Eco-labelling Of Products Research Articles

Imperfect certification and eco-labelling of products

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the role of certification in providing information and reducing market inefficiencies when the “certification process is imperfect”. In the setting, eco-labels imperfectly signal environmental product quality to consumers where the error in the process of certification could be either Type 1 or Type 2 error. The paper examines firms' incentive to get certified, equilibrium quantities and profits. The authors use perfect Bayesian equilibrium concept for the analysis. They then examine conditions for separating and pooling equilibrium to exist and welfare implications of certification process.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a vertical product differentiated model where firms are competing in quantities. Consumers are unable to observe the environmental quality of the product. To signal the product quality to consumers, firms may adopt certification by a third party. Using a framework where certification process is imperfect, the paper derives conditions for Perfect Bayesian separating and pooling equilibrium to exist.FindingsThe paper shows that the existence of separating and pooling equilibrium depends on the certification fee. A separating equilibrium, where one firm seeks certification and other firm does not seek certification exists for an intermediate value of certification fee. A pooling equilibrium, where both firms seek certification, exists only when the certification fee is sufficiently small. The paper shows conditions for the certification fee for which welfare will be higher under separating equilibrium as compared to pooling equilibrium and analyses welfare implications for subsidy policy for the certification fee.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by examining the role of labelling under imperfect certification.

THE USE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

This study assesses the benefit of sustainable construction and the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the South African construction industry to achieve sustainable construction. The data used in this was derived from both primary and secondary resources. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire approach. The study revealed that LCA could be used for product comparison, product development, formulating of product eco-labels, evaluating construction processes and decision-making processes in the construction industry concerning materials. Furthermore, the study revealed that LCA has various strengths, challenges and weakness, this is due to the fact that there is a requirement of the high quality of knowledge and data when conducting a detailed LCA study. However, this study revealed that life cycle thinking is a cornerstone for developing policies and programs, which meet sustainability criteria and there is a great room for the development and use of LCA in the South African construction industry. Therefore, it is recommended that the South African Construction industry invest more in environmental tools such as LCA.

Reducing Impact of Land Degradation in Tanzania: Do Incentive Market Based Mechanisms Work for Sustainable Land Management?

Governments have traditionally relied on public budgets, bilateral and multilateral cooperation to support sustainable land management (SLM) activities. However, it is becoming evident that such support will not be sufficient neither can be sustainable to reverse land degradation, particularly in dry and degrading lands. Innovative mechanisms to encourage investments in SLM practices and to promote and enable the adoption of good practices in all land use sectors as a means to combat land degradation and address this challenge are needed. The paper addresses the hypothesis that, in Tanzania, impacts of land degradation can be reduced through the application of incentive market based mechanisms that could be implemented by the land users to ensure dual benefits i.e. environmental sustainability and improved human welfare of the land users. Key informants interviews and the desk reviews were the main methodological fronts used in gathering information. In Tanzania the practiced incentive market based mechanisms can be grouped into public payment systems, Open Trading under Regulation, Self Organized Private Deals, and Eco-Labeling of Products and Services. Components of these mechanisms have been tested in various agro-ecological zones in Tanzania and proved to be useful in the process of enhancing sustainable land management at the micro level. Observations therefore suggest that, some incentive market based mechanisms can work to reducing impact of land degradation at the micro level especially when they are related to improved purchasing power of the land users. In order to reduce the dependence of the governments and reduce donor syndrome in enhancing sustainable land management in Tanzania and elsewhere, there is a need of encouraging the use of incentive market based mechanisms that will have contributions to the welfare of the land users as well as contribution to the reduced land degradation.

Synthesis of Constructs for Modeling Consumers’ Understanding and Perception of Eco-Labels

The term “eco-labeling” has become a buzzword in today’s sustainable business world. The use of eco-labeling in various forms has been increasing notably for past many years, sometimes as an environmental “requirement” and sometimes merely as a marketing tool. Questions arise about how well these eco-labels are attended and understood by consumers. However, though mentionable studies are found on various aspects of eco-labels, gaps exist in exploring an inclusive set of parameters for investigating consumer perceptions of eco-labels. This paper aims at preparing a synthesis of all the possible factors to be incorporated for measuring consumer perceptions of eco-labeling of products. For making such synthesis, all major works in the field have been thoroughly reviewed. The paper comes up with a total of 10 parameters that include consumer awareness, consumer knowledge, consumer involvement, consumer trust, design and visibility, credibility of the source, type and level of information, clarity of meaning, persuasiveness, and private benefits. This tentative, yet inclusive, set of parameters is thought to be useful for designing large scale future empirical researches for developing a dependable inclusive set of parameters to test consumer understanding and perceptions of eco-label. A framework is proposed for further empirical research.

