Turn TCO Certified into a sales advantage
This toolkit is specifically designed for sales professionals in the IT industry. It includes a series of four short videos and articles that explain TCO Certified, how it works, and its importance in today’s market. The goal is not to turn sales professionals into sustainability experts but to provide simple, confident phrases to communicate about the certified products offered to customers, to enhance your sales conversations and help you meet customer demand for more sustainable IT solutions.
After using the toolkit, you’ll be able to:
Explore the toolkit
You can explore the content below in either video or text format.
Part 1/4
TCO Certified covers all major sustainability issues
Like most industries, the IT sector needs to become more sustainable. TCO Certified is a leadership-level product certification that helps IT brands and buyers drive environmental and social sustainability. It covers four key areas: climate, substances, circularity and supply chain.
Today’s IT buyers have more considerations than just performance and price. They need to comply with increasingly tough reporting regulations and look for products that meet the highest standards of sustainability. That’s where TCO Certified makes a difference, offering a global, verified way to ensure responsible practices throughout the entire product lifecycle.
IT products come with many sustainability risks, from raw material extraction to final assembly and throughout the product life cycle. The biggest impact often happens in the supply chain, where risks can be challenging to uncover and address. To succeed, working together is key. TCO Certified offers a framework that brings buyers and the IT industry together. It aligns the global demand for sustainable IT into clear, actionable requirements that brands can meet.
In short: what TCO Certified covers
- Environmental and social aspects
- Climate, substances, circularity and supply chain
- Full product lifecycle
- Translates client demand into actionable requirements
When you and your client align your sustainability priorities with the criteria in TCO Certified, you ensure concrete, measurable progress across four key areas:
Climate: Reduced emissions from production and use.
Substances: Safer substances in products and production processes.
Circularity: Extended product life and more circular material flows.
Supply chain: Safer and healthier working conditions in factories.
For IT brands, TCO Certified means that you don’t need to explain every detail to your to your customers. You can confidently say:
“This product tackles the most relevant sustainability challenges across its entire life cycle – because it’s certified according to TCO Certified.”
Part 2/4
Criteria are comprehensive, global and mandatory
IT products marked with TCO Certified meet some of the most demanding sustainability criteria on the market. Offering certified products to your clients means you’re not just selling IT — you’re helping them meet their environmental and social responsibility goals.
One of the unique aspects of TCO Certified is that every single criterion is mandatory. IT brands can’t pick and choose what their products should comply with. It’s all or nothing. This means that you can confidently tell your client that each certified product meets the highest standards for sustainability.
IT products come with many sustainability risks, from raw material extraction to final assembly and throughout the product life cycle. The biggest impact often happens in the supply chain, where risks can be challenging to uncover and address. To succeed, working together is key. TCO Certified offers a framework that brings buyers and the IT industry together. It aligns the global demand for sustainable IT into clear, actionable requirements that brands can meet.
TCO Certified is a global product certification, and certificates are valid worldwide without regional differences. Clients operating across multiple countries can rely on the same trusted certification everywhere.
In short: Criteria
- Environmental and social aspects
- Climate, substances, circularity and supply chain
- Full product lifecycle
- 100% mandatory criteria
- Global coverage
- Always at the frontline
Criteria in TCO Certified cover four areas
Climate
To reduce direct (scope 2) and indirect (scope 3) emissions, we ensure that products are designed for a long life, incentivize users to keep products longer, and promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in manufacturing.
Substances
To improve chemical safety in products, their packaging and manufacturing, we ensure that substances are assessed and proven to be safer before they are used. We’re continuously adding new types of substances to our approved list, and expanding our method to new parts of the supply chain.
Circularity
To drive the development of a circular IT industry, we ensure that products are designed and made for long life and that products, components and materials are circulated and reused.
Supply chain
We work systematically to address issues in factories and specific hotspots to reduce environmental risk and ensure safer conditions for workers in the IT product supply chains. Factories are rated by how well they manage risks, which helps IT brands select those that are proactive in their sustainability efforts. This creates business incentives to improve working conditions and prioritize sustainability.Using TCO Certified means being part of a journey. Step by step, we take new sustainability steps together. Criteria are continuously developed, with a new generation launched every three years. This ensures that both IT brands and buyers stay ahead of emerging sustainability regulations and always remain at the forefront of sustainable IT. You’re not just meeting today’s expectations; you’re already preparing for tomorrow’s. You can tell your customers:
“With TCO Certified, you don’t need to worry about missing something. Every criterion is mandatory, global, covers the full life cycle, and is updated to keep you ahead of the curve.”
