Skip to main content
  • Press Release

UL Environment and Zero Waste Validation

June 13, 2013

MARIETTA, Ga., June 13, 2013- UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), announced today that it has collaborated with a number of organizations to co-promote its landfill waste diversion claim validation and to educate the marketplace on more sustainable methods for waste diversion, globally.

UL has developed working relationships with the Green Manufacturer Network, Waste Management, and Waste Cost Reduction Services (WCRS) in the UK. The collaborations provide an opportunity for outreach to broad audiences, allowing each organization to bring a level of industry knowledge to their membership base alongside the sustainability expertise of UL.

"The marketplace has an incredible opportunity to help advance sustainability in new ways. UL Environment's landfill waste diversion claim validation sets the stage for other organizations and their audiences to achieve zero waste," says Sara Greenstein, president of UL Environment. "This will be a platform to motivate positive changes in environmental stewardship."

Through these collaborations, UL educates the marketplace on the importance of zero waste initiatives and third-party validation. This month, UL Environment will be speaking on a panel at the Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Workshop, hosted by the Green Manufacturer Network in Indianapolis on June 19. (To register for the event, click here.)

UL Environment's landfill waste diversion program offers Zero Waste to Landfill, Virtually Zero Waste to Landfill, and Landfill Waste Diversion claim validations. UL's accepted landfill waste diversion allows for a variety of methods such as reuse, recycling, and composting. Companies that achieve a landfill diversion rate of 100 percent qualify for the Zero Waste to Landfill validation. Companies that achieve a diversion rate of 98 percent or greater qualify for the Virtually Zero Waste to Landfill validation. Those that achieve a diversion rate of 80 percent or greater qualify for a Landfill Waste Diversion validation.

To earn a Zero Waste to Landfill claim validation mark, a Virtually Zero Waste to Landfill claim validation mark, or a Landfill Waste Diversion claim validation mark, companies must undergo a two-part, UL-led audit, which includes document evaluation and onsite visits. Each claim validation mark clearly indicates the facility's specific rate of landfill diversion. Facilities whose landfill waste diversion claims have been validated by UL Environment are audited annually and featured in UL Environment's Sustainable Product Database.

UL Environment helps companies achieve their sustainability goals by providing third-party sustainability expertise and guidance. That third-party verification of environmental claims shows a company's true commitment to transparency and trustworthiness in the marketplace. Programs like UL's landfill waste diversion claim validation help purchasers, specifiers, retailers, governments, and consumers find products they can trust. To learn more about UL's landfill waste diversion claim validations, visit ul.com/zerowaste.

About UL Environment

UL Environment works to advance global sustainability, environmental health, and safety by supporting the growth and development of environmentally preferable products, services, and organizations. We help companies achieve their sustainability goals-and help purchasers, specifiers, retailers, governments, and consumers find products they can trust. UL Environment offers environmental claim validations, multi-attribute product certifications, environmental product declarations, indoor air quality certification, product emissions testing, organizational sustainability certification, and consulting. For more information, visit www.ul.com/environment.