Eco-Lighthouse is a Norwegian environmental management certification scheme, operated by the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation in Kristiansand. About 7700 Norwegian private and public organisations are certified, mostly SMEs. The objective is to achieve and document continuous improvement using the Plan-Do-Check-Act-cycle. Since 2017, the Eco-Lighthouse scheme is recognized by the EU to be equivalent to EMAS and ISO 14001 in public procurement.
History
In 1996, Kristiansand Municipality started a project together with local enterprises in order to operate more environmentally friendly. The project inspired several other municipalities in Norway to start similar projects. A key factor for success was extensive collaboration with important national actors.
From 2000 Eco-Lighthouse (in Norwegian "Miljøfyrtårn") was driven as a 3-year national project with financial support of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Evaluations of this project were positive. In 2003 the non-profit Eco-Lighthouse Foundation was established by the following parties:
Enterprise Federation of Norway
Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
Norwegian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities
Innovation Norway
The county municipalities of Buskerud and Nordland
The municipalities of Bergen, Drammen, Haram, Kristiansand, Larvik, Oslo, Ringsaker, Stavanger, Tromsø, Trondheim and Ålesund.
Due to membership in the European Economic Area, a new law for public procurement had to come into effect in Norway in 2017. This meant that Directive 2014/24/EU article 62.2 on environmental management systems was to be incorporated in Norwegian law. In principle, only environmental certification according to the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) or ISO 14001 would qualify in public procurement. National systems like the Eco-Lighthouse would only be allowed when approved according to Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009, i.e. when recognized to comply with EMAS requirements.
Without such approval, the about 5000 Eco-Lighthouse certified organizations would not be allowed to participate in public bids in Norway. In 2015 the Eco-Lighthouse foundation therefore started the process to achieve EMAS recognition. The Directorate-General for the Environment in Brussels led the process on behalf of the EU.
The application process took two-and-a-half years and was performed in good cooperation with the Directorate. Collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise ensured that Eco-Lighthouse remained a valid certification scheme in 2017 while the application process was still proceeding. Recognition was obtained on the 6th of December 2017.
Afterwards, the number of new Eco-Lighthouse certifications has increased every year. The scheme is updated and extended regularly with emphasis on industries with large indirect environmental impact like designers and banks.
Description of the scheme
In order to certify as an Eco-Lighthouse, an organisation has to comply with one or more sets of governance and environmental criteria. All organisations have to comply with the general industry criteria and to relevant sets of industry-specific criteria.
The Eco-Lighthouse Foundation is the organiser of the scheme. Most municipalities in Norway are paying members and act as certifying bodies. The actual certification is performed by certifiers trained and approved by the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation. The language of the scheme is Norwegian and it is adapted to Norwegian law.
Organisation
The Eco-Lighthouse certification is managed by the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation. However, the certifying body is the municipality where the organisation applying for certification is resident. Most Norwegian municipalities are paying members of the scheme. As certifying body, they control which certifiers are allowed to operate in the municipality. However, the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation trains and approves all certifiers and subjects all certifications to a quality control before issuing the diploma.
Organisations are obliged to hire a certified Eco-Lighthouse consultant for the first-time certification process. They are free to choose which consultant to use and the extent of the support by this consultant. Eco-Lighthouse certifiers are often also approved as consultants, but cannot perform both roles for the same organisation.
A more detailed description of the roles: