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TCO Development
TCO Development is an organization working in the field of Sustainable Information Technology, or Sustainable IT. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCO - The Swedish Confedetation of Professsional Employees, a non-profit organization, based in Stockholm, Sweden.

TCO Development offers two services related to Sustainable IT: 1. TCO Certified - an international third party voluntary certification for IT products, based on the principles of sustainable development 2. Green IT Audit - a management system for the implementation, measurement and optimization of sustainable IT systems.

TCO Certified - For Sustainable IT products
The TCO Certified program sets criteria for the manufacture, use and recycling of IT equipment is carried out with regard to social, economic and environmental factors. TCO Certified is a tool for professional purchasers to identfy and select IT products that meet TCO Certified's set of sustainability requirements. The program includes life-cycle based criteria in the areas of environmental, economic and social factors. In the latest generation of TCO Certified criteria, published in 2012, there is a greater emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility. Manufacturers certifying to TCO Certified must adhere to core labor conventions specified by the ILO.

Main Criteria in TCO Certified
Energy Efficiency • Energy consumption of product and power supply • Latest Energy Star compliant, where applicable

Minimization of Hazardous Substances Limits on • Cadmium, Mercury, Lead & Hexavalent Chromium ( beyond RoHS) – including requirements for Mercury free products. • Halogenated substances • Plastics with bromine and chlorine as part of the polymer Manufacturers declare content of polymers and flame retardant agents in certified products.

Ergonomic, User-centered design


 * Visual ergonomics in products with a display, including criteria for:
 * Display resolution, brightness levels and performance when viewed at an angle.
 * Color performance and consistency, also when viewed at an angle.
 * Adjustability for user comfort (computer displays, headsets)
 * Acoustic performance – protection against sound spikes, ambient noise (headsets)
 * Ergonomically designed keyboard (notebooks PCs)

Corporate Social Responsibility

• Criteria for socially responsible production – working conditions • Manufacturer commitment to ILO core conventions • Independently verified compliance with CSR programs, including EICC process, SA8000 or own initiatives. • Audit reports are required from production sites where certified product is manufactured.

Electrical Safety, Emissions
 * All products are tested for electrical safety and to ensure minimal levels of electro-magnetic emissions from the product.

Design for Recycling
 * Material coding of plastics for easy recycling, and a limit on the number of plastic materials used in the product.
 * Product Lifetime, Product Take Back Manufacturers of TCO Certified products are required to provide a 1 year warranty for the product and ensure the availability of spare parts for at least three years following the final production of that model, thereby extending the usable life of the product. In addition, the manufacturer is required to provide product take back services at the end of the product’s usable, life.

Packaging


 * Strict limits on hazardous substances in all product packaging, which must also be prepared for recycling.

Environmental Management System
 * Manufacturer must be compliant with a recognized Environmental Management System - either ISO 14001 or EMAS.

Third Party Testing


 * All certified product models have been tested for compliance with the TCO Certified criteria in an independent, accredited laboratory. All environmental documentation is independently verified at the lab site.

History & Background
TCO Development was founded in 1992 as an organization to work with issues connected to human health & safety as related to the increasing use of computers in office workspaces. At the time, widespread reports of headache, eyestrain, fatigue, pain and discomfort (electro-sensitivity) were a concern for the parent TCO organization and it's members, along with computer users worldwide. Research was undertaken and a system was developed into a certification for computer monitors. The system became an Eco-label known as TCO Certification - a voluntary program designed to identify products that meet a defined set of health & safety criteria. The first TCO Certification was for computer displays and was called TCO'92 - limiting electromagnetic emissions from the monitors, which were Cathode Ray Tube based products. The original specification built on the existing MPRII standard for electro magnetic emissions, but required manufacturers to reduce their display emissions further.

TCO established a subsidiary to manage the IT certification R&D and business in (year) Initially the program was targeted at TCO's home market in Sweden, but interest grew internationally from users and industry, which led to an international expansion of the program to include representation in Europe, North America and Asia. Today TCO Certification is known as "TCO Certified" and is applied internationally.

Requirements for TCO Certification have been periodically expanded and updated to a broader group of crtieria and product categories. Earlier certifications include TCO'95, TCO'99 and TCO'03 for displays, and the product categories have expanded to focus on Computers (notebooks, desktops and all-in-one PC's), displays, projectors, tablets and phone headsets.