Auckland, 8 December 2025 – Eco Choice Aotearoa, the country’s official ecolabel, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s national ecolabelling body, China Environmental United Certification Centre (CEC), to promote ecolabelling and encourage sustainable trade.
The agreement was formalised during an official visit to New Zealand by representatives from the Environmental Development Centre (EDC) of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), and the China Environmental United Certification Centre (CEC).
Eco Choice Aotearoa facilitated the delegation’s engagements with key partners, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), which outlined New Zealand’s climate policy priorities and discussed how both countries are addressing shared climate challenges.
The group also met with Ecostore, who has long-held Eco Choice’s certification, to learn more about their sustainability initiatives, and entry into the China market. Their programme concluded with meetings at New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) with industry bodies and export clients.
Eco Choice Aotearoa Chief Executive Laura Gemmell said the ecolabel’s partnership with CEC will support sustainable trade and create opportunities to harmonise standards while respecting local nuances and priorities.
“China and New Zealand are very different markets, with their own unique challenges, but we have similar goals and there’s a lot we can learn from each other. The delegation was impressed by the ingenuity shown by Kiwi businesses and the use of transparency as a marketing advantage, while we took note of China’s highly successful green public procurement policy,” said Gemmell.
Eco Choice and CEC operate lifecycle ecolabels guided by ISO14024 principles, which independently assess a product’s environmental and health impacts from raw materials through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. This approach goes beyond single-issue claims by requiring products to meet strict, science-based criteria across areas such as resource use, chemical safety, emissions, waste management, and product stewardship.
The MOU will provide a framework for how the two ecolabels will work together across research, standards alignment, and the exploration of emerging tools to better support businesses in both countries.
As members of the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), closer cooperation between Eco Choice and CEC helps ensure environmental information is credible, comparable, and easier for businesses to navigate.
Mr. Chen Ming, the Director of EDC said the cooperation between Eco Choice and CEC will play an important role for green and low carbon development of both countries.
“It is hoped that both parties will further deepen cooperation on the mutual recognition of ecolabels, facilitate the development of green trade between the two countries, and contribute to the global efforts in addressing climate change.”
