Eco-labelling Schemes Research Articles

Challenges for ecolabeling growth: lessons from the EU Ecolabel in Spain

The European Ecolabel (EU Flower) has the mission to encourage cleaner production and influence consumers to promote Europe’s transition to a circular economy. Nonetheless, little is known about EU Ecolabel evolution; it is not clear what the drivers that encourage its implementation are. Thus, this study aims to assess the growing acceptance of the EU Ecolabel in the European Union, and Spain more specifically, by examining product and service categories and geographical regions. The methodological approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology based on the triangulation method by consulting the EU Ecolabel scheme database, EU Ecolabel delegates from some autonomous regions, and the academic literature. Also, a geographic analysis was run in the ArcGIS Software with data about the accumulation of licenses assigned in 2016. The analysis shows that most products in Spain that have been awarded the EU Ecolabel belong to the following categories: Do-It-Yourself Products (paint and varnish), Paper Products, Cleaning Up Products, and Electronic Equipment. At the same time, the study showed that this ecolabel faces significant obstacles in its diffusion, such as the competition with environmental labels launched previously in Europe and other regional labels. The results of this study indicate the existence of five drivers that may encourage the implementation of EU Flower in a region: (1) public management, (2) communication strategy, (3) sustainable public procurement criteria, (4) local income per capita, and (5) international trade incentives. Finally, this study provides essential recommendations for policymakers to trigger ecolabeling practices such as the need to improve the understanding of the EU ecolabel impact in different levels of activity, which means countries, regions, industrial clusters, firms, and consumers. Also, this investigation identifies areas for further research, and it expresses the need to develop business case studies about ecolabeling with the objective to visualize this phenomenon as an eco-innovation process.

ECOLOGICAL CERTIFICATION IN TOURISM SECTOR IN MONTENEGRO – ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES

The aim of this paper is to analyze concept of ecological certification, its advantages and challenges in the context of Montenegrin tourism accommodation sector. Based on EU Eco Label and Travelife certification schemes we tested advantages of greening tourist offer and contribution to the climate change combat in the country. Sample of 40 accommodation facilities are taken into consideration, and being offered series of presentations, direct interviews and incentives. Our results show that 10 out of 40 accommodation facilities are awarded with certificate, while 15 more facilities are in the process of gaining it in 2018. The main challenges we evidenced are as follows: limited human and financial resources to implement certification requirements; low level of understanding of marketing advantages that green certification brings; absence of national and local incentives to support certification implementation and destination safety and security aspects becoming main interest of tourism entrepreneurs.

Energy and environmental analysis of marble productive sites: “by phases” and “by single process” combined approach.

The approach on which the in force Community eco-label scheme of marble relies (EU Decision 607/2009) is questioned, as a contribution to the on-going revision process of the associated ecological criteria. An alternative approach able to provide a more realistic image of the marble producing site’s energy and environmental performances is also argued. The proposed approach considers the marble production in terms not only of life cycle phases (as the Decision does) but of unit operations and/or machineries (as the typical assessment methodologies of production processes do). An application of this proposal on a marble producing site located in Sicily.

Supervision after Certification: An Evolutionary Game Analysis for Chinese Environmental Labeled Enterprises

An eco-labeling scheme is a method of environmental performance certification that is beneficial for reducing negative environmental impacts and promoting green consumption. Many types of research studies have shown its effectiveness. However, to the best of our knowledge, fewer studies have considered how to supervise and regulate the enterprises after getting certificated. An enterprise may have obtained certification that its product meets the corresponding environmental standards, but without effective supervisions and regulations, it may not continue to implement the standards after being certified. Such behaviors are not only unfavorable to environmental protection, they also harm the eco-labeling scheme. With the consideration that different eco-labeling schemes and standards would result in different interaction relationships among stakeholders, we focus on Chinese Environmental Labeling (CEL), which is a government-sponsored scheme. By utilizing the approach of evolutionary game theory, we built a model including the government agency and enterprise and their strategic interactions. Numerical analyses are applied to verify the modeling analyses and demonstrate the influences of game parameters. Our results indicate that supervisions from the government side are necessary in order for the enterprises to implement the standards, but high supervision costs and low efficiency are the main factors that prevent the government agency from getting more involved. Reducing the executing costs of the enterprises would prompt them to participate more. Additionally, if the government agencies and customers could have a bigger, more positive influence on the enterprises, then the enterprises would likely choose to implement the standards. Our results provide references for the better development of an eco-labeling scheme as well as government environmental policy-making.

Technical Barriers to Trade: A Canadian Perspective on Ecolabelling

Ecolabelling is a market-based instrument and an important element of international environmental policies. In our day and age, there is a wide range of ecolabels, which may complicate the decision-making process when looking for the best outcome for consumers and producers. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) suggest a solution to align the various ecolabelling programs. For instance, ISO launched the ISO 14,001 framework, which includes the requirements for Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). The GEN harmonizes international ecolabelling schemes and improves exchanges of information among its country members. This article addresses how unaligned and aligned regulations impact international trade. Consequently, a database including the ISO 14,001 certifications of all countries and containing the exports from 153 countries to Canada from 2001 to 2015 as a dependent variable was created. The remaining variables will serve as independent variables, including gravity variables such as market size, market similarity, distance, and some other core variables such as GEN membership of the exporting country, WTO membership, binding in Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with Canada. Findings show that holding ISO 14,001 certifications has a positive impact on exports to Canada; however, these impacts are not significant enough. Therefore, there is not strong evidence that ISO 14,001 creates barriers to export to Canada. In addition, GEN membership significantly promotes exports to Canada, especially for countries binding in an FTA or MRA with Canada.

ASEAN tuna ecolabelling (ATEL): the challenge and opportunity of the first seafood regional ecolabelling in the world

Tuna (Thunnus sp) is the highest economic value and the most popular fish in the world. Exploitation of tuna fisheries was feared to threaten environment and social welfare for the people of the countries related to that resources. Many international organizations encourage countries involved in tuna trade to follow certain fisheries ecolabel standards. Nonetheless, driven ecolabel schemes do not yet reflect optimal sustainable tuna management. Tuna is a highly migratory species across the sea region of various countries. The effective management of tuna requires cross-country cooperation, but the certification system is not regional yet especially in Southeast Asia which has highest tuna production in the world. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has begun consolidation to start the regional system of ecolabel which named ASEAN Tuna Ecolabelling (ATEL). In the ASEAN Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, 12-13 October 2018, ATEL has agreed as a scheme of tuna ecolabelling in South East Asia region. The approval at the Ministerial level make ATEL the first regional seafood ecolabel scheme in the world. It needs more research for the implementation of ATEL in the future both in terms of challenges and opportunities.

Roles of Eco-labeling in Fisheries Conservation and Sustainability

An important goal of fisheries management is to ensure that fish stocks are harvested at sustainable levels of fishing pressure. However, the classical maximum sustainable yield theory and its derivatives have not worked for fisheries management . A number of mitigating measures have been suggested of which eco -labeling is one. An ecolabel on a fish product is a distinctive mark or statement indicating that it has been harvested in compliance with preset sustainability standards. This paper examines eco labeling in fisheries as the new strategy to achieve fisheries conservation and sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of fish as critical food resources and new approach to fisheries management through the use of certification programs. It considers the benefits and problems that may accrue from eco-certification of fish harvesting and trade practices in fisheries. This paper, attention is focused on examining the likely option for development of eco-labeling scheme in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the increase awareness amongst stakeholders of the potential role of eco-labeling in conservation and sustainability tools should be established. Keywords: Fisheries management, fish, conservation, eco-certification

