October 2, 2019
The professional services industry is a complex sector with unique challenges in measuring and presenting its practices as sustainable. Professional services, including architecture and engineering, can incentivize meaningful environmental, social, and economic practices and demonstrate leadership in sustainability. Traditionally, they have done so through the lens of single-attribute criteria such as greenhouse gas emissions or recycled content.
Recognizing that a holistic approach to professional services has considerable potential to effect positive change across environmental business practices. A standard was developed to evaluate service providers on general practices and performance criteria to demonstrate sustainable performance across:
- Environmental (traditional triple bottom line)
- Social (traditional triple bottom line)
- Economic (traditional triple bottom line)
- Supply Chain
UL now offers certifications for service provider activities by providing credible, third-party certification to a globally recognized and trusted ecolabelling program, evaluating responsible business practices to the market, and demonstrate increased value to financiers and investors.
Our Certification for Service Providers offers service providers an opportunity to verify their responsible practices and their ability to reduce their impact on the environment and supply chain. Certification enables you to communicate your commitment to the environment, human health, well-being of the community and fair economic practices to both investors and stakeholders.
Companies can pursue certification to the following standards:
- NSF/ANSI 391.1 General Sustainability Assessment Criteria for Professional Services
- NSF/ANSI P391 General Sustainability Assessment Criteria for Services and Service Providers (for organizations that require the use of products, e.g. cleaning services)