Underwriters Laboratories, the non-profit organization which has been safety-testing electrical products for more than a century, launched its new initiative called UL Environment, “a new source for independent green claims validation, product certification, training, advisory services and standards development.” Says the UL Environment Web site:

most manufacturers of sustainable products are in it for the right reasons: they want to "be green," not just "be seen as being green." What they needed is an independent, trusted source who could provide clarity for the validation of claims and certification to standards as they evolved. Thus, the concept for UL Environment was born. But while UL Environment leverages the UL global infrastructure, it has been launched as a wholly owned subsidiary under the UL family of companies for one reason: flexibility. Sustainability as a manufacturing concept is in its infancy and we recognize the need to adapt as fast as our customers do.

UL CEO Keith Williams participated in last week’s Green Business Forum in Chicago, where he explained the raison d’être of UL’s new sustainability standard:

“We also had a lot of interest from people about, ‘Can you have a green product if you don’t have a green process in your company?’” Williams said. That question got UL into the development, in partnership with GreenBiz Group, the parent company of GreenBiz.com, of the ULE 880 standard, the first-ever corporate sustainability standard....“[T]here are a lot of companies that want to be recognized as being legitimately sustainable, but how do they do that?”

For more details, and a video that clarifies UL’s initiative, check out the UL Environment site.