Ecolabel
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. There are currently 456 eco-labels in 199 countries, across 25 industry sectors according Ecolabel Index, the largest global directory of eco-labels. 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, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are captured in a sustainability standard. Through a verification process, usually referred to as "certification", a farm, forest, fishery, or mine can show that it complies with a standard and earn the right to sell its products as certified through the supply chain, often resulting in a consumer-facing ecolabel.
The last few years have seen two key trends in the ecolabels space. There is an explosion in the numbers of different ecolabelling programs across the world and across business sectors and secondly the proliferation of umbrella labeling programs. Currently, there are around 264 active sustainability standards in 194 countries and 15 sectors, and about 457 ecolabels in 199 countries, and 25 industry sectors. Within the standard profile, ITC provide the typology which explains if it is an international standard or a private standard e.g. the entity in charge is a private association or company.
Ecolabelling systems exist for both food and consumer products. Both systems were started by non-governmental organizations. Since then the European Union has developed legislation for conduct of ecolabelling and also have created 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. Label trust is an issue for consumers because some manufacturers and manufacturing associations have set up "rubber stamp" labels to greenwash their products with fake ecolabels. High trust levels can be created when ecolabels apply for governmental recognition as formal Certification Marks. Typically this means schemes approved as a Certification Mark have had the government department responsible declare that the scheme has a standard and certifies that they are 'Competent to Certify'. The highest trust levels would be a government recognized certification mark that was also compliant with key ISO standards, especially ISO 14024- Type I Ecolabels that undertake ISO 14040 compliant life cycle analysis as part of their assessment. Type I ecolabels are voluntary labels that signify overall environmental preference of a product or services based on life-cycle considerations that address multiple environmental criteria, which are based on transparent standards for environmental preferability, verified by a qualified organization.
ISO participation
Recent years have seen two key trends with ecolabels. There is an explosion in the number of different ecolabelling programs across the world and across business sectors and secondly a proliferation of umbrella labeling programs. The International Organization for Standardization has created standards for labeling practices within the ISO 14000 schema. ISO 14020 to 14025 series deals with environmental labels and declarations. ISO proposed three categories of environmental labels according to the aspects covered and the rigor required to award the seal: type I in ISO 14024; type II in ISO 14021; and type III in ISO 14025.Type I is a voluntary multi-criteria ecolabel program assessed by an independent third party who considers the life cycle impacts of a product. Awarded certification authorizes the use of environmental labels on products and indicates overall environmental preferability of a product within a product category. The awarding body may be either a governmental organization or a private non-commercial entity.
Type II is a self-declared claim made by manufacturers or retailers without third-party auditing. Developed internally by companies claims can take the form of a declaration, a logo, or a commercial.
Type III an environmental product declaration consisting of quantified product information on the life cycle impacts. Instead of assessing or weighting the environmental performance of a product this type of label only shows the objective data, facilitating product comparison among buyers.
Additionally, "Type I-like" environmental labels focus on just one environmental or social aspect; these labels have been launched by independent organizations. Type I-like or single issue labels can be based on a pass/fail criterion, for example setting a maximum level of energy consumption for electric appliances or guaranteeing responsible management of the world forests: the Forest Stewardship Council refers to its label as "type I-like". Other single issue labels assess the performance of the product over a range, for example water efficiency.
Ecolabeling innovation cycle
There is a close relationship between the ecolabeling process and the eco-innovation because it promotes the emergence of new green products and it improves the organizations environmental management strategy. Moreover, ecolabeling process is a "cyclical eco-innovation process in which consumers, firms, governments and institutions interact. Its final purpose is to contribute to the development of sustainable and ecological ways of production and consumption. In this process, consumers' environmental expectations are met; firms increase their created and captured value and enhance their sustainability, and governments and institutions foster cleaner production and consumption. Finally, this process is tangible in the products through the awarding of ecolabels, which are visibly displayed on goods and services".Environmental governance
Consumer desires for sustainable consumption is driving the global marketplace with desire to regulate product production. The globalization of economies is shifting control of sustainability away from traditional command and control measures imposed by governments towards market governance which is a self-regulatory new environmental policy instrument, ecolabelling.Eco-labeling standardization is a new form of regulation which is voluntary in nature but impose upon large companies market forces in order to harmonize production of goods and services with stronger ecological practices. Recently, it has turned into a new form of non-state authority at both national and international levels. This idea of entrepreneurial democracy based on the success and adoption of international standards, this includes the ISO 14000 standards on the management of environmental quality and the ISO 9000 standards on quality production control.
Once an industry sector decides to get this certification, it has to provide evidence of documented proof of compliance required. In terms of ISO 14042 standard, it is obligatorily for all applicants to respect environmental legislation and related legislation; breaching of any laws may result in licensing suspension.
International Trade
The increasing use of ecolabels by governments, industry and non-governmental organizations has led to international trade issues over ecolabels acting as non-tariff trade barriers. In particular developed countries and industries have expressed concern regarding the variety of diverse national or regional labelling requirements. In order to qualify for an ecolabel exporters have to adjust to the production standards of different markets abroad which may entail significant cost, information and technical expertise. Labelling programs also tend to be based on domestic environmental priorities and technologies of the importing country, often lacking relevance in regard to the exporting country's environment and local conditions.In 1995, after the introduction of the World Trade Organization, the possible impacts of voluntary product standards and labelling schemes were covered in the WTO Agreements. Several of the WTO Agreements contain rules applicable to eco-labels, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade1994, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
Sustainable initiatives
During the UN Earth Summit Conference in 1992, an international consensus was generated to integrate environmental issues into manufacturing procedures. The idea was to manipulate consumption patterns in order to achieve sustainable development. The result of this is as follows.- developed world: Eco-labels and green stickers have evolved to play a vital role. They provide a verifiable link between products and informed consumer wishes. This approach applies market pressure on industries to minimize their environmental impact; this is evidenced by the growth in the population of informed consumers. Marketing strategists are responding with Green Certifications and its abuse, greenwashing.
- developing world: First consumers became concerned about the quality, safety and environmental sustainability of food and supported demand for green foods, then focused on the environmental effects of agriculture and globalization of food production, which led to the exposure of globally controlled food regimes. Consumer advocate groups responded with a call for . This gives a new dimension to consumer demands and corporate competitiveness. Australian Consumer Association CHOICE confronted corporate interests with their concerns about growing interests in green consumption, food production, use of pesticides, organic production, and genetic modification.