The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup) announced that it will promote mutual recognition with environmental product declaration (EPD) certification organizations in Norway and Sweden so that domestic environmentally-friendly certification products can also be recognized in the European market.

The Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) under the Ministry of Environment will sign a mutual recognition agreement (MRA)* with EPD-Norway, a local EPD certification body, in Oslo, Norway, on the morning of November 12 (local time). 

* A Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) that mutually recognizes certification results between institutions, allowing certification results obtained individually in each country to be recognized equally in the counterpart country.

EPD-Norway is an organization with one of the largest certification product scales globally and has established mutual recognition of EPD with many countries, including European Union (EU) member states. 

With this agreement, domestic environmental performance label certified products will gain the same effect as obtaining certification in Norway. When receiving EPD certification in the EU, the burden of compliance with systems requiring the submission of product carbon emissions, such as the EU Battery Law* and Eco-design Law (Digital Product Passport)**, will be reduced.

* Obligation to report carbon footprint, including the disclosure of carbon emissions throughout the battery lifecycle (scheduled to be implemented in the second half of 2026).

** A digital certificate that collects, stores, and transparently shares information about the product’s entire life cycle (materials, usage, recycling, environmental impact, etc.) with stakeholders through electronic means (scheduled to be implemented in 2027).

The MRA signing ceremony will be attended by Kim Yong-guk, Head of KEITI; Hakon Hauan, Representative of EPD-Norway; Kim Yoon-young, Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Norway; Park Sang-hee, Corporate Head of LG Electronics; and Hong Seung-yeon, Corporate Head of Hyundai L&C. In addition, a certificate awarding ceremony for the first mutual recognition products of the two countries, namely dishwashers (LG Electronics) and interior films (Hyundai L&C), will also be held.

The KEITI plans to implement the full mutual recognition procedure for electrical and electronic products and construction materials in March next year, and aims to gradually expand the range of products subject to mutual recognition based on ongoing cooperation with EPD-Norway.

Prior to this, on the morning of November 11 (local time), the KEITI will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for mutual recognition cooperation with International EPD, a local EPD certification body in Stockholm, Sweden. After signing the MOU, the two organizations will engage in practical discussions regarding mutual recognition procedures and evaluation methods for about a year, after which they plan to conclude a mutual recognition agreement for their environmental performance label certification systems.

Environmental performance label certification is a system that quantitatively discloses the environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions, that occur throughout the entire product lifecycle (raw material acquisition, product production, distribution, use, and disposal). Among various environmental information*, it includes information on carbon footprint, highlighting its importance as a key measure for responding to international carbon regulations.

* Resource footprint, carbon footprint, ozone layer impact, acid rain, eutrophication, photochemical smog, water footprint

Meanwhile, if the Korean environmental performance label certification system is recognized by several countries, including Norway, it will reduce the time and costs invested by Korean companies in obtaining additional overseas EPD certification. This is expected to lead to an enhancement of Korean companies’ export competitiveness.

Seo Young-tae, Director General of Green Transition Policy Bureau, stated, “Starting with the MRA with Norway, we will actively support our companies to effectively respond to international environmental regulations by signing MRAs with more countries.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com