Roles of Eco-labeling in Fisheries Conservation and Sustainability

An important goal of fisheries management is to ensure that fish stocks are harvested at sustainable levels of fishing pressure. However, the classical maximum sustainable yield theory and its derivatives have not worked for fisheries management. A number of mitigating measures have been suggested of which eco -labeling is one. An ecolabel on a fish product is a distinctive mark or statement indicating that it has been harvested in compliance with preset sustainability standards. This paper examines eco labeling in fisheries as the new strategy to achieve fisheries conservation and sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of fish as critical food resources and new approach to fisheries management through the use of certification programs. It considers the benefits and problems that may accrue from eco-certification of fish harvesting and trade practices in fisheries. This paper, attention is focused on examining the likely option for development of eco-labeling scheme in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the increase awareness amongst stakeholders of the potential role of eco-labeling in conservation and sustainability tools should be established. Keywords: Fisheries management, fish, conservation, eco-certification

Drivers for environmental technologies selection in the shipping industry: a case study of the North European Sulphur Emission Control Area

This study tackles the question: how do new air pollution regulations interact with other eco-innovation drivers in the adoption of environmental technologies in the shipping industry? In the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and the English Channel, short sea shipping is subject to strict requirements on sulphur emissions by the European Union and the International Maritime Organization after the creation of a Sulphur Emission Control Area. This regulation benefits from market conditions which slightly push the shipping companies to embrace environmental technologies when operational costs increase due to expenses such as increasing fuel prices. Meanwhile, voluntary initiatives like participating in eco-labelling schemes can motivate eco-innovations, especially cleaner-processes. The research contributes to the ongoing debate about eco-innovation characteristics in different industrial sectors, but more specifically, it moves forward the proposition of dynamic interactions between regulation, technology, business and markets, which modify the dominant focus on market pull and technological push.

Comportamientos proambientales de los empleados de la hotelería. El caso de un hotel certificado en Huatulco, México

Cada vez son más las empresas que asumen acciones a favor del ambiente, entre las más comunes se encuentran la adopción de sistemas de gestión ambiental o esquemas de certificación ecológica, no solo porque les permite gestionar de manera más eficiente sus recursos y disminuir sus costos haciéndolas más rentables, sino porque también les mejora su imagen pública y las compromete con la sociedad y la naturaleza. En el caso del destino turístico de Bahías de Huatulco, se han iniciado actividades orientadas a la dimensión ambiental de la sustentabilidad, lo que ha provocado que el sector hotelero se encuentre inmerso en una dinámica de certificación. Esta investigación se centra en analizar si los valores, conocimiento ambiental, compromiso organizacional y satisfacción laboral de los trabajadores, son elementos determinantes en el comportamiento proambiental. A partir de una encuesta a 178 trabajadores de un hotel certificado por EarthCheck y aplicando el Modelo de Regresión Múltiple, se logró identificar que los valores y el conocimiento ambiental tienen un efecto significativo sobre el comportamiento pro-ambiental.

Ⅳ-2. アジア・アフリカを念頭に置いた水産物エコラベル構築の必要性

Ⅳ-2. アジア・アフリカを念頭に置いた水産物エコラベル構築の必要性

Regulating Sustainability Claims on Seafood - EU Ecolabel, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive or Seafood Information Requirements?

AbstractIn February 2016, the Feasibility Report on options for an EU ecolabel scheme for fishery and aquaculture products was published. The study did not make a strong case for the introduction of a seafood EU Ecolabel and it is unlikely that the European Commission will pursue this policy option. We argue that sustainability information on seafood should not be framed through the EU Ecolabel debate. The more pressing issue concerns self-declared sustainability claims on seafood products. As a possible solution, we propose to address these by re-invigorating the labelling rules on seafood information in the Regulation on the Common Organisation of the Markets in Fishery and Aquaculture Products.

An eco-label for the airline industry?

Air travel plays a vital role in today's life because it makes remote destinations accessible and short getaways possible. Despite its benefits, air transportation contributes heavily to climate change. Behavioral change is seen as a key driver in mitigating the environmental impacts of air travel. One way to encourage behavioral change is to use eco-labels. This study explores how an eco-label could be developed for the airline industry to function as a potential driver for behavioral change. 12 interviews with airline industry experts were conducted and thematically analyzed. Empirical results were then combined with prior research and the following five criteria essential for the development of an airline eco-label were identified: credibility, comparability, clarity, transparency and participation. Out of these five criteria, participation seemed to be the most challenging to realize. Based on these criteria, this paper could be understood as a first step towards the introduction of an industry-wide eco-labelling scheme for the airline industry that could help reduce the environmental impacts of aviation through behavioral change.

Analysis of energy development sustainability: The example of the lithuanian district heating sector

Today, sustainable energy development is one of key issues on European development agenda. The article describes one of sustainable energy development promoting tool - the eco-labelling scheme for district heating and cooling systems elaborated within the framework of Intelligent Energy for Europe program project “Ecoheat4cities” and partially funded by European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation. The scheme is based on measured energy and environmental performance data of the district heating and cooling system and considers primary non-renewable energy usage together with the share of renewable energy and carbon dioxide emissions calculated using life-cycle analysis methodology. The “power bonus” approach is used for performance indicators of the heat generated in cogeneration installations. An analysis of a number of Lithuanian district heating companies using elaborated labelling criteria shows positive trends towards fulfilling Lithuania's energy policy goals. The labelling scheme gives opportunity for policy makers and urban planners to compare different heat supply options and decide upon exploiting district heating advantages and benefits for reaching EU energy and environment policy goals.

Willingness to pay for product ecological footprint: Organic vs non-organic consumers

The problem of environmental degradation is large and widespread, with consumption of food being a major contributor to a households' ecological impact. The Product Ecological Footprint (PEF) is a new information management process of “self-improving” accuracy that enables producers to quantify product environmental impact. This study addresses two key questions; consumer willingness to pay and application readiness for PEF. We use choice experiments to identify the value consumers place on PEF as a label. We then examine data availability, information processing systems and accreditation protocols that would be required to support a market-wide application of PEF. Findings highlight an opportunity to influence the behaviour of the larger market segment of conventional (non-organic) consumers. Further research is required into the interaction between PEF and organics, PEF and origin, marketing and branding of the label, for market wide applications to be considered. A key question emerges as to whether PEF requires a different application platform than a voluntary eco-label scheme to instigate behavioural change.

Practical Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation of Consumer Electronics—the Case of Mobile Phones

Annually, it is estimated that about 4 billion units of consumer electronics for mobile communications are produced worldwide. This could lead to various ecological imbalances unless the design and disposal of the products are handled optimally. To illustrate how industry looks at and responds to the increasing social awareness, this article describes how sustainability is successfully implemented in practice at a large Chinese company, developing and producing various kinds of electronic products used for communication. It also describes how a variety of eco-innovations and business models contribute to reducing the environmental impact; for example, through increased recovery and recycling. A new kind of eco-design procedure is presented along with a new methodology which shows how a mobile phone gradually becomes more sustainable from one generation to the next. The issues with and set-up of new eco-labeling schemes for mobile phones, eco-rating, is described in detail. The conclusion is that due to high competition between companies, the industry acts resourcefully and a lot is done to the save the ecological environment.

Evaluating seafood eco-labeling as a mechanism to reduce collateral impacts of fisheries in an ecosystem-based fisheries management context

By considering not only target species catch but also bycatch of non-target species and habitat damage, ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) has the potential to minimize the environmental impact of fisheries. Defining and benchmarking EBFM strategies for these incidental environmental impacts has been challenging, and this lack of consensus has, in part, resulted in a proliferation of eco-labeling schemes with variable and vague criteria for environmental targets. The performance of fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the most prominent eco-labeling certifier, was compared to non-certified fisheries and evaluated against target reference points for a suite of metrics derived from the EBFM literature. Specifically we compared marine mammal bycatch, finfish discard rates, and gear impacts between MSC-certified fisheries and non-certified fisheries. Discards of non-target finfish and bycatch rates of marine mammals were no different between certified and non-certified U.S. fisheries. Observer coverage was no higher in certified fisheries, and many fisheries failed to meet the coverage level thought adequate to document bycatch of protected species. MSC-certified fisheries did have lower average gear destructiveness scores than non-certified stocks when weighted by landings but not when weighted by the number of fisheries. Our analysis indicates that MSC-certified fisheries perform better on some ecosystem-based sustainability metrics but are indistinguishable from non-certified stocks on others, and improvement is needed for all certified fisheries to meet quantitative goals for the collateral impacts of fishing.

Role of ecolabeling in reducing ecotoxicology

Ecolabeling helps consumers to select environment friendly products, while meeting high demands on occupational health, safety, and usability. Ecolabeling undertakes cradle-to-grave approach which helps in minimizing the toxicological impacts at every stage of the product life cycle. The ecolabeling procedure calls for substitution or reduction of hazardous substances thereby reducing the toxicity caused due to these chemicals. China, Japan, Australia, European Union, and Nordic countries are leading in the race of awareness and implementation of ecolabeling schemes. In India, the ecolabeling scheme (Ecomark) was initiated in 1991. The Ecomark scheme lacked adoption of the green marketing principles and thus failed to create an impact. This study presents an overview of ecolabels in European Union, Nordic countries, Germany, China and India. Furthermore, it assesses the awareness of ecolabels among the retailers and traders of environment friendly products in India through a survey. The study highlights that the ecolabels are a success in most of the countries studied and are applied across a range of industrial sectors. The survey is administered to 80 retailers and traders of stores selling environment friendly products across different Indian cities. A correlation is established with the variables identified. The survey results indicate that although the retailers and traders of environment friendly products have low awareness of the ecolabels on environment friendly products, they are taking considerable efforts to promote and deliver environment friendly products to consumers. Large-scale awareness drives initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change permeating at grass root levels with the involvement of stakeholders could prove beneficial for promotion of the ecolabeling schemes.

Can eco-labels reduce carbon emissions? Market-wide analysis of carbon labeling and locally grown fresh apples

AbstractDespite the heightened efforts to implement eco-labeling schemes as the market-based vehicle for improving environmental quality, the overall effectiveness of eco-labels are still uncertain due to complex and sometimes unexpected market responses. In this paper, we assess the overall changes in carbon emissions resulting from two types of labeling on fresh apples, carbon labels and location designation labels (e.g., locally grown), both of which can have mixed implications for carbon emissions due to fluctuating supply chain factors. We employ an equilibrium displacement model that integrates existing estimates of differences across production systems, and our own estimates of consumer responses to labels in order to simulate the changes in prices, trade flows and estimate carbon impacts across several scenarios in the US fresh apple market. We find that both labels ultimately affect market outcomes and overall carbon emissions. With location designation labels, consumers’ preference for local products leads to a net decrease in carbon emissions during the local growing season, while the interaction of various market dynamics results in a subsequent net increase in carbon emissions during the local off-season. The interaction of a carbon label with the location label lowers the overall attractiveness of products and reduces the quantity demanded, and thus, reduces the carbon emissions in both seasons. Overall, providing the location designation label increases annual carbon emissions, whereas providing both the location designation and carbon labeling decreases annual emissions. In short, the dynamics and interdependency of labeling strategies are important to consider in the context of eco-labeling.

Helping eco-labels to fulfil their promises

The economic literature has devoted relatively strong attention to eco-labelling schemes. Nevertheless, while succeeding in some markets, they often fall short of their promises. We analyse the gap between the academic design of eco-labelling schemes and their real implementation. We contend that providing information is not enough. We then use recent advances in behavioural economics to inform policy makers on the potential of behavioural interventions in order to design better eco-labelling schemes.Policy relevanceMany public policies, including eco-labelling schemes, are still based on an inaccurate description of human decision making, mainly borrowed from standard economics. However, numerous psychological and behavioural studies show that people regularly behave in ways that contradict some standard assumptions of economic analysis. Departing from the conventional view that information-based policies such as eco-labelling schemes will quasi-automatically help mitigate issues such as climate change by guiding consumers' and firms decisions, we argue that information provision is necessary but not sufficient. Admitting that consumers' decisions are guided by factors other than price and information, and, taking systematically into account behavioural biases can offer to policy makers low-cost levers with first-order effects in order to increase the environmental performance of eco-labels, or at least decrease the likelihood of counterproductive effects.