Part 3/4
Compliance is always independently verified
With TCO Certified, compliance with all criteria is independently verified by accredited experts. They spend more than 20,000 hours every year testing products and assessing supply chains. Their work ensures that every certified product model truly meets all criteria.
Verification is mandatory and continuous. It takes place before a certificate is issued — and continues throughout the entire validity period. For your clients, this means confidence that sustainability claims are real, helping them avoid greenwashing and false promises.
TCO Certified also includes a system for continuous improvement. Issues are always followed up on. If corrections are not made on time, the certificate is withdrawn, and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.
Where other labels may rely on self-declarations, TCO Certified is based on actual proof. This gives you a strong sales message:
In short: Verification
- Independent, accredited verifiers
- All criteria, every product model
- 20,000 hours per year!
- Follow-up ensures progress
“Every sustainability claim for every certified product model is backed up by independent verification. These products are proven to be at the frontline of sustainability.”
Part 4/4
Together, we have a strong track record of success
Sustainable IT is complex. Challenges take time to solve, and progress isn’t always easy. That’s why TCO Certified includes a robust system for driving change. Together with IT brands and buyers, we’ve built a strong track record of success.
With TCO Certified, you and your clients don’t have to figure it all out on your own. The certification provides a clear system for driving progress. Comprehensive criteria, independent verification, follow-up, incentives, and accountability all play vital roles in making sustainability real. Step by step, we help you focus on what matters most and turn long-term challenges into measurable progress.
TCO Certified is built on science and facts. Our criteria development is extensive — more than 10,000 hours annually. It is continuous and supported by leading experts in the field. Every three years, a new generation of TCO Certified is launched, with tougher criteria and more comprehensive verification methods. This ensures the certification is always one step ahead. Your clients save time and resources when they don’t need to invent their own criteria. It is also more efficient for IT brands to align with one globally recognized set of requirements.
In short: Our success factors
- A robust system for driving change
- 25+ years of proven success
- Saves time and resources!
- Long-term vision in Roadmap for Sustainable IT
- New generation every three years
- Keeps you current, ahead of upcoming regulations
Using TCO Certified means being part of a journey. Our Roadmap for Sustainable IT provides transparency and direction. It highlights more than 30 years of progress and outlines the ambitious steps we aim to take together in the years ahead. So when you’re in a customer conversation, you can confidently say:
“By choosing products marked with TCO Certified, you are on a leadership level of sustainability. You address the sustainability challenges that are relevant today and stay ahead of tomorrow’s legislation. Together, we can push sustainability where it matters most.”
Explore the toolkit
You can explore the content below in either video or text format.
Part 1/4
TCO Certified covers all major sustainability issues
Like most industries, the IT sector needs to become more sustainable. TCO Certified is a leadership-level product certification that helps IT brands and buyers drive environmental and social sustainability. It covers four key areas: climate, substances, circularity and supply chain.
Today’s IT buyers have more considerations than just performance and price. They need to comply with increasingly tough reporting regulations and look for products that meet the highest standards of sustainability. That’s where TCO Certified makes a difference, offering a global, verified way to ensure responsible practices throughout the entire product lifecycle.
IT products come with many sustainability risks, from raw material extraction to final assembly and throughout the product life cycle. The biggest impact often happens in the supply chain, where risks can be challenging to uncover and address. To succeed, working together is key. TCO Certified offers a framework that brings buyers and the IT industry together. It aligns the global demand for sustainable IT into clear, actionable requirements that brands can meet.
In short: what TCO Certified covers
- Environmental and social aspects
- Climate, substances, circularity and supply chain
- Full product lifecycle
- Translates client demand into actionable requirements
When you and your client align your sustainability priorities with the criteria in TCO Certified, you ensure concrete, measurable progress across four key areas:
Climate: Reduced emissions from production and use.
Substances: Safer substances in products and production processes.
Circularity: Extended product life and more circular material flows.
Supply chain: Safer and healthier working conditions in factories.
For IT brands, TCO Certified means that you don’t need to explain every detail to your to your customers. You can confidently say:
“This product tackles the most relevant sustainability challenges across its entire life cycle – because it’s certified according to TCO Certified.”
Part 2/4
Criteria are comprehensive, global and mandatory
IT products marked with TCO Certified meet some of the most demanding sustainability criteria on the market. Offering certified products to your clients means you’re not just selling IT — you’re helping them meet their environmental and social responsibility goals.
One of the unique aspects of TCO Certified is that every single criterion is mandatory. IT brands can’t pick and choose what their products should comply with. It’s all or nothing. This means that you can confidently tell your client that each certified product meets the highest standards for sustainability.
