Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labelling systems for food and consumer products. Ecolabels are often voluntary, but Green Stickers are mandated by law in North America for major appliances and automobiles. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement; others simply assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Usually both the precautionary principle and the substitution principle are used when defining the rules for what products can be ecolabelled.
Ecolabelling systems exist for both food and consumer products. Both systems were started by NGOs but nowadays the European Union have legislation for the rules of ecolabelling and also have their own ecolabels, one for food and one for consumer products. At least for food, the ecolabel is nearly identical with the common NGO definition of the rules for ecolabelling. Trust in the label is an issue for consumers, as manufacturers or manufacturing associations could set up "rubber stamp" labels to greenwash their products.
Many people believe that most food ecolabels are the same as organic labelling. This is not inaccurate, a great many certification standards with ecolabels exist, such as Rainforest Alliance, Utz coffee, cocoa and tea, GreenPalm, Marine Stewardship Council, and many more; these are aimed at sustainable food production and good social and environmental performance. These are mainstream standards aimed at improving whole sectors of the food industry, in addition there are many more of these which are business-to-business standards that do not carry consumer-facing ecolabels.
The last few years have seen a few key trends in the ecolabels space. One is the explosion in the numbers of different ecolabeling programs across the world and across business sectors, with many schemes broadening their issues to cover social, ethical and safety issues as well as just environmental. This has led to some confusion and perhaps fatigue amongst consumers and brand awareness of most labels (such as the EU Ecolabels) remains low. A second key trend is the rise in uptake of voluntary ecolabels and sustainability standards by the business-to-business sector. In this space, global firms are demanding that the standards be (a) global in nature and (b) well documented, transparent and trustworthy. This has led to the growth of a few "super standards" which have become major global brands and are likely to edge out some of the smaller standards and labels in place. Key examples are the Fairtrade label, the Forest Stewardship Council for the forestry sector and the Marine Stewardship Council for fish products. All have become well known consumer brands as well as key supplier filters for global buyers. This has led to the emergence of "standards for standards" whereby the organizations setting voluntary ecolabels adhere to guidelines laid down by wider stakeholder bodies such as the ISEAL Alliance.[1]
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The concept of ‘environmental consumption’[2] helps in developing an interest in eco-labels. This is a shift away from traditional command and control measures imposed by governments towards market governance which is a self-regulatory new environmental policy instrument, eco-labelling.[3][4] Taken into consideration of this eco-labels potentiality to attain sustainability, various eco-labelling schemes have been introduced since early 90’s.[5]
Since United Nations ‘Earth Summit’ Conference in 1992, an international consensus has been generated to integrate environmental issues into manufacturing procedures and also in consumption patterns to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, it can be assumed that eco-labels can play a vital role here as these labels are directly linked between products and consumers. This voluntary approach is so far aimed to encourage large industries to minimise their environmental impact by using the market forces to influence the informed consumers. That is why; industries are showing interest to get this certification as part of their industrial and commercial strategies. In comparison to developing world, consumers of the developed world are more concern about the quality, safety and environmental sustainability of foods that boosts up the demand for ‘green’ foods. Now, this concern has moved towards the environmental effects of agriculture and globalisation of food production leading to ‘alternative’ and ‘sustainable food production’. Thus, globally a third food regime is becoming more apparent which allows a rise of ‘Alternative Food Networks’[6] which gives a new dimension to consumers demand and corporate competition. Australian Consumer Association (CHOICE) confronted their concern about the consumers growing interest from green consumption to food production, like, use of pesticides, organic production, and genetic modification etc.
