Criteria summary
All TCO Certified products meet criteria in the following areas:
Socially Responsible Manufacturing
- Brand is required to take responsibility for working conditions in production, including compliance labour laws in manufacturing country
- Manufacturer must follow ILO core conventions and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- For more about social responsibility requirements in TCO Certified, visit our Social Responsibility Overview page
Environmental Management System
- Manufacturer must be certified according to either ISO 14001 or EMAS registered
Hazardous substances in products and packaging
Zero or low levels of:
- Cadmium, mercury, lead and hexavalent chromium
- Halogenated flame retardants, beyond RoHS requirements
- Bromine and chlorine in plastics
Climate
- Energy efficiency of product and power supply
- Latest Energy Star compliance (for products where Energy Star applies)
Ergonomics
- Visual ergonomics (displays, notebooks, tablets, smartphones), including resolution, brightness, contrast and color performance
- Adjustability for user comfort (displays, headsets)
- Acoustic performance: protection against sound spikes (headsets) and fan noise (projectors, computers)
- Ergonomically designed keyboard (notebooks)
- Device supplied with a headset (smartphones)
Health, safety and emissions
- Electrical safety
- Minimal levels of electro-magnetic emissions
- Reduction of contact allergens (smartphones)
Products and packaging designed for recycling
- Material coding of plastics for easy recycling
- Limit on the number of different plastic materials used in the product
- All packaging must be prepared for recycling
Product lifetime and reuse
- Minimum one year product warranty
- Availability of spare parts for at least three years following the final production of that model
- Brand offers product take back services
Third Party tested and verified
- All certified product models are tested in an independent test facility that is accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 and approved by TCO Development
- Test and verification partners located in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Europe
- All environmental and SR documentation independently verified by a third party
- Fast certification process, approximate two week turnaround, depending on verification workload at time of application
This is a summary only. For full specifications, levels and test methods, visit our product categories page.
