Environmental awareness, clean indoor air and sustain-ability are becoming increasingly important issues. Craftsmen who work with products on a daily basis need the assurance of being able to work in a non-toxic environment.

employers must make products available to their employees that are not harmful to their health.

forwarding agenCies have to observe special regulations for the transport of hazardous substances.

arChiteCts should only recommend and use products that are safe for the building’s occupants.

oCCupants do not want the indoor air of their work and living spaces to be polluted.

manufaCturers like LOBA have a responsibility, if nothing else, towards their employees who must work with raw materials in production every day.

This brochure provides an overview of several of the most important laws, regulations and ecolabels.

Everything you need to know about the most important labels, quality seals and certifications

the mark safetyof

LOBA GmbH & Co. KGLeonberger Str. 56-62 | 71254 DitzingenFon: +49 7156 357-0 | Fax: +49 7156 357-211E-Mail: service@loba.de | www.loba.de

For many years we have been reducing solvent content and using natural raw materials. For the protection of the environment, the solvent content of our waterborne varnishes is far below the limit of 140 g/l specified in the Decopaint Directive – newly developed varnishes will have a VOC* content of max. 80 g/l, even further below the already strict requirements. These measures are aimed at protecting the health and safety of the product users, as well as their customers and our employees. And in the process, we are also protecting our environment.The LOBA quality and environmental management sys-tem is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004.

for us, environmental responsibility means: taking action

The main Criteria for the award of an ecolabel are the limitation of the above-described solVent Content and the closely associated emissions test, which assesses the quality of indoor air. Often an assessment of the produCt’s Com-position is also performed in order to check whether it contains substances hazardous to human health and the environment. i

ecolabels: who needs them anyway?

decopaint The “Decopaint Directive” is a European directive limiting the content of volatile organic compounds (VOC) due to the use of organic solvents in certain paints and varnishes.

Prin

ted

on „

Recy

Star

Nat

ur“

recy

clin

g pa

per m

ade

from

100

% u

sed

pape

r

QualitätsmanagementISO 9001:2008UmweltmanagementISO 14001:2004

Regelmäßige freiwilligeÜberwachung

DEKRA Certification

zertifiziert

110383_GreenFlyer_GB_AK1_RZ.indd 1 20.12.11 18:10

2K Supra A.T.WS 2K Supra (USA)WS 2K Duo2K Ultra 2.0WS 2K SportExtremeHybrid A.T.WS EasyFinishWS GlobalWS VivaWS LifeWS Sport FinishWS EasyPrimeHS Globa SealWS SportPrimerWS Sealer FR WS TopGel

HS 2K ImpactOilHS 2K ImpactOil ColorHS Akzent 100 OilHS Akzent 100 WaxHS Select 100 Oil/Wax

Certified loBa products

Knowing what it’s all about: an overview of the most important quality seals

The EMICODE® mark certifies building materials and products that release either zero or very low fugitive emissions into indoor air. The licence is awarded by the Association for the Control of Emissions in Products for Flooring Installation, Adhesives and Building Materials (GEV). The GEV was founded by industrial companies in 1997 in order to promote products that are health and environmentally friendly. External, ISO 17025 accredited testing institutes analyse the emissions performance of varnishes for parquet and wood floors. Furthermore, no varnishes with a high solvent content are approved for testing. This system takes into account the interests of product users as well as occupants. Products that have ear-ned the EMICODE® mark are tested regular-ly for continued compliance. www.emicode.de

The Singapore Green Label is issued by the Singapore Environment Council as a seal of endorsement for environmentally friendly products. In order to be endorsed as envi-ronmentally friendly, products must meet a set of criteria, including, above all, very strict limits for solvent content. In addition to an assessment of product composition, a fur-ther condition is continuous quality control in the manufacturing process. www.sec.org.sg

Emissionsgeprüftes Bauproduktnach DIBt-Grundsätzen

For health and safety reasons, the German approval body DIBt (Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik) requires ‘national technical ap-proval’ (allgemeine bauaufsichtliche Zulas-sung) for all building products used for the on-site treatment and gluing of parquet and wood flooring; certified building materials are labelled with the Ü mark. This approval requirement went into effect in Germany on 1 January 2011. In order to receive appro-val, the product’s compliance with emission limits must be demonstrated, and the DIBt must be provided with comprehensive infor-mation on the product’s composition. www.dibt.de

Factors considered for the award of the ecolabel from the German Federal Environ-ment Agency (UBA) include the economical use of raw materials during production and application, as well as a long service life and a sustainable disposal. To satisfy the approval requirement for wood floor varnis-hes, an emissions test is required. The Blue Angel (Blauer Engel) specifies only an upper limit for solvent content but no emissions testing and is, therefore, in this respect, less stringent than the legal requirements. (See Ü mark) www.blauer-engel.de

The Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1998 de-fines standards for environmentally friendly and sustainable construction practices. In order to satisfy the LEED criteria, paints and varnishes must comply with a limit for solvent content. www.usgbc.or

The European Ecolabel (“EU Flower”) is an international seal of quality for labelling products that meet high environmental standards. Paints and varnishes awarded the Ecolabel must satisfy criteria for solvent content, ingredients and emission values, as well as environmentally friendly packa-ging and disposal. www.ec.europa.eu

For the Austrian Ecolabel (Österreichisches Umweltzeichen), certified products are subject to a comprehensive assessment of various factors, from manufacturing process to product disposal. Analogous to the Blue Angel, an analysis of the solvent content and product composition is performed.www.umweltzeichen.at

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is an independent, non-profit organi-sation. GREENGUARD is especially popular in North America. The focus is on indoor air quality and the associated compliance with emissions criteria. www.greenguard.org

LOBASOL® 100% Nature stands for totally solvent-free LOBASOL® high solid oil and wax systems with a solids content of 100%, meaning zero solvent content.

Air Quality Seal of LOBA complying products meet the indoor air emissions criteria of:• CaliforniaSection01350Specification• CollaborativeforHighPerformance Schools (CHPS)• IndoorAdvantageGold™certification• FloorScorelabelforlowemissionresilient and hard floorings

loBa seal

Emissionsgeprüftes Bauproduktnach DIBt-Grundsätzen

The Ü mark (German Mark of Conformity) is required in Germany. When it comes to health and environmental pro-tection, you can play it safe by choosing products labelled with this mark in combination with the EMICODE®.

+ =

Quality seals and their test criteria

Composition assessment

Test of solvent content

Emissions test

110383_GreenFlyer_GB_AK1_RZ.indd 2 20.12.11 18:10