Since information technology equipment is used more and more in daily office work, it has become necessary to evaluate the effects of such equipment on man and the environment.

Noise, bad image quality or hard-to-handle equipment are factors that have a negative influence on the users' work and should be corrected. To protect the environment and to save resources, equipment should be low on emissions as well as easy to recycle.

Only manufacturers who run quality management systems according to ISO 9002/9001 and environmental management systems ISO 14001 can obtain ECO Circle. Of course they also have to get CE marking to sell their product in the EU.

Currently ECO Circle can be awarded for CRT displays, flat panel displays, notebooks, PCs, and keyboards. The test requirements for ECO Circle are as follows:

• Electrical Safety: EN 60950
  Electromagnetic Compatibility
  
• Ergonomics: EK1-ITB 2000
  
• Recycling: The equipment must be easy to take apart in order to simplify recycling according to VDI 2243. The buyer must be allowed to return the equipment to the manufacturer for recycling and the manufacturer is responsible to make the reuse of the product/its materials possible.
  
• Energy Saving: The equipment must automatically switch to stand-by mode according to Energy Star
  
• Pollutant Reduction: The equipment's construction must not contain any substance harmful to the human body or the environment according to MAK list
  
• Low Noise
  
• Quality Management Systems: ISO 9002/9001
  
• Environmental Management Systems: ISO 14001

The ECO Circle's standards are much stricter than those stipulated by law. The ECO Circle criteria are adjusted to the latest developments in technology every year. For this reason the test mark shows the year of the test. However, the certificate does not expire. The manufacturer can have his product re-tested after several years as an option.