In terms of ecological labelling, both certification and private standardization run parallel. Eco-labelling standardization is a new form of regulation of the market economy which is voluntary in nature but impose upon large companies using market forces in order to harmonise production of goods and services with environment. Lately, it turns into a new form of non-state authority in both national and international levels. Thus, it has been analysed through the prism of law and of political economy. Cited in Lavallee & Plouffe, 2004, “Jean-Christophe Graz has e this analysis as, ‘far from creating an opposition between the law and public regulation and private standardization...sets out to explore how international standardization represents a new model of ‘entrepreneurial democracy’, whose fault lines run through the opposition between the state and the market while providing several levels of a hybrid form of authority at the world level”. This new idea of ‘entrepreneurial democracy’[7] based on the success of the ISO 14000 standards on the management of environmental quality and the ISO 9000 standards on quality production control. Once an industry decides to get this certification, it has to provide evidences of documented proof of compliance required. In terms of ISO 14042 standard, all applicants are obligatorily respect environmental legislation with related legislation. And breaching of any laws will result taken away of its license.[8]
Green stickers on consumer goods have been evolving since the 1970s. The main drivers have been energy and fuel consumption. These stickers first started appearing on major appliances after government agencies in the United States and Canada regulated their requirement. Manufacturers are also required to meet minimum standards of energy use. The Automobile industry in North America is required to meet a minimum emissions standard. This led to fuel efficiency labels being placed on new automobiles sold. The major appliance manufactures were required to use standard testing practices and place clear labels on products. The International Organization for Standardization has developed standards for addressing environmental labeling with the ISO 14000 family which grew out of ISO's commitment to support the objective of sustainable development discussed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992[9]
Governments of many countries have environmental protection agencies. These agencies are mandated watchdogs of industry and regulate releasing chemical pollution into the environment. Some of them administer labelling standards; other set minimum requirements for manufacturers.
The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) run by the Department of Natural Resources Canada regulates both the automobile and appliance manufacturers. EnerGuide label for vehicles found on all new passenger cars, light-duty vans, pickup trucks and special purpose vehicles not exceeding a gross vehicle weight of 3855 kg (8500 lb). The label shows the city and highway fuel consumption ratings and an estimated annual fuel cost for that particular vehicle.[10] Federal law in Canada, under Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations,requires that the EnerGuide label be placed on all new electrical appliances manufactured in or imported into Canada and that the label indicate the amount of electricity used by that appliance. This information is determined by standardized test procedures. A third-party agency verifies that an appliance meets Canada's minimum energy performance levels.[11]
All major home appliances must meet the Appliance Standards Program set by the US Department of Energy (DOE)on cooperation with the US Federal Trade Commission.[12] Manufacturers must use standard test procedures developed by DOE to prove the energy use and efficiency of their products. Test results are printed on yellow EnergyGuide label, which manufacturers are required to display on many appliances (designed by Greenfield/Belser). This label estimates how much energy the appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products, and lists approximate annual operating costs. Appliances that meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are eligible for the blue ENERGY STAR label. The ENERGY STAR label is also available on energy-efficient televisions, computers, audio visual equipment and electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment, and many more products. ENERGY STAR is also available on energy efficient homes and buildings in the United States. American automobile manufacturers are required to use certified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy test results and cannot use any other fuel mileage results to advertise vehicle fuel efficiency. The state of California has Green Sticker licence plates issued to OHVs. California Air Resources Board is introducing Green Stickers[13] for all new automobiles in 2009.
The EU Ecolabel is a voluntary product label. It was established in 1992 to encourage businesses to market products and services that meet high standards of environmental performance and quality. The labels are awarded according to environmental criteria set by the member states of the EU with involvement of industry and consumer and environmental NGOs European Commission of Environment.
These criteria cover the whole life cycle of a product, from the extraction of raw materials, through manufacture, distribution, use and disposal of the product. These assessment criteria are not generic and specific products and services have their own criteria.[14]There is a significant body of legislation that has been assembled to back up the EU Eco Label which has been periodically reviewed since 1992 to keep the text up to date and ensure that lessons learned in the implementation of ecolabel schemes are incorporated.
The EU Ecolabel is part of a broader EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy adopted by the European Commission on 16 July 2008, which also links the Flower to other EU policies such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) and Ecodesign of Energy Using products [2].
European Parliament passed first reading of mandatory labelling on food products but rejected traffic light label system used in the UK. EU Ministers have to approve the proposal before it can be enacted.
