naturemade star

naturemade Star is a Swiss privately initiated quality ecolabel for environmental and ecologically produced energy with a commitment to ecological improvements. For more than twenty years, this credible ecolabel has been awarded to energy power plants and energy products following thorough inspection by the Association for Environmentally Sound Energy (VUE). Environmental and consumer organizations (WWF, Pro Natura and Konsumentenforum Schweiz) and the energy industry support naturemade star.

Buying Guarantees of Origin with this ecolabel guarantees that the renewable energy adheres to the ecolabel’s requirements.

Focus areas

Electricity products eligible for naturemade star certification must meet the following criteria:

• The energy for certification derives exclusively from plants which use renewable and ecological energy sources
• No use of genetically modified organisms
• Safeguarding of soil fertility and productivity
• The generated electricity can be traced back to clearly described, identifiable sources (plants or third-party suppliers)
• Maintaining and promoting the sustainable generation and efficient use of energy must be core parts of licensees’ corporate policy, with corporate policy on sustainability making explicit reference to the company as a whole
• If the licensee of the energy generation plant to be certified employs more than 30 staff, it must establish a certified environmental management system (ISO 14000 or EMAS), or equivalent quality management system, within five years of the initial certification of its production
• All technical, legal and other requirements for operating the plant that are necessary for generating electricity must be met
• The producer uses an appropriate energy management system to safeguard its procedures and carries out appropriate measurement and monitoring activities
• The environmental impact caused by audited plants must not exceed half of the impact of a modern combined-cycle gas-turbine power plant
• Compliance with local and regional criteria must be verified as part of an expert audit conducted by accredited specialists

Read the complete list of requirements.

Certifying hydroelectric power plants requires additional criteria.

CHF 0.007 per sold KWh of naturemade star electricity is collected in a fund for ecological improvements measures. A committee, made up of power plant operators, local authorities and environmental organisations, allocates the funds. The money from the fund is used in the catchment area of the plants for measures to preserve the highly endangered biodiversity, as well as for the expansion of ecological energy production and energy efficiency measures.

Power plants that are naturemade star certified can be found in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Hungary and Spain.