Synthesis of Constructs for Modeling Consumerss Understanding and Perception of Eco-Labels

The term “eco-labeling” has become a buzzword in today’s sustainable business world. The use of eco-labeling in various forms has been increasing notably for past many years, sometimes as an environmental “requirement” and sometimes merely as a marketing tool. Questions arise about how well these eco-labels are attended and understood by consumers. However, though mentionable studies are found on various aspects of eco-labels, gaps exist in exploring an inclusive set of parameters for investigating consumer perceptions of eco-labels. This paper aims at preparing a synthesis of all the possible factors to be incorporated for measuring consumer perceptions of eco-labeling of products. For making such synthesis, all major works in the field have been thoroughly reviewed. The paper comes up with a total of 10 parameters that include consumer awareness, consumer knowledge, consumer involvement, consumer trust, design and visibility, credibility of the source, type and level of information, clarity of meaning, persuasiveness, and private benefits. This tentative, yet inclusive, set of parameters is thought to be useful for designing large scale future empirical researches for developing a dependable inclusive set of parameters to test consumer understanding and perceptions of eco-label. A framework is proposed for further empirical research.

Environmental Management Systems and Tools Analysis

This article presents an analysis of changes in the development and expansion of implementation of organizations’’ environmental protection measures, as influenced by globalization and internationalization processes on the world’s economy and various fields of activity, and their impact on competitiveness. The study describes the system of international environmental certification and other sustainable development protection measures, encompassing the eco-labeling of products, accommodation and recreation services, forest and timber supply chains, the energy certification of buildings, the ISO ecological and ergonomic certification of computer equipment and mobile phones, identification of packaging materials, environmental management systems (EMS) certification, etc. The article also presents the international benchmarking of the ecological footprint – an integral indicator reflecting sustainable development. It should be noted that the current level of human consumption already exceeds the Earth‘s ecological potential, i.e., the ecological footprint of all the countries in the world exceeds nature‘s capacity for regeneration. Lithuania has a positive ecological balance, meanwhile, the ecological footprint of the Ukraine and Belarus exceeds the country’s biological potential respectively by 0.3 and 0.4 global hectares per person.The features and problem areas of EMS (namely, ISO 14001 and EMAS), and the process of implementation of other measures in Lithuania and in an international context are also presented. For a more objective comparison of sustainable development in individual countries and regions, the author suggests the use of a new indicator – the number of certificates (ISO 14001, EMAS, ecological products, etc.) per 1 million inhabitants of a country’s total population. Although there was a marked increase in the implementation of ISO 14001 systems in recent years, according to the number of implemented environmental management systems per 1 million inhabitants, Lithuania lags considerably behind not only the most developed nations, but also some of the new EU countries. To date, there are no EMAS environmental systems in place in Lithuania, yet they are being successfully implemented in other EU countries and in the neighbouring Baltic countries. The main reason why this type of system of environmental measures has not been implemented in Lithuania is an inadequate understanding on the part of the leaders of organizations of the essential differences between EMAS and ISO 14001 (this was noted by 89% of respondents). It is recommended that the government institutions responsible for formulating Lithuania’s environmental policies boost their environmental certification infrastructure, carry out the realistic development of “green purchases”, and encourage Lithuanian organizations to create and certify EMAS environmental systems, while secondary schools should be drawn into the globally acknowledged and effective Kids’ ISO 14000 programs. The implementation of such a program in our country is very important and deserves to receive government funding as well as funding from business organizations declaring their social responsibility. The education of children in environmental awareness is one of the most important ways to solve environmental concerns in Lithuania and throughout the world, and to develop the way towards creating an ecological balance. Effective environmental education should also involve tertiary students from all disciplines, business enterprises, and public sector and government administration institutions.

THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT TOOLS SYSTEM

The object of this article is to identify the system of environmental management tools and the international typology of its elements; to analyse the evolution of their launch in Lithuania and in the international context, as well as to formulate the insights of their more effective use. The article was prepared by using the logical analysis and general conclusions of scientific, standard, statistical literature and the descriptions of environmental organizations’ activities also on the ground of the research of Lithuanian organisations’, which was carried out by the author of this article. In the article, there is summarized the system of international environmental certification and of the other assurance tools of sustainable development, that unites eco-labelling of products, the certification of settling and recreation services, forests’ and wood supply chain, as well as buildings’ energetic certification, the certification of IT equipments, mobile phones TCO ecologic and ergonomic certification, the identification of packing materials, the certification of environmental management systems and others. In the article are revealed the peculiarities and problem fields of the development evolution of environmental management systems (ISO 14001, EMAS) and other tools in Lithuania and in the international context. For more objective comparison of sustainable development in different countries and regions, the author suggests a new index – the quantity of certificates (ISO 14001, EMAS, ecological products’ and others) per 1000 inhabitants of a country. Though the implementation of ISO 14001 systems in Lithuania has grown up significantly in recent years, we still lag behind not even the most developed countries of the world, but also behind some new EU members, if we count this index for 1000 inhabitants. In the meanwhile, there are no EMAS environmental systems implemented in Lithuania, even though they are successfully planted in other EU and Baltic states. There’s strongly recommended for the State authorities that perform the environmental politics in Lithuania to strengthen the infrastructure of environmental certification, to execute a real development of “green purchases”, to give an incentive to the organisations of our Country to create and certificate EMAS environmental systems and to draw in the secondary schools to “Kids’ ISO 14000” programmes, that were very effective in the other countries of the world.

Eco-labelling in Austria and Lithuania: a Comparative Study

At the end of the last century a number of environmental laws, technical regulations and normative documents were created. At the same time there appeared the combination of such concepts as “business“, “environment- oriented activity“, “sustainable development“, “continuous development“ and “sustainable product management“ in scientific articles. Country‘s economic and social development should be oriented according to sustainable development principle in the way that current satisfaction of consumer needs would not reduce the possibilities of satisfying the needs of generations to come. Austria and Lithuania signed the declaration containing this point together with other countries in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. Every state must have an environmental policy, which links all development strategies of economy branches and territories. Eco-labelling of products and services is part of environment- oriented activity and sustainable product management. Eco-label is an important product quality indicator. Eco-certification and eco-labelling are considered as instrument within the European strategy of Integrated Product Policy to achieve more sustainable consumption patterns. It is possible that the increased demand for green products and services from informed consumers will induce enterprises to supply markets with more environmentally friendly products. The main purpose of this work is to analyze and generalize the practice of products and services ecocertification and eco-labelling in the world as well as to identify their better possibilities of usage in Lithuania and in Austria. The article uses the following methods: comparative and systematic analysis of scientific literature, survey of Austrian and Lithuanian enterprises and markets, mathematical statistics, interviewing experts, managers and consumers. Special parallel investigations have been performed to assess the status in Austria and Lithuania with the purpose to define consumer and manufacturer attitudes and preferences upon ecological products. The comparative study also includes the range of awarded products and services in both countries and the structure of enterprises taking part in national ecolabelling schemes. In a next step the information of consumers in both countries on labels and awarded products will be analysed. Factors of success and failures in the spreading of eco-labelling shall be worked out as a result of the comparative study.

Fragrances in the Environment: Pleasant odours for nature? (9 pp)

Fragrance preparations or perfumes are used in an increasing variety of applications, as for example washing, cleansing, personal care products, consumer goods or in applications to modify indoor air. However, up to now, little is known to the general or scientific public about their chemical identity and the use pattern of single substances, not even for high production volume chemicals. Some toxicological data are published for a comparatively small number of substances with a focus on sensitisation and dermal effects, while other effects are neglected. Information on ecotoxicity and environmental fate are rare, especially for long-term exposure. Data for a detailed hazard and risk analysis are available in exceptional cases only. According to the current legal situation, fragrance industry is self-regulated, which means that pre-market risk evaluation is not required for most fragrances. Odour and the ability to smell play a major role for wildlife for all taxonomic groups. Reproductive and social behaviour, defence, communication and orientation depend on volatile compounds which can be identical to those used in fragrance preparations. Our interdisciplinary approach leads to the question of whether and, if so, to what extent anthropogenic fragrances may influence life and reproduction of organisms in the environment. Information from literature on use, exposure and biological effects was combined to analyse the state of knowledge. Following an overview of the amounts of fragrances used in different consumer products and their release into the environment, the roles of odours in nature are shown for a selection of compounds. Existing regulation was analysed to describe the data basis for environmental risk evaluation. Finally, recommendations for further action are derived from these findings. Three main results were elaborated: First, fragrance substances are continuously discharged in large amounts into the environment, especially via the waste water. Second, there are some indications of negative effects on human health or the environment, although the data basis is very thin due to the self regulation of the fragrance industry and the regulatory situation of fragrance substances. Third, many odoriferous substances used by man are identical to those which are signal substances of environmental organisms at very low concentrations, thus giving rise to specific mode of actions in the ecosystem. . For the adequate risk assessments of fragrances, test results on their unspecific as well as their specific effects as signal substances are needed. This would imply prioritisation methods and development of useful test methods for specific endpoints for appropriate risk assessments. Before a comprehensive testing and evaluation of results has been finished, a minimization of exposure should be envisaged. Eco-labelling of products containing acceptable fragrance ingredients could be a first step and provide consumers with the respective information. Transparency concerning the fragrance ingredients used and their biological potency will help to build up confidence between producers and consumers. The interdisciplinary approach, bringing together chemical, biological, toxicological and ecotoxicological data with information provided by manufacturers and with legal and consumer aspects, offers new insights into the field of fragrance substances used in consumer products. The amounts and application fields of fragrance substances increases while fate and effects in the environment are hardly known. The current legal situation is not suited to elucidate the effects of fragrances on human health and the environment sufficiently, especially as it was shown that fragrances may play a considerable role in the ecosystem on the behaviour of organisms. According to the precautionary principle, the lack of knowledge should best be tackled by reducing exposure, especially for compounds such as fragrance substances where no ethical reasons object a substitution by less hazardous chemicals.

The Role of Ecolabeling in Fisheries Management and Conservation

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) regulates the ecolabeling of products from fisheries with the aim of promoting sustainable fishery practices. To date 11 fisheries have attained full certification and a further 7 are under review. Together these fisheries offer 220 ecolabeled marine products to consumers. Despite great potential to encourage sustainable fisheries, and thereby bring conservation benefits to marine systems, a range of issues may limit the wider uptake of MSC ecolabeled products. These include a general lack of consumer concern for marine fishes and sustainable fisheries, an absence of guaranteed continued financial benefits to participating fishers, and difficulties of quality assurance that are related to complexities of monitoring compliance of marine fisheries. In addition, it is apparent that property rights over the fishery seem to be an essential prerequisite for engagement in MSC, and this is one major impediment to wider uptake of the scheme in current marine fisheries, which tend to be open access. Some modifications to the current scheme may be needed if wider participation of marine fishers is to be achieved. These may include a tiered approach to certification, certification of fishers rather than fisheries, governmental facilitation to assist the latter and greater engagement with retailers and buyers rather than individual consumers. None of these changes will occur without constructive engagement of government, retailers, and the fishing industry.

Consumer ‘sovereignty’ and policy issues in the development of product ecolabels

AbstractQuality labels are increasingly focused on products' characteristics, requiring heavy scientific expertise to be assessed. Economists approach these labels as market mechanisms – i.e. signalling, reputation, or market differentiation – and ignore their institutional dimension. We contend that, by doing so, they do not address key problems faced by the regulators when developing these labels. The first part fleshes out this idea by examining the institutional dimension of the European ecolabel. We present the negotiation of the paints and varnishes ecolabelling criteria, a success story. The second part discusses three theoretical approaches to product labelling and proposes directions for further research on the subject. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Des conditions d'émergence d'un écolabel de produit

Conditions for a successful development of product ecolabels : products environmental qualification and market exchange Since the beginning of the nineties, product ecolabelling devices have proliferated world-wide. However, an industrial opposition hinders the development of the ecolabels on the final markets. We discuss the conditions for their successful development before turning on to examine the theoretical implications raised by this case study. It appears that the ability of the existing theoretical frameworks to analyse the impact of market competition on products qualification has to be examined more in detail.