Assessment methodology and data collection procedure
Siegelklarheit openly shows how existing sustainability labels are assessed – in a transparent and easily comprehensible way.
- Behind the visually simple presentation of the assessment results lies a comprehensive methodology based on objective and transparent parameters: the Sustainability Standards Comparison Tool (SSCT).
- Three areas are used to assess a label: credibility, environmental friendliness, and social responsibility. Credibility criteria apply across all product groups, while environmental and social criteria are specific to each product group.
- Minimum requirements determine whether a label is included on Siegelklarheit, while more advanced requirements lead to a classification as a "Very good choice" or "Good choice".
- Labels for which there is currently no product group on Siegelklarheit cannot be assessed at this time.
What is the Sustainability Standards Comparison Tool (SSCT)?
The Sustainability Standards Comparison Tool (SSCT) is used by Siegelklarheit to analyse and evaluate existing sustainability labels. The SSCT was developed in 2013/2014 through a multi-year, multi-stakeholder process by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in collaboration with national and international experts on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The methodology was comprehensively revised in 2020/2021 to make it leaner, more transparent, and easier to understand – without losing the depth of the assessment.
At the core of the SSCT is a catalogue of nearly 300 requirements or criteria, developed by Siegelklarheit together with more than 200 leading experts from academia, civil society, and the private sector. This was based on existing international standards, scientific findings, and guidance from label initiatives. These include, for example, the credibility principles of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance and the core labour standards of the Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation (ILO).
The criteria catalogue distinguishes between minimum requirements and extended requirements on the one hand. On the other hand, all requirements can be assigned to one of three areas: credibility, environmental friendliness, or social responsibility:
- Credibility requirements apply to all product groups, as they are central to determining the extent to which a label’s claims can be trusted. This involves assessing how label-issuing organisations ensure that their requirements are actually met by the label holders, and how transparent the implementation system is.
- Environmental and social requirements, by contrast, are tailored to the specific product groups: for example, the chemicals used are more relevant in the textile sector than in the IT sector, where the sourcing of conflict minerals is a key factor.
- The minimum and extended requirements for credibility, environmental, and social criteria together form a set of assessment criteria, which exists for each individual product group, viewable in detail here.
How does the assessment procedure work?
The evaluation of labels is based on a two-stage assessment procedure, which aggregates the many individual criteria into a single score, allowing the ecological or social performance of a label to be immediately understood. Depending on how many stars are achieved in each area, Siegelklarheit currently awards the rating “Very good choice” or “Good choice”. If a label does not fully meet the requirements for a “Good choice” or cannot be clearly assigned to an existing product group, it cannot currently be adequately represented on Siegelklarheit.
The assessment is carried out in the following two phases:
Phase 1: Minimum requirements
Step 1: Minimum requirements – Credibility
First, Siegelklarheit checks whether a label meets the minimum requirements in the area of credibility. This involves examining the operations of the label-issuing organisation, for example whether the organisational structure or policies are publicly available. If the minimum credibility requirements are not met, the label cannot currently be represented on Siegelklarheit.
Step 2: Substantive minimum requirements – Environmental and social criteria
After the minimum requirements for credibility have been assessed, the substantive minimum requirements in the areas of environmental friendliness and social responsibility are evaluated.
- Substantive minimum requirements cover topics that are particularly relevant, for example because they play a crucial role in ecological and social sustainability within the production process.
- One example is the prohibition of forced labour, which applies as a minimum criterion across all product groups and refers to the fundamental labour rights of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
If a label fails to meet these minimum requirements in at least one substantive area, it cannot currently be represented on Siegelklarheit.
Phase 2: Enhanced Requirements
If a label meets the minimum requirements from the first phase, the entire set of criteria for the corresponding product group, to which the label can be assigned, is assessed in detail during the second phase. This leads to the rating "Very good choice" or "Good choice".
The assessment result
The assessment result is summarised using a star rating for each area and an overall rating of "Good choice" or "Very good choice".
The number of stars indicates whether a label fails to meet, halfway meets, fully meets, or exceeds the minimum requirements.
- If two stars are achieved in the credibility area as well as two stars in either the environmental or social area, the label receives the overall rating "Good choice".
- If three stars are achieved in the credibility area as well as three stars in either the environmental or social area, the label receives the overall rating "Very good choice".
Note:
A zero- or one-star rating can only be given in the environmental or social area.
This is possible provided that a label already achieves at least two stars in credibility and in either the environmental or social area, but meets less than 100 percent of the minimum requirements in the remaining third area.
How is a "Very good choice" distinguished from a "Good choice"?
To receive the rating "Very good choice", a label must fully meet all minimum requirements for credibility and for one further area, and must additionally achieve at least 60 percent of the total possible score in the respective areas. This means that the maximum achievable score per area is decisive for distinguishing it from the "Good choice" rating.
- As a rule, a criterion that is met is awarded one point.
- Some criteria, however, are not assessed as simply met or not met, but according to different degrees of intensity. This allows Siegelklarheit to better reflect the diversity and varying ambition levels of different labels.
- These criteria with degrees of intensity can receive more than one point: if a criterion is met at a basic level, it receives 1 point; if the label meets a higher advanced level, it receives 2 points.
- For example, in the textiles sector, the use of synthetic pesticides must be restricted at basic level, whereas at the advanced level it must be entirely prohibited.
The total score for each criterion within an area determines the maximum achievable score for that area in a given product group. Based on this, it is calculated when a label has achieved at least 60 percent of the total score in the relevant area. This is then reflected in the star rating.
How is the data collected for an assessment?
To collect a label’s data, Siegelklarheit collaborates with the International Trade Centre (ITC), which was established by the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a neutral body, the ITC coordinates data collection and verification with independent evaluators and makes the raw data available for assessment via the SSCT.
The label-issuing organisations provide all relevant documents to the evaluators and review the data once collection is complete. Final quality assurance is then carried out by experts at the ITC before the raw data is passed on to Siegelklarheit. After a further quality check by Siegelklarheit, the data is evaluated using the SSCT assessment methodology. If the label-issuing organisation agrees, the assessment result for their label is published on Siegelklarheit.
More to Explore:
- If you would like to see which specific requirements apply to particular product groups, the different sets of assessment criteria for each product group can be viewed in the download area.
- If you represent a label-issuing organisation that is interested in having your label included on Siegelklarheit, you can find more information about the inclusion process here.
- Good to know: The SSCT methodology is applied to varying degrees across three platforms: in addition to Siegelklarheit, it is used on the Kompass Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability Compass) portal for public procurement, which features a Standard Comparison Tool, and on the KMU Kompass (SME Compass), aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, to support compliance with corporate due diligence obligations.