GREEN SEAL STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION, GS-20
Application Form
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in GS-20, our Standard for Environmental Innovation. Recognition of products under this Standard is intended for significant benefits that do not cause transference of environmental burdens to another life-cycle stage or environmental attribute, unless it is clearly shown that significant overall benefits are achieved.For products that are not innovative, a Validation of specific benefits will be issued instead of Certification.
Green Seal will use the summary you provide on this Application form in Sections 1-4 to develop a cost estimate, timeline for certification and criteria tailored to your specific circumstances; a full description of Green Seal’s evaluation process can be found on page 2. It is recommended but not required at the Pre-Application stage to provide the information in Sections 5-7. It will be required for later stages of the certification process, however.
Applicants should document their consideration and evaluation of environmental issues, and make a case describing what environmental benefits are provided by their product and why it is environmentally innovative. Please be as thorough as possible in your responses.
Sincerely,
Green Seal
1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 827
Washington, DC 20036-5525
(202) 872-6400 • FAX (202) 872-4324
Form version 2.28.20171/11
GREEN SEAL STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION, GS-20
Application Form
CERTIFICATION PROCESS:
Project Stage / Description / Documentation Needs / FeesNon-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) / Green Seal will provide a standard NDA to enable sharing of confidential information during the project.[subject to review by applicant] / Executed Non-Disclosure Agreement / Any desired changes made to the NDA will be done at an hourly rate after one free round of edits and review.
Stage I
Pre-Application / Applicant will provide preliminary information describing the product.
Green Seal will then provide
- a cost estimate
- a tailored Application form, if necessary
- Contract for review
- CompletedPre-Application form by client (Sections 1-4 of this form)
- Client submits payment of $250
Stage I
Full Application
Establishing Criteria for Certification or Validation / Green Seal’s Science & Standards Department develops specifications that are unique to each application, setting requirements to determine performance and any environmental benefits and drawbacks.
Each applicant will then have the option to review these requirements prior to the period of public comment. /
- Applicant submits Full Application with 2/3 payment.
- Signs Stage I Contract
- Applicant provides documentation or clarifications needed to develop requirements.
Once the criteria are finalized, the applicant can decide whether to apply for a review of their application (Stage II).
Stage II
Review of Application for Certification or Validation / Green Seal’s Certification Department verifies that applicant has met all the specifications established in Stage I[1].
Certification is granted upon successful completion of Stage II /
- Sign Review Contract for Stage II with 1/3 remaining fee
- Documentation to support claims listed in Criteria
On-site audit may be required, included in fee except out-of-pocket expenses
Form version 2.28.20171/11
GREEN SEAL STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION, GS-20
Application Form
- CONTACT INFORMATION:
Standard Number:GS-20 Edition 1.0 (Dec. 23, 2014)
Standard Title: Environmental Innovation: Products, Services, Processes, and Technologies
All information is required to evaluate the pre-application and issue a price estimate.
APPLICANT INFORMATION:Contact Name & Title: / Click here to enter text. /
Phone: / Click here to enter text. /
Email: / Click here to enter text. /
COMPANY INFORMATION:
Company Affiliation: / Click here to enter text. /
Product Names & Details:
List all types of products & SKU #s
(add additional pages if necessary) / Click here to enter text. /
Website: / Click here to enter text. /
Mailing Address: / Click here to enter text. /
Income Tier:
(see table below) / Click here to enter text. /
Form version 2.28.20171/11
GREEN SEAL STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION, GS-20
Application Form
Baseline price estimate for GS-20 for general information; each pre-application will receive an individual estimated cost and expected timeline for the entire process. See greenseal.org/gs20 for full details on fees.
Tier VAnnual sales/revenue less than $5 million / Initial Evaluation / Annual Monitoring / Tier II
Annual sales/revenue $100 M to $500 M / Initial Evaluation / Annual Monitoring
$3,500 / $2,450 / $8,500 / $5,950
Tier IV
Annual sales/revenue $5 million to $20 million / Tier I
Annual sales/revenue $500 M or over
$6,000 / $4,200 / $9,500 / $6,650
Tier III
Annual sales/revenue $20 million to $100 million
$7,500 / $5,250
Form version 2.28.20171/11
GREEN SEAL STANDARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION, GS-20
Application Form
Complex Evaluations: If the application is complex or will require extensive criteria development work or more than one series of evaluations, the fee may be higher. Green Seal may require additional fees either hourly or as an added one-time evaluation fee at our discretion based on the estimated amount of additional review work that will be required.
- APPLICATION OVERVIEW:
Summary of Environmental Benefits and Innovation:
Please provide a brief overview of your product, service, process, or technology, including:
- What is the purpose or function,
- What are the environmental benefits of your product compared to competitive products that provide the same function, and
- Why you believe it is innovative.[2]
- PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Detailed description of the product, service, process or technology: / Applicant Product / Differentiation: compare to similar products that make up the majority of the market (include multiple columns for >1 product)
- Intended Function
- Components, Ingredients, Materials Used
Please Answer Yes or No to the following questions. Documentation to support these claims will be required later for Stage I(b).
- Can you provide an attestation that the company complies with all legal requirements (laws, regulations, etc.) relevant to the product/service, and all environmental, labor, and safety legal requirements? Yes/No
- Is the product commercially available with established business applications, results, and customers?Yes/No
- Are there industry standards set by an independent organization, the government, or other type of accreditation body? Yes/No
- If so, please list some of the important ones, especially those required in the industry or by regulators.
- Can you provide Technical Drawing or Photographs, Process Flow, etc.? Yes/No
- Are there management systems and quality assurance procedures that ensure that the products meet the specifications, performance requirements, and environmental impacts? Yes/No/Not Sure
- MARKET DESCRIPTION:
The environmental claims of the product will be evaluated against other products that provide the same function; therefore an understanding of the market is necessary to provide a basis for comparison. A product can be considered innovative if the applicant can demonstrate that it is not implemented widely in the market sector. This threshold of implementation will be established on a case-by-case basis, since it will vary for different categories of products.
Market and Sector: / US Market / Non-US Market(s)- Description of the relevant market (provide sufficient information to compare with products that provide the same function)
- Market size
- List top performers in the market if known.
- Provide a summary of their specifications for function and human/ environmental health, if known,
[The following Sections 5-7 are recommended but not required for Pre-Application in order for Green Seal to generate a full cost and time estimate. This information will be required to move into later stages of certification.]
- FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE:
- Key Performance Aspects:
List any known Key Performance Aspects for your product class:
- what is the function that your product provides?
- how can you demonstrate that your product provides this function?
- what specific things do you evaluate?
- what do you tell potential purchasers to convince them they should buy your product?
- how do you overcome their skepticism?
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- PROTECTION OF HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
- Environmental Benefits:
For each applicable category below, describe the Environmental Benefitsof your product. Products must meet at least one in order to be evaluated under this Standard.
Listed Environmental Benefits must be compared to products in the same class that provide similar function.
i.Unusual for the market category
In what ways, if any, does your product create increased value for better performance or environmental impacts, in ways that are different from common practice in a specific market category?
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ii.Improved technical or environmental efficiency
Describe any increasesin efficiency of the product. Does your product provide the same value with fewer resources or less environmental impact, or does it provide more value, quantity, or output with the same resources and impacts?Innovations that enable users to do things that were not possible previously may also be included here.
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iii.Alternatives to existing practice
Describe ways your product helps to avoid, reduce, or eliminate hazards to human health and environment, reduce the use of limited resources (e.g., energy, water, land), or reduce or eliminate waste and pollution discharges. Compare these alternatives to existing practice.
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iv.Converting waste materials into valuable resources
Describe ways that your product aids in converting a waste material into a valuable resource, or creates a useful resource in a way that is different from common practice.
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v.Combining technologies or processes
In what ways does your product combine technologies or processes to solve a problem without increasing environmental impacts, even if the technologies or processes being combined are themselves not unique or innovative?
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vi.Other
Are there any other qualitative measures of benefits appropriate for the sector, and under considerations specific to the category of the product/initiative?
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- Environmental Issues:
With respect to the following life-cycle stages, list any known life cycle Environmental Issues associated with your product, both positive and negative. The environmental issues you list should becompared to products in the same class that provide similar function.
i.Raw Materials
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ii.Human and Environmental Health
a.Use of Hazardous Materials
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b.Emissions to Air, Water, and Land
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c.Radiation & Noise
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d.Other
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iii.Use of Energy
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iv.Use of Water
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v.Waste Management
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vi.Other
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- INNOVATION CLAIMS:
Innovation is finding a better way of doing something by developing more effective products, services, processes, or technologies that are readily available to society. Environmentally innovative products are those that provide enhanced functional or environmental value, and are not yet implemented widely in their market sector.
Innovative initiatives can include new, groundbreaking developments, as well as significant improvements to existing practice.
Please describe why your initiative is innovative (required only for innovative applicants).
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Form version 2.28.20171/11
[1]For products that are not innovative, a Validation of specific benefits will be issued instead of Certification.
[2] Only for applications claiming innovation. Not required for applications claiming environmental benefits only.