New Pilot Cuts Sustainability Certification Verification From Weeks to Seconds

GS1 US, TCO Certified and Amazon Bring Reliable Sustainability Certification Data to Consumers Faster Using GS1 Standards

EWING, N.J., June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A pilot conducted by GS1 US, TCO Certified and Amazon showed that linking sustainability certification data to products using GS1 Standards can dramatically improve certification verification speed, benefiting brands, retailers, certification bodies and consumers.

Today, sustainability certification data is often exchanged across the industry via PDFs, spreadsheets and emails, using different formats and processes. This approach can make automated verification difficult and slow the transfer of trusted sustainability certification data from brands through to retailers and the customers looking to buy sustainably certified products. The pilot showed that linking certification data to the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) and building on the GS1 web vocabulary can help streamline the way certification bodies, brands and retailers exchange and verify certification data.

"Working with GS1 US and TCO Certified gave us an opportunity to explore how sustainability certification data can move more seamlessly across systems," said Cam Westfall, head of product and engineering for Climate Pledge Friendly at Amazon. "The result is that customers see sustainability features sooner, and brands get recognized for their certified products without the wait. We look forward to taking what we've learned here and continuing to collaborate with others across the industry."

The pilot successfully tested the approach across multiple retail categories, highlighting the potential to support a broad range of products and certification types. By minimizing the need for custom integrations, the pilot demonstrated how certification data can flow more efficiently between systems, reducing certification verification processes that previously took 15 to 30 days to just seconds.

"As the number of certified products continues to grow, the industry needs scalable ways to share trusted product and certification data," said Melanie Nuce-Hilton, senior vice president of customer success, GS1 US. "When verifiable product data can move efficiently between systems using common standards, brands, retailers, certification bodies and consumers all benefit. This pilot shows how GS1 Standards can enable greater transparency and interoperability in sustainability information at scale."

"Inconsistent and proprietary data formats have historically made certification data exchange more complex," said Hannes Mäki, digital strategy manager, TCO Certified. "Adopting GS1 identifiers helped simplify product-to-certificate matching and demonstrated the value of this new approach."

The collaboration provides a practical framework for companies seeking to improve sustainability data exchange and support growing industry expectations for trusted, verifiable product information.

Leaders from Amazon and GS1 US will present details of this pilot at GS1 Connect, GS1 US' annual supply chain conference taking place June 9-11, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information and to register, please visit connect.gs1us.org/agenda.  

To learn more about Amazon's sustainability initiatives, visit sustainability.aboutamazon.com and for more information about GS1 US, visit, gs1us.org.

About GS1 US
GS1 US enables companies to power their supply chains to deliver safe, consistent, authentic and trusted experiences. Best known as a source for UPC barcodes, GS1 is a not-for-profit, global data standards organization that creates a common language for companies to identify, capture and share trusted data that links their physical and digital supply chains. Millions of businesses around the world power commerce with GS1 Standards. Learn more at gs1us.org.

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SOURCE GS1 US