The launch of TCO Certified, generation 9 intensifies global efforts for more sustainability, accountability, and transparency in IT supply chains. Updated sustainability criteria help purchasing organizations select the most responsibly designed and manufactured product models.
 
"Moving toward a future where IT products are truly sustainable requires constant improvement,” said Sören Enholm, CEO of TCO Development. “TCO Certified, generation 9 deals with some of today’s most crucial sustainability challenges. Purchasers gain more influence in the supply chain and can prove their impact.”
 
TCO Certified, generation 9 comes with new sustainability performance indicators (SPIs). Data is gathered and is verified by independent experts, which reduces the risk of greenwash. The SPIs also help organizations make more informed purchasing decisions and measure the true sustainability impact of their IT products.  
 
Updated social responsibility criteria require transparency about which sub-suppliers manufacturers use, allowing purchasing organizations to get their voice further into the supply chain. Criteria for safer chemicals are expanded to also cover process chemicals. This helps purchasers protect the health and safety of workers.  
 
Generation 9 also builds on the progress of previous generations to enable circular IT solutions, now with more ambitious criteria aimed at extending the life of IT products and reducing e-waste.
 
“Purchasers specifying TCO Certified in procurement get access to brand-new ways of influencing their supply chains, and the impact is measurable,” Enholm said. “More and more purchasers demand sustainably manufactured IT products, and we’ve already seen a great interest in TCO Certified, generation 9.”