Sustainability certifications have become a key reference point for organizations and consumers seeking credible environmental claims. Among the most established schemes in Europe is the EU Ecolabel, the official environmental label of the European Union, which identifies products and services with rigorous environmental performance across their entire life cycle.

According to the latest figures published by the European Commission, the EU Ecolabel continues to expand across multiple sectors, reaching record levels in both certified products and awarded licenses.

A Record Year for the EU Ecolabel

As of March 2026, the European Commission’s data puts the scheme at 3,541 EU Ecolabel licenses awarded, covering 116,692 products and services available across the European Economic Area (EEA), the highest levels since the scheme was introduced.

Over the latest six-month reporting period:

The Commission attributes this growth to rising interest from businesses, retailers, and consumers in environmentally responsible and innovative products.

SMEs Play a Leading Role

Approximately 61% of license holders are SMEs, based on data from the EU Ecolabel Product Catalogue and the EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation Catalogue. This underscores how actively smaller businesses are using certification frameworks to strengthen their market positioning.

Paints, Paper, and Cleaning Products Dominate

Three sectors account for the bulk of everything certified under the EU Ecolabel. Paints and varnishes lead the way with 38,233 products, roughly one in three of all certified items , followed by paper products (29,944) and cleaning products (15,291). Together, these three categories alone make up close to two-thirds of the entire certified product base.

Textiles and furniture round out the next tier, with 11,629 and 10,095 products respectively, followed by coverings (7,381), proof that the label is gaining traction well beyond its traditional strongholds. Personal care products (2,140) and tourist accommodation services (982) trail further behind in volume, but as the next section shows, they’re where growth is happening fastest.

Tourism and Cleaning Show the Strongest Growth

Looking at the categories gaining the most new licenses in the past six months, a clear pattern emerges:

Tourism stands out in particular: it’s a smaller category by product volume, but it’s clearly where the most new operators are entering the scheme.

The Countries Leading Adoption

Germany, Italy, France, and Spain award the highest number of licenses. Italy, Spain, France, and Germany lead in total certified products.

The Commission notes that certified products may be available across multiple markets, so availability doesn’t necessarily correspond to the country where the license was awarded.

Licenses vs. Products

Looking at licenses and products side by side reveals two very different pictures of the same scheme. By license count, tourist accommodation dominates, it holds 27% of all licenses, far more than any other category, followed by hard surface cleaning (13%) and tissue paper (8%). But by product count, paints and varnishes take the top spot with 33% of all certified products, well ahead of tissue paper (18%), textiles (10%), and furniture (9%).

In other words: tourism has the most operators but relatively few products each, while paints have fewer companies certifying a much larger volume of products per license. It’s a reminder that “leading category” can mean different things depending on how you measure it.

Looking Ahead

The latest figures confirm the EU Ecolabel’s continued expansion across Europe, reaching unprecedented levels in both certified products and licenses. Momentum is strongest in tourism, cleaning, paper, and paints, with SMEs remaining a core part of the certification landscape. The trend points to continued growth in demand for independently verified environmental certification among both businesses and consumers.

Source: European Commission, EU Ecolabel Facts and Figures (March 2026)