COMMISSION DECISION
of 24 June 2011
on establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel to lubricants
(notified under document C(2011) 4447)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/381/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (1), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,
After consulting the European Union Ecolabelling Board,
Whereas:
(1)
Under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to those products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established according to product groups.
(3)
Commission Decision 2005/360/EC (2) has established the ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for lubricants which are valid until 30 June 2011.
(4)
Those criteria have been further reviewed in light of technological developments. The new criteria, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, should be valid for 4 years from the date of adoption of this Decision
(5)
Decision 2005/360/EC should be replaced for reasons of clarity.
(6)
A transitional period should be allowed for producers whose products have been awarded the EU Ecolabel for lubricants on the basis of the criteria set out in Decision 2005/360/EC, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their products to comply with the revised criteria and requirements. Producers should also be allowed to submit applications based on the criteria set out in Decision 2005/360/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision until the lapse of validity of that Decision.
(7)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The product group ‘lubricants’ shall comprise the following categories:
Category 1
:
hydraulic fluids and tractor transmission oils
Category 2
:
greases and stern tube greases
Category 3
:
chainsaw oils, concrete release agents, wire rope lubricants, stern tube oils and other total loss lubricants
Category 4
:
two-stroke oils
Category 5
:
industrial and marine gear oils.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
‘lubricant’ means a preparation consisting of base fluids and additives;
(2)
‘basefluid’ means a lubricating fluid whose flow, ageing, lubricity and anti-wear properties, as well as its properties regarding contaminant suspension, have not been improved by the inclusion of additive(s);
(3)
‘substance’ means a chemical element and its compounds in the natural state or obtained by any production process, including any additive necessary to preserve the stability of the products and any impurity deriving from the process used, but excluding any solvent which may be separated without affecting the stability of the substance or changing its composition;
(4)
‘thickener’ means one or more substances in the base fluid used to thicken or modify the rheology of a lubricating fluid or grease;
(5)
‘main component’ means any substance accounting for more than 5 % by weight of the lubricant;
(6)
‘additive’ means a substance or mixture whose primary functions are the improvement of the flow, ageing, lubricity, anti-wear properties or of contaminant suspension;
(7)
‘grease’ means a solid to semi-solid mixture which consists of a ‘thickener’ and may include other ingredients imparting special properties in a liquid lubricant.
Article 3
In order to be awarded the EU Ecolabel under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 a product shall fall within the product group ‘lubricants’ as defined in Article 1 of this Decision and shall comply with the criteria as well as the related assessment and verification requirements set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 4
The ecological criteria for the product group ‘lubricants’, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements shall be valid for 4 years from the date of the adoption of this Decision.
Article 5
For administrative purposes, the code number assigned to the product group ‘lubricants’ shall be ‘027’.
Article 6
Decision 2005/360/EC is repealed.
Article 7
1. By derogation from Article 6, applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘lubricants’ submitted before the date of adoption of this Decision shall be evaluated in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 2005/360/EC.
2. Applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘lubricants’ submitted from the date of adoption of this Decision but by 30 June 2011 at the latest may be based either on the criteria set out in Decision 2005/360/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision. Those applications shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria on which they are based.
3. Where the EU Ecolabel is awarded on the basis of an application evaluated according to the criteria set out in Decision 2005/360/EC, that EU Ecolabel may be used for 12 months from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 24 June 2011.