Understanding the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program for Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Part 1
Introduction to the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program
The ETV program is an international program with the goal of providing high quality, independent performance data on environmental technologies. Supported by over 40 countries worldwide, the goal of the ETV is to “test once, verify everywhere”. This helps to ease the testing burden on manufacturers while providing users with reliable performance data.
Canada is an active participant in ETV and has developed the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification (CETV) program. This program is nationally recognized and sponsored by Environment Canada. Globe Performance Solutions (GPS) administers the program on behalf of Environment Canada. (http://globeperformance.com/). GPS maintains a consortium of technical institutions that can act as testing and/or verifying organizations.
The process of applying for CETV verification involves contacting GPS and submitting an application for pre-screening. If the application can proceed, a formal application is completed and associated fees are required. At this point, GPS will assist the manufacturer in finding a suitable testing lab and verification organization. The two organizations must be independent of each other. The manufacturer, tester, GPS and verifier then all work together to successfully complete the process.
Developing a claim is the most critical part of the process. The claim is the statement which sets the basis for the test program i.e. “This product removes 80% of sediment at flow rates below 50 L/s”. The test program is designed so that it generates the correct type and amount of data and therefore allows the claim to be verified.
The output of the ETV process is comprised of 3 documents: a Verification Certificate, A Technology Fact Sheet, and a Final Verification Report.
At the end of the application and verification process, the Technology Fact Sheet is published on the CETV Program website and will contain the claim which was verified. The manufacturer is then allowed to showcase the ETV logo within their marketing material (subject to guidelines issued by the CETV program). It is important to note that the logo is only intended to be used in conjunction with the verified claim.
More information on the CETV program can be found at www.etvcanada.ca. More information on how to navigate through the program can be found by contacting Good Harbour Labs, www.goodharbourlabs.com. Part 2 of this post will address ETV and the stormwater equipment industry specifically.