IT products come with many sustainability risks, from raw material extraction to final assembly and throughout the product life cycle. The biggest impact often happens in the supply chain, where risks can be challenging to uncover and address. To succeed, working together is key. TCO Certified offers a framework that brings buyers and the IT industry together. It aligns the global demand for sustainable IT into clear, actionable requirements that brands can meet.
TCO Certified is a global product certification, and certificates are valid worldwide without regional differences. Clients operating across multiple countries can rely on the same trusted certification everywhere.
In short: Criteria
- Environmental and social aspects
- Climate, substances, circularity and supply chain
- Full product lifecycle
- 100% mandatory criteria
- Global coverage
- Always at the frontline
Criteria in TCO Certified cover four areas
Climate
To reduce direct (scope 2) and indirect (scope 3) emissions, we ensure that products are designed for a long life, incentivize users to keep products longer, and promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in manufacturing.
Substances
To improve chemical safety in products, their packaging and manufacturing, we ensure that substances are assessed and proven to be safer before they are used. We’re continuously adding new types of substances to our approved list, and expanding our method to new parts of the supply chain.
Circularity
To drive the development of a circular IT industry, we ensure that products are designed and made for long life and that products, components and materials are circulated and reused.
Supply chain
We work systematically to address issues in factories and specific hotspots to reduce environmental risk and ensure safer conditions for workers in the IT product supply chains. Factories are rated by how well they manage risks, which helps IT brands select those that are proactive in their sustainability efforts. This creates business incentives to improve working conditions and prioritize sustainability.Using TCO Certified means being part of a journey. Step by step, we take new sustainability steps together. Criteria are continuously developed, with a new generation launched every three years. This ensures that both IT brands and buyers stay ahead of emerging sustainability regulations and always remain at the forefront of sustainable IT. You’re not just meeting today’s expectations; you’re already preparing for tomorrow’s. You can tell your customers:
“With TCO Certified, you don’t need to worry about missing something. Every criterion is mandatory, global, covers the full life cycle, and is updated to keep you ahead of the curve.”
Part 3/4
Compliance is always independently verified
With TCO Certified, compliance with all criteria is independently verified by accredited experts. They spend more than 20,000 hours every year testing products and assessing supply chains. Their work ensures that every certified product model truly meets all criteria.
Verification is mandatory and continuous. It takes place before a certificate is issued — and continues throughout the entire validity period. For your clients, this means confidence that sustainability claims are real, helping them avoid greenwashing and false promises.
TCO Certified also includes a system for continuous improvement. Issues are always followed up on. If corrections are not made on time, the certificate is withdrawn, and factories may lose the right to manufacture certified products.
Where other labels may rely on self-declarations, TCO Certified is based on actual proof. This gives you a strong sales message:
In short: Verification
- Independent, accredited verifiers
- All criteria, every product model
- 20,000 hours per year!
- Follow-up ensures progress
“Every sustainability claim for every certified product model is backed up by independent verification. These products are proven to be at the frontline of sustainability.”
Part 4/4
Together, we have a strong track record of success
Sustainable IT is complex. Challenges take time to solve, and progress isn’t always easy. That’s why TCO Certified includes a robust system for driving change. Together with IT brands and buyers, we’ve built a strong track record of success.
With TCO Certified, you and your clients don’t have to figure it all out on your own. The certification provides a clear system for driving progress. Comprehensive criteria, independent verification, follow-up, incentives, and accountability all play vital roles in making sustainability real. Step by step, we help you focus on what matters most and turn long-term challenges into measurable progress.
TCO Certified is built on science and facts. Our criteria development is extensive — more than 10,000 hours annually. It is continuous and supported by leading experts in the field. Every three years, a new generation of TCO Certified is launched, with tougher criteria and more comprehensive verification methods. This ensures the certification is always one step ahead. Your clients save time and resources when they don’t need to invent their own criteria. It is also more efficient for IT brands to align with one globally recognized set of requirements.
In short: Our success factors
- A robust system for driving change
- 25+ years of proven success
- Saves time and resources!
- Long-term vision in Roadmap for Sustainable IT
- New generation every three years
- Keeps you current, ahead of upcoming regulations
Using TCO Certified means being part of a journey. Our Roadmap for Sustainable IT provides transparency and direction. It highlights more than 30 years of progress and outlines the ambitious steps we aim to take together in the years ahead. So when you’re in a customer conversation, you can confidently say:
“By choosing products marked with TCO Certified, you are on a leadership level of sustainability. You address the sustainability challenges that are relevant today and stay ahead of tomorrow’s legislation. Together, we can push sustainability where it matters most.”