Understanding Quality Labels in Europe

Guarantees of Origin (GOs), typically representing 1 MWh of electricity production, serve as standardized certificates that track and verify the source of energy. We recently published The Guide to Cross-Border GO & REC Management in 2025, but there’s one more thing that needs to be covered: Quality Labels.

While all GOs contain core attributes, various additional quality labels and criteria schemes have emerged across Europe. They exist to signify higher standards, such as greater additionality, which adds more complexity to the certification landscape. First, let’s take a look at what all GOs have in common:

Standard GO Attributes

Every GO issued within the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) contains fundamental data points. The mandatory data fields are derived from Article 19.7 of REDII and the EU CEN EN 16325 standard. They include:

Understanding Supported vs Unsupported

An important distinction in the GO system, and also the topic of labels, is whether the energy received public support:

Supported energy: Electricity that received feed-in tariffs, premiums, or other government subsidies. GOs for supported energy may be treated differently in some markets, as the renewable character has already been "paid for" through public mechanisms.

Unsupported energy: Production that operates without public subsidy mechanisms. Some quality labels (like ok-power) specifically require energy to be unsupported (unsubsidised), as that this creates additional environmental benefit.

Following the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), GOs must indicate whether the electricity received public support - It’s a mandatory field, and not a quality label. This attribute can be more granular than a simple yes/no field, with countries like Italy and the Netherlands including more detailed support information than the basic binary flag:

• Type of support: Investment aid vs. operational support
• Support scheme name: Specific program (e.g., "SDE+" in Netherlands, "Conto Energia" in Italy)
• Status: Ongoing, expired, or transitional

This ties into a concept called Additionality.

Additionality is a determination of whether an intervention (in our case, the purchase of GOs) has an effect, when the intervention is compared to a baseline.

Most GOs, especially due to Norwegian export-dominance, come from well-established, often decades-old hydropower plants. Besides producer revenue, these GO purchases have no additional benefits.

Therefore, in order to ensure you are supporting **renewable capacity installation that is ‘additional’, many purchasers opt for GOs issued to newer plants alongside plants that do not receive support outside of the GO system. In the context of labels, GOs don't inherently represent additionality unless they carry a quality label specifically requiring new capacity investment or additional environmental benefits beyond regulatory minimums.

Additionality is also a key topic within the RE100 ‘credible renewable claims’ criteria, and you can read our article on that here.

Independent Criteria Schemes (ICS)

Within the EECS framework operated by the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB), quality labels are implemented underneath Independent Criteria Schemes (ICS). Under EECS-SD09, an ICS Label flag is applied to a GO, referencing an external set of criteria that the underlying energy meets.

Quality labels are implemented through optional fields on the EECS-GO, as permitted by the EECS Rules, and set out in the relevant Domain Protocol for each issuing country. This technical mechanism ensures that label information is retained when GOs are transferred across borders within the AIB network (between AIB-Hub connected registries).

Before AIB recognition, an ICS can develop its criteria, establish verification procedures, and secure agreements with at least one AIB member to issue certificates and another to import them. However, it cannot have its attributes maintained during cross-border transfers within the AIB system.

The ICS must demonstrate clear scope boundaries, EECS Rules compliance, avoidance of double counting, proper authorization criteria for issuing bodies, and a scheme updating framework. It must be operated by a legal entity and cannot compete with existing GO schemes in the same domain.

AIB Recognised Quality Labels (ICS) in Europe

EKOenergy - AIB Recognised

EKOenergy is an international ecolabel managed by the EKOenergy Network. Started in Finland in 2013, it requires 100% renewable sources plus additional sustainability criteria. EKOenergy-labeled electricity includes a climate fund contribution (€0.10/MWh) to finance new renewable energy projects. This label applies across multiple European countries and is recognized as an EECS ICS.

TÜV SÜD Generation EE - AIB Recognised

This standard from TÜV SÜD certifies renewable electricity with modules for firm supply (EE+), new plants (EEnew), and CO2 offsetting. It focuses on verifying the renewable source and can include additional guarantees regarding supply profile matching, investment in new capacity, or complete carbon neutrality through verified emissions offsetting.

naturemade - AIB Recognised

The naturemade label, managed by the Swiss VUE Association since 1999, features two levels: "basic" (100% renewable) and "star" (premium renewable with stringent ecological criteria). The "star" level applies particularly high standards to hydropower, requiring ecological improvements and environmental contributions.

Other Market-Recognized Labels

ok-power

The ok-power label, established in Germany in 2000, certifies renewable electricity that comes from plants not receiving government subsidies. Suppliers using this label must ensure at least 33% of their electricity comes from new-build renewable facilities. This requirement encourages investment in additional renewable capacity rather than just trading existing certificates.

Bra Miljöval (Good Environmental Choice)

Managed by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), Bra Miljöval has operated since 1995 and imposes strict ecological criteria. For hydropower, it requires minimum ecological flow and environmental mitigation measures. Plants must maintain biodiversity and contribute to an environmental fund. This label primarily applies to Swedish production but can be granted to facilities in other AIB countries.

Grüner Strom Label

Grüner Strom Label (Green Electricity Label), established in Germany in 1998, requires suppliers to invest in new renewable projects. Originally featuring Gold and Silver tiers, the label was revised in 2015 to feature a single standard. It ensures that for every kWh sold, a fixed premium goes toward developing new renewable energy capacity.

TÜV Rheinland EE01/EE02 and TÜV Nord

Similar to TÜV SÜD Generation EE, these German certification programs verify renewable electricity with additional criteria. TÜV Rheinland's EE01/EE02 standards require 30% of electricity to come from new plants. While not all are officially designated as ICS within AIB, they function similarly and are referenced in AIB documentation.

RenewablePLUS

A commercial label used widely in Central Europe, RenewablePLUS certifies additionality through investment commitments and carbon offsets. Though not an official ICS, it is frequently associated with GO transactions, particularly for corporate buyers seeking to demonstrate enhanced environmental commitment.

Market Quirk: Supplier Labelling

The implementation quality labels varies significantly across Europe: Some countries have developed their own national eco-labels, like Austria's "Österreichisches Umweltzeichen" or the Dutch "Milieukeur" certification. Unlike ICS labels actually embedded into the GO system that travel with GOs, these typically operate at the product or supplier level. Suppliers undergo these third-party audits and use GOs as compliance evidence, but the registry itself does not carry the label information— it’s completely external.

Historical Context Behind Labels: RECS to EECS

Prior to EECS, several countries used RECS for voluntary disclosure. These were phased out as EECS GOs became the legal standard under EU Directive 2009/28/EC. This explains why today's quality labels are embedded into EECS GOs rather than attempting to operating as separate instrument. It makes a lot of sense for quality labels to act as additional differentiation within a standard framework.

Conclusion

Let’s keep a few things in mind as we wrap up. Quality labels, as part of ICS schemes, are not separate certificates, but rather flags or annotations embedded directly within the GO in EECS registries. Once AIB approved, they are freely transferable and therefore permanently attached between jurisdictions. They’re not all the same, and offer different verifications— such as facilitating a fixed fee towards new projects or the guaranteeing that technologies like hydropower and biomass have implemented measures to affect ecosystems less.

Like most quirks of the GO market, they require a little bit more administration on behalf of producers. At Soldera, our back office for GOs is fully equipped for ICS management, including automated eligibility detection— important because ICS labelled GOs have price premiums attached, meaning we can help you capitalise on this premium using our automated sales agent. Ultimately, labels provide consumers with choices beyond the binary "renewable or not" distinction, allowing them to support specific environmental values and benefits.