The Nordic swan is the official ecolabel in Nordic countries. It uses a system of standards, applications for licenses, and independent verification.
In Asia ASEAN is moving towards adopting the ISO's TC 207 environmental management system.[15] Can anyone can contribute verifiable sources substantiating it's adoption and implementation by member countries as this information is not easily accessible.
There are a plethora of sustainable seafood ecolabels, many conservationists feel that the increasing number of labels is further confusing consumers in regard to what seafood is sustainable. As of 2010, ecolabels that can be found on seafood include Marine Stewardship Council, Friend of the Sea, KRAV (Sweden), Naturland (Germany), Thai Quality Shrimp, Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices standard, Label Rouge (France), among still others, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is in development. Seafood is also labeled "organic" but USDA standards for organic seafood are still in development.
There are a variety of dolphin safe labels, asserting that tuna is caught in a manner that does not harm dolphins.
The Marine Stewardship Council's distinctive blue ecolabel enables consumers to identify seafood that has come from a sustainable source. The MSC programme is voluntary and fisheries that are independently assessed and meet the MSC's environmental standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. As of April 2010 it can be found on the packaging of seafood and fresh fish counters on nearly 4,000 products in over 60 countries around the world.
The MSC standard is consistent with the ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Wild Capture Fisheries’ adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2005. Any fishery that wishes to become MSC certified and use the ecolabel is assessed against the MSC standard by a third party, independent certification body that has been independently accredited to perform MSC assessments by Accreditation Services International (ASI). Chain of custody certification along the supply chain from boat to point of sale ensures that seafood sold bearing the ecolabel originated from an MSC certified fishery. The Council was founded as a result of the work of the Seafood Choices Alliance.
At present uptake of MSC labelled products in the UK is mixed some of the more ethical supermarkets such as Sainsbury have managed to source a significant number of there fish products as MSC, whilst Tesco, lags behind.
The Friend of the Sea is an NGO founded in December 2006 to conserve marine habitat and resources by means of market incentives and specific conservation projects. It is the only scheme which certifies as sustainable, with the same seal of approval, both farmed and wild-caught products. Certified products from all continents include anchovies, caviar, clams, cuttlefish, halibut, kingfish, mackerel, mulloway, mussels, prawns, salmon, seabass, seabream, shrimps, squid, sturgeon, trout, tuna, turbot. Fishmeal, fishfeed and Omega-3 Fish oil have also been certified. Sustainable seafood, products and their origins are audited onsite by international certification bodies, against Friend of the Sea criteria. Certification bodies currently auditing against Friend of the Sea criteria are Aqa, Bureau Veritas, IFQC and SGS .
The Friend of the Sea criteria is currently the only one which follows the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries, by fulfilling Article 30 of the Guidelines which allows certification only of products from fisheries targeting stocks which are not overexploited.
Ecolabels indicating that timber in wood-based products originates from forests that are sustainably managed in compliance with internationally recognized standards include at a global level labels by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Forest Stewardship Council, at regional and national levels labels by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Malaysian Timber Certification System (both internationally recognized by PEFC) or the Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI). The timber is tracked through the supply chain to the end product, so that consumers can choose to buy sustainably harvested wood over alternatives that may be contributing to deforestation worldwide.
Many consumer appliances have labels indicating whether or not they are energy efficient compared to similar products. Common labels include yellow EnergyGuide tags found in North America as part of the Energy Star program, European Union energy labels, and the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo[16] administrated by the Energy Saving Trust in the United Kingdom. These labels document how much energy an appliance consumes while being used; energy input labeling documents how much energy was used to manufacture the product, an additional consideration in the full life cycle energy use of product.
Carbon emission labels are an alternative methodology for certification, examining impact on greenhouse gas emissions rather than direct energy use.
Some labels are applied to the direct purchase of energy, such as from electric utilities. These include the EKOenergy label in Finland, and the discontinued Eugene Green Energy Standard in the European Union.
The RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) label is a tradmarked ecolable that can be placed on products using Palm Oil from RSPO certified farms.
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