ECMA-370 - The Eco Declaration

1. Download the ECMA-370 standard: Access the free ECMA-370 standard document from the Ecma International website (ecma-international.org). Review the full specification to understand the required data fields and measurement methods.

1. Identify applicable profiles: Determine which profiles apply to your situation — the company environmental profile (covering corporate-level environmental policies and programs) and the product environmental profile (covering specific product attributes).

1. Gather product environmental data: Collect the necessary data for your product(s), including energy consumption figures, materials content, restricted substances compliance, packaging details, and end-of-life handling information. Ensure data is measured using the methods prescribed in the standard.

1. Complete the Eco Declaration template: Fill in the standardized declaration template provided within the ECMA-370 standard. Use the prescribed format and data fields to ensure comparability with other manufacturers' declarations.

1. Review for accuracy and completeness: Internally review the completed declaration to verify that all data is accurate, up to date, and consistent with the measurement methods specified in the standard.

1. Publish and distribute your declaration: Make the completed Eco Declaration available to customers, procurement bodies, and other stakeholders — typically via your product documentation, website, or in response to procurement requests.

1. Update as needed: Revisit and update your declaration whenever the product specifications change materially or when Ecma International publishes a new version of the ECMA-370 standard.

ECMA-370 organizes environmental disclosure into two primary profile types, each covering distinct aspects of environmental performance.

The Company Environmental Profile captures organization-level environmental attributes, including the manufacturer's environmental management system (e.g., ISO 14001 certification status), corporate environmental policies, take-back and recycling programs, and general commitments to environmental performance improvement.

The Product Environmental Profile is the core of the declaration and covers multiple categories: Energy Consumption (typical energy use in operational modes such as active, idle, sleep, and off modes, measured in watts or kilowatt-hours); Materials Content (weight and composition of the product, including plastics, metals, and other materials); Restricted and Hazardous Substances (compliance with regulations such as RoHS and REACH, and disclosure of substances of concern); Packaging (materials used, recyclability, and weight of packaging); End-of-Life (take-back programs, recyclability percentages, and disposal guidance); and Regulatory Compliance (confirmation of compliance with applicable environmental regulations in target markets).

All data fields must be populated using measurement methods and units specified within the ECMA-370 standard itself, ensuring that declarations from different manufacturers are directly comparable. The standard does not set minimum performance thresholds — it is a disclosure framework, not a performance benchmark.

ECMA-370 occupies a niche but important role in the ICT and consumer electronics industry as one of the few internationally standardized formats for self-declared product environmental disclosures. It is widely used by major global technology manufacturers — including companies such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple — particularly when responding to enterprise and government procurement requirements that demand structured environmental product data. The standard is especially prevalent in European and North American B2B procurement contexts, where buyers increasingly require documented environmental performance data as part of vendor qualification.

However, ECMA-370 faces growing competition from third-party verified schemes such as EPEAT and TCO Certified, which offer independent verification and carry more weight with sustainability-conscious buyers who are skeptical of self-declared claims. The rise of mandatory environmental disclosure regulations in the EU — including the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the EU Digital Product Passport initiative — may either reinforce the relevance of structured disclosure formats like ECMA-370 or eventually supersede them with regulatory-mandated alternatives. The standard's lack of third-party verification is its primary limitation in a market increasingly demanding credible, audited environmental claims.

Ecma International periodically revises ECMA-370 to keep pace with evolving regulations and measurement standards, which helps maintain its relevance. Adoption is concentrated among large OEMs and tier-one suppliers; smaller manufacturers are less likely to invest in completing declarations unless required by a specific customer or procurement process. Overall, demand for structured environmental product data is growing, but the competitive landscape is shifting toward verified certifications rather than self-declared frameworks.

ECMA-370, known as the Eco Declaration, was first published by Ecma International in 1996, making it one of the earliest standardized frameworks for environmental disclosure in the ICT and consumer electronics industry. It was developed in response to growing demand from enterprise and government buyers for a consistent, comparable way to evaluate the environmental attributes of technology products — at a time when manufacturers were producing a wide variety of incompatible environmental data sheets with no common format or methodology.

Ecma International, a nonprofit standards organization founded in 1961 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, developed ECMA-370 through its technical committee process, drawing on input from major technology manufacturers and industry stakeholders. The standard has been revised multiple times since its initial publication to reflect changes in environmental regulations (such as RoHS and REACH), evolving measurement methodologies, and new product categories. It remains a living standard, with Ecma International continuing to update it as the regulatory and technological landscape evolves. The Eco Declaration has been adopted by many of the world's largest ICT manufacturers as a baseline format for environmental product communication in global markets.