with other Type I Eco-labels concerning MRA.
During the technical sessions the proposed common criteria of the three mentioned products were presented and intensively discussed with the participants, including the ambitious level and verification methods.
As a result, the participants agreed with the identified common criteria. Furthermore, the countries, especially Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia showed highly interest to have MRA on the discussed products. After the identification and the discussions on the common criteria each country came up with an action plan in order to realize the MRA. The implementation of the action plans will be followed up by the SCP4LCE project.
A second objective of this workshop was to discuss with Dr. Ulf Jaeckel for BMUB (Germany) the opportunities for further cooperation within the framework of a new project (“Advance SCP”), which will follow after SCP4LCE. Therefore a policy dialogue was organized with the representatives from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Each country gave valuable input on how the new project can support their countries needs.

The workshop was very successful with participants from governmental agencies and Type I eco-label organizations from the projects focal countries in South East Asia region. The workshop supported intensive cooperation on SCP (Sustainable Consumption and Production), GPP (Green Public Procurement) and harmonization of eco-labels among the countries in the region. This will benefit to the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

The presentations are available for downloading as below.
1) Ecolabelling-Challenges and Cooperation_Dr. Ulf Jaeckel
2) Cooperation of Type I Eco-labels through CCC and MRA_Dr. Lunchakorn P.
3) 10YFP Consumer Information Programme_Advance SCP_Dr. Ulf Jaeckel
4) Comparative study_MFD_TH MY PH
5) Comparative study_fluorescent lamps_TH MY PH
6) Comparative study_fiber cement board_TH MY PH
7) GIZTH-SCP4LCE_Harmonization Ecolabels_WS Report_25-26 March 2015