Curtain up: Harald Brugger
For more than 10 years DI (FH) Harald Brugger MSc, Head of Chemicals & Consumption has been working for Die UMWELTBERATUNG. Numerous detergents and cleaning agents have been awarded the Austrian Ecolabel or EU Ecolabel on the basis of his expert opinions. In the following he reports about his experiences.
How has your professional career developed?
I studied chemical engineering and technical environmental management with a focus on ecotoxicology and worked for many years in environmental analysis, for example for the Environment Agency Austria. I have been working for DIE UMWELTBERATUNG for over 10 years. I assess the ecological and health effects of chemicals and products used in the household, in DIY and for private and professional cleaning. Furthermore, I am project manager of the database Öko-Rein for environmentally friendly and healthy detergents and cleaning agents.
How did you get the Austrian Ecolabel?
DIE UMWELTBERATUNG has been evaluating detergents and cleaning agents for 25 years. My knowledge and many years of experience in environmental analysis were decisive factors in my being nominated as an independent expert for detergents and cleaning agents for the Austrian Ecolabel and the EU Ecolabel. In this function I am allowed to evaluate many different products and can observe exciting developments.
What advantages do you see in being awarded with the Austrian Ecolabel?
In many advisory discussions, whether with consumers, public procurement or companies, the selection of ecological detergents and cleaning agents is an important topic. This is where independent labels such as the Austrian or European Ecolabel help. This saves consumers as well as large-scale buyers a lot of time in their search for environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning agents - they can simply rely on the independent evaluation and recommendation. The award-winning products must also pass usability tests. This means that they not only protect the environment and health, but also clean and wash very well.
Can you tell us about special experiences and stories?
I wrote my master's thesis at the FH Technikum Wien on the assessment of the eco- and human-toxic risk potential of detergents and cleaning agents. In 2012 I had to deal with 460 chemical ingredients. Today this list is much longer: more than 1000 substances have already been included in our evaluations of detergents and cleaning agents for the Öko-Rein database. You never stop learning. I also find it exciting to see how much is happening with packaging. Reducing packaging to the essentials and using recycled materials for packaging are normal practice for Eco-labelled products today.
We say thank you for the nice conversation and wish you good luck for your future career!
You can find further information at www.umweltberatung.at/oekorein-datenbank