Green Seal

Green Seal® is a global nonprofit committed to making sustainability everyone’s business.

About Green Seal

Green Seal® is a global nonprofit committed to making sustainability everyone’s business. The ecolabelling movement we pioneered decades ago has helped people make informed purchasing decisions and driven the marketplace toward healthier, greener choices. Hundreds of the world’s leading companies carry our certification on their products, services, and spaces to quickly signal how they’ve met a high benchmark of health and environmental leadership. Look for, partner with, and lean on Green Seal, so you can make healthier, safer choices with confidence. Connect with Green Seal on X and LinkedIn.

Mission

To protect human health and the environment by accelerating the adoption of products that are safer and more sustainable.

Vision

To make safer, more sustainable products the norm.

Values

Integrity: Our ability to transform markets depends on the trust we build within our stakeholder community. Acting with integrity in everything we do ensures that we foster confidence in our efforts to accelerate the adoption of products that prioritize human health and environmental wellbeing.

Ownership: We embrace personal accountability as the cornerstone of how we conduct our work. Each of us takes ownership not only of our individual roles but also of the collective responsibility to achieve our organization’s mission.

Excellence: Striving for excellence guides our actions and outcomes. We are committed to excellence in all aspects of our work, setting high standards to ensure the effectiveness and impact of our mission.

Caring: We approach our mission with a genuine sense of care for the well-being of people and the environment. Caring is at the heart of our efforts, driving us to make choices and take actions that contribute to a healthier, more sustainable world.

Continuous Learning: By fostering a culture of continuous learning, we inspire creativity and the sharing of innovative ideas that contribute to the company’s growth and our mission’s success. Our dedication to continuous learning is a catalyst for progress, as it empowers our team members to stay ahead, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive meaningful change.

Governance

Board of Directors

Green Seal is governed by a Board of Directors that guides strategic direction and oversees the organization’s finances, while monitoring progress to ensure Green Seal meets its short- and long- term objectives. The Board of Directors meets 4 times a year and has a maximum of 15 members.

Members are chosen for their expertise and support for Green Seal, with membership balanced with representatives from sectors relevant to Green Seal’s mission and operations. Directors serve a 3-year term, with a maximum of 2 consecutive terms, or a third additional consecutive term to serve as an Officer. See the current members of our Board of Directors here. 

The Board of Directors Committees include: 

  • The Audit Committee, which reviews the results of an independent audit on Green Seal’s finances and presents the audited annual financial statement to the Board.
  • The Executive Committee, which is comprised of the Board Officers and exercises all of the powers of the Board of Directors during intervals between meetings of the Board.
  • The Marketing and Communications Committee, which guides the direction of Green Seal marketing and communications initiatives to maximize adoption of Green Seal’s program offerings and generate demand for proven-safer, proven-greener products and services. 
  • The Nominating Committee, which nominates suggested candidates for open seats on Green Seal’s Board of Directors, taking into consideration the importance of maintaining a balanced representation on the Board, including continuity of office and turnover among directors.
  • The Standards Committee, which provides strategic input and direction on the current and future product roadmap, business planning, and overall market focus for Green Seal’s portfolio of standards.

Standards

Green Seal bases its standard development procedures on internationally recognized best practices, as described in ISEAL’s Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems (2023). This ISEAL code is Green Seal’s primary guide for conducting a transparent process and developing outcomes-focused standards.

To carry out our mission, we rely on a wide community of stakeholders to participate in our standard development and revision processes to provide critical feedback, share scientific findings, assess effectiveness, and discuss problems and solutions. All interested parties – individuals, companies, and nonprofit organizations – are able to register to review and comment on draft standards and technical documents during our public comment periods. In the case of a dispute, there is an appeals process for unresolved issues. 

Learn more about our standard development procedures here.

Learn how our standards help achieve our vision of making safer and more sustainable products the norm in our Theory of Change.

Affiliations

Green Seal is a Community Member of ISEAL, an international organization that fosters collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement among leading sustainability organizations. Green Seal also is a founding member of the Global Ecolabelling Network, the internationally recognized network of ecolabelling organizations.

We follow the EPA’s requirements for third-party certification:

  • Open, transparent standard development process and award criteria
  • Criteria based on life cycle reviews
  • Clear consumer communication on nature of certification
  • Regular updating of standards and criteria
  • Facility inspection or audit
  • Protocols for testing institutions or laboratories
  • Access to certification for companies of all sizes

Our procedures have been reviewed by third parties and found to meet the following standards and guidelines.