GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals is a method for assessing and comparing chemical hazards. It can help teams organize ingredient information, identify human-health and environmental hazards, and inform product design, procurement, and supply-chain discussions. It is not a universal approval or a substitute for every market’s mandatory requirements.

For cleaning products, coatings, textile chemicals, and other formulated goods, the reliable starting point is to define the assessment object and link each conclusion to its source, version, and scope before using words such as “green” or “safer” on a product page.

1. Define the GreenScreen assessment object

GreenScreen can be applied to a single chemical and, with the relevant guidance, to more complex mixtures and polymeric materials. The first fields in an evidence map should identify the substance, CAS RN where applicable, trade name, formulation version, and supplier. For a mixture, record the relevant ingredients and concentration information rather than treating a brand or finished carton as a single chemical conclusion.

Keep three expressions separate: the GreenScreen method evaluates hazard information; a Benchmark is a comparative outcome under that method; and GreenScreen Certified is a product-level program with its own standard, scope, and certification process. Without the relevant assessment report, product standard, and authorization, one expression should not be presented as another.

2. The method’s three-step structure

Step 1: collect and classify hazard information. Review the human-health and environmental hazard endpoints in the applicable method documents. Record standardized tests, scientific literature, specified lists, models, or suitable analogues, together with the confidence level and data gaps for each classification.

Step 2: apply the Benchmark criteria. A Benchmark is not a “safe” certification or a no-risk finding. It is a comparative indicator derived from defined combinations of hazard classifications. A Benchmark may not be assigned when the available information is insufficient, so retain the hazard summary, sources, method version, and limitations with the result.

Step 3: support informed decisions. The assessment can inform product design, procurement, risk management, and safer-alternative discussions. The final decision also depends on use, exposure, performance, supply, and the mandatory rules of the target market. One Benchmark does not automatically establish that a finished product can be sold in every country.

3. Evidence map: link every conclusion to a source

For each SKU, maintain a product–ingredient–evidence–page record containing at least:

  • Product scope: SKU, formulation or material version, intended use, exposure context, manufacturer, and supplier.
  • Ingredient identity: substance name, CAS RN where applicable, concentration, impurities or additives, plus SDS, specifications, and formulation confirmation.
  • Hazard evidence: test or literature source, list version, model basis, data gaps, confidence, and assessment date.
  • Outcome record: method version, Benchmark or List Translator result, report reference, assessor, and the permitted public-use scope.
  • Page wording: the exact claim, qualifiers, covered product, and source link; keep “assessed for hazard” separate from “complies with law,” “safe for people,” or “sustainable.”

Supplier documents can be inputs, but a supplier statement alone does not establish the entity, formulation, version, or conclusion. Re-check the record when ingredients, concentrations, suppliers, or method versions change.

4. Boundaries with law, platforms, and environmental claims

REACH, CLP, US chemical rules, and other market-specific regimes address matters such as classification, labelling, safety information, restrictions, or reporting. Those duties are not removed by a GreenScreen assessment. A cleaning product may also require separate review for its function, consumer label, packaging, or transport conditions.

“Contains an ingredient with a stated Benchmark,” “uses an assessed ingredient,” and “is GreenScreen Certified” are different claims. Use the applicable wording only when the evidence covers the product, formulation, certificate holder, standard, and scope. Do not expand a single-chemical result to the finished product or present the method as government approval or guaranteed platform acceptance.

5. Manual review before page release

Review each sentence for the assessment object, method version, evidence scope, and limitations. Compare the Chinese and English ingredient names, product boundaries, and qualifiers. Remove unsupported language such as “guaranteed approval,” “globally valid,” “zero risk,” or “automatically compliant.” Keep only statements supported by the current records and official method materials.

This reference is based on the official Clean Production Action / GreenScreen method and resources pages. Method documents and program requirements can change, so confirm the current version and terms before use. 绿色方舟（深圳）认证有限公司 can help organize product–ingredient–evidence records; the applicable law, assessment result, and certification scope remain subject to the official rules, formal reports, and program documents.