Environmental Labels Research Articles

Can Labelling Policies Do More Harm Than Good? An Analysis Applied to Environmental Labelling Schemes

In certain plausible circumstances, the introduction of labelling schemes can lead to adverse effects. In the case of ecolabelling, the adverse effects are an environmental degradation rather than an environmental improvement. To take into account the environmental sensitiveness or responsiveness of consumers, we introduce the concept of environmental elasticity which enables us to classify goods. In a basic analytical model, we describe the conditions under which different outcomes—overall impacts of change in environmental quality due to environmental labelling—arise after the introduction of an ecolabelling scheme. We show that an ecolabelling scheme can lead to an increase in purchases of environmentally sustainable products. The net effect on the environment can be worse than the initial situation without ecolabelling, because the environmental unit improvement is compensated by an over-consumption. We suggest several tests to detect this potential perverse effect, some policy implications to avoid it and stress the need for further research.

Public understanding of environmental impacts of electricity deregulation

Electricity deregulation has aroused concern that environmental quality might be harmed by consumer preferences for cheap, “dirty” (e.g., coal) electricity products, despite the perhaps stronger influence of supply side policy on environmental impacts. This outcome depends on public understanding of the environmental impacts of their decisions, which this study explored with interviews, focus groups, and surveys in New Jersey. People had thought little about the topic, were unable to articulate how electricity production might affect the environment except in very general terms, and were mostly unwilling to guess whether deregulation's impacts would be negative, neutral or positive. Those who did guess expected negative impacts less than any other kind. Reactions to specific “reasons” for expecting no, positive or negative impacts suggested that consumers had little structure to their mental models in this area; for example, people who thought positive-impact reasons were probably true were not necessarily likely to see negative-impact reasons as probably false. However, in the aggregate, people seemed to have a fairly consistent ranking of energy sources by expected negative environmental impacts. Earlier research found that consumers comparing two electricity products on environmental impacts reached different decisions if they had energy-source-only or energy-source-plus-emissions information. Although regulator-required “environmental labels” for electricity products provide both source and emissions data, it is not clear that they do an adequate job of both alerting consumers to the possibility of negative environmental impacts and identifying the relative life-cycle impacts of different products so as to produce informed consumer decisions.

Environmental labeling of car tires—toxicity to Daphnia magna can be used as a screening method

Car tires contain several water-soluble compounds that can leach into water and have toxic effects on aquatic organisms. Due to tire wear, 10 000 tonnes of rubber particles end up along the Swedish roads every year. This leads to a diffuse input of emissions of several compounds. Emissions of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of particular concern. PAHs are ingredients of the high aromatic oil (HA oil) that is used in the rubber as a softener and as a filler. The exclusion of HA oils from car tires has started, and an environmental labeling of tires could make HA oils obsolete. The toxicity to Daphnia magna from 12 randomly selected car tires was tested in this study. Rubber from the tread of the tires was grated into small pieces, to simulate material from tire wear, and the rubber was equilibrated with dilution water for 72 h before addition of test organisms. The 24-h EC 50s of the rubber pieces ranged from 0.29 to 32 g l −1, and the 48-h EC 50s ranged from 0.0625 to 2.41 g l −1. Summer tires were more toxic than winter tires. After the 48-h exposure, the daphnids were exposed to UV-light for 2 h, to determine if the tires contained compounds that were phototoxic. After UV-activation the EC 50s ranged from 0.0625 to 0.38 g l −1. Four of the 12 tires had a very distinct photoactivation, with a toxicity increase of >10 times. This study has shown that the used method for toxicity testing with Daphnia magna according to ISO 6341 could be used as a basis for environmental labeling of car tires.

Ecolabel programmes: a