About the Nordic Swan

The Sonata battery received the first Nordic Swan ecolabel designation ever given to a lithium-ion battery, and Boston-Power was the first U.S. company to meet the ecolabel’s criteria for any product. Before awarding the designation, the Nordic Council of Ministers considers the environmental impacts of a product from manufacturing to disposal, including manufacturing waste materials, energy use, and toxics anywhere in the product; even the ink in the stamped serial number is tested. To meet the specs, the Sonata forgoes the PVC plastic that encases most batteries and uses no flame retardants, relying on the battery’s design to prevent fires.

—Tekla S. Perry