On 8 October 2026, the world celebrates World Ecolabel Day 2026. This year's theme is: Ecolabels for Sustainable Trade in the Digital Era. As part of the global celebration, the international GEN Awards 2026 is being held for the first time.
The Ukrainian Ecolabelling programme "Green Crane" is taking part in GEN Awards 2026 with the project "Type I Ecolabelling for Ukraine's Green Reconstruction", implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Restoration of Ukraine, the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine, the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine and Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, in two categories:
- Institutional Leadership and Systemic Impact;
- Special Nomination: Unique Experience.
For us, participation in GEN Awards 2026 is an opportunity to present Ukrainian experience to the international professional community and show how ecolabelling can work not only in the product market, but also at the level of design, public procurement and green reconstruction.
It is also about our resilient country, European integration, our businesses, and how to rebuild better, faster and with care for the future.
Our project demonstrates how Type I ecolabelling can go beyond the certification of individual products and become a practical tool for green reconstruction.
As part of the project, with financial support from GIZ and together with partners, a set of tools was developed for clients and the construction sector:
- updated environmental criteria for life cycle assessment of building products in different categories;
- methodological guidelines for the design and reconstruction of energy-efficient public buildings with improved environmental characteristics (preschools, schools and administrative buildings);
- recommendations on preparing design briefs for the reconstruction of educational facilities damaged as a result of the war;
- standard designs for preschools, schools and administrative buildings that successfully passed expert assessment and are available free of charge through Ukraine's Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector (ЄДЕССБ);
- professional trainings for public authorities, clients, architects and designers;
- a digital E-Catalogue Products of environmentally preferable building products available on the Ukrainian market.
Thus, this is not about individual recommendations, but about a complete chain: environmental criteria → design → product selection → public procurement → construction and reconstruction.
Methodological Guidelines for the Design and Reconstruction of Energy-Efficient School and Preschool Buildings with Improved Environmental Characteristics
Svitlana Berzina – President of the All-Ukranian NGO “Living Planet” presents the Guidelines
School before / after reconstruction (visualization)
Environmentally certified products on the Ukrainian market bear the "Green Crane" ecolabel
The solutions we propose were not created for a single site. Reusable project documentation for standard designs is being successfully shared and adapted by communities, making the approach suitable for scaling.
WorldEcolabelDay is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of October and brings together ecolabelling programmes from around the world.
As part of the global campaign, the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) highlights initiatives by ecolabelling programmes, as well as businesses that have undergone environmental certification. The campaign will culminate in GEN Awards 2026, where finalists selected by the Jury will be recognized on 27 October in Singapore.
The Awards recognize practical solutions that show how ecolabelling can influence markets, public policy, procurement, digital tools and sustainable trade.
Follow the World Ecolabel Day 2026 campaign and the stories of GEN Awards 2026 participants.