① Purpose and definition (Articles 1 and 2)
(Purpose) Clearly define products reducing greenhouse gas emissions (low-carbon products) and their criteria under Article 2-2 (1-2) of the Act on Promotion of Purchase of Green Products
(Definition) Define the concept of “low-carbon product” to clarify the scope and criteria of low-carbon products, which are crucial in this Notice, and “maximum allowable carbon emissions*” and “minimum carbon reduction rate,**” which are the criteria used to certify low-carbon products
* Maximum carbon emissions within which a product can be recognized as a low-carbon product compared to other products of the same type
** Minimum carbon reduction rate notified considering the set target of mid- and long-term greenhouse gas emissions for individual products
② Scope of low-carbon products (Article 3)
(Scope of inclusion) Clarify the scope of low-carbon products as “reference products” by applying the minimum carbon reduction rate and “products that satisfy the maximum allowable carbon emissions” among other products that obtain the Environmental Product Declaration*
* Products quantified for information about the environmental impact (resource footprint, carbon footprint, impact on ozone layer, acid rain, eutrophication, photochemical smog, and water footprint) caused in the entire process including product production, use, and disposal in a certification system under Article 18 of the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act
(Scope of exclusion) Set forth an exclusion clause to consider public health and environmental hazards and follow the procedure specified in the Environmental Product Declaration Certification Operational Rules to prevent any misuse when excluding products
* Review committee defined in Environmental Product Declaration Certification Operational Rules under Article 22-2 of the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act
** For example, tobacco, etc. under Article 7 of the National Health Promotion Act
③ Criteria applied to low-carbon products (Article 4)
(Criteria by product) Define “maximum allowable carbon emissions” and “minimum carbon reduction rate” as criteria applied to low-carbon products
* Clarify that “maximum allowable carbon emissions” are equivalent to carbon emissions criteria and “minimum carbon reduction rate” is equivalent to carbon reduction criteria in the current low-carbon product certification criteria
(Common criteria) Specify required certification criteria that commonly apply to all low-carbon products under environmental regulations and other applicable laws
(Applicable criteria) Certify a product that satisfies either maximum allowable carbon emissions or the minimum carbon reduction rate as a low-carbon product, but do not allow the renewal of a low-carbon product whose carbon emissions have increased from the existing carbon footprint during certification renewal
(Notification of applicable criteria) Define the notification of reference products, which serve as a reference to indicate maximum allowable carbon emissions and the minimum carbon reduction rate
④ Requirements for low-carbon product certification applicants (Article 5)
(Compliance with laws) Define the basis used to check whether low-carbon products satisfy requirements for product safety and environmental hazard under applicable laws
(Recurrence prevention measure) Define the basis that encourages active compliance with laws by considering acceptable the low-carbon product producer who quickly establishes and implements a recurrence prevention measure after the producer violates regulatory criteria under applicable laws
⑤ How to label a certification mark (Article 7)
(Mark model) Define the basis to require low-carbon products to use the same mark model to make sure that the mark can be used consistently
(How to indicate) Define how to label a mark model and specify the basis to label the mark on a product, its manual, package, container, online, etc.
⑥ Follow-up management (Article 8)
(Follow-up management) Define the basis to perform follow-up management to check whether information about the environmental impact (carbon footprint) of low-carbon products is maintained under Article 28 of the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act
⑦ Operational rules (Article 9)
(Operational rules) Define the basis to operate anything not specified by this Notice under “Environmental Product Declaration Certification Operational Rules” in Article 21-2 of the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act
⑧ Transitional rules (Article 2 of the Addenda)
(Valid period of certification before the implementation of the Notice) Acknowledge the remaining valid period of low-carbon products certified before the enforcement date of the Notice if their remaining period is 6 months or less as of the enforcement date of the Notice
- Define the basis to reduce a burden of re-application by allowing re-application for the valid period and exempting application fees if the remaining valid period is 6 months or more as of the enforcement date of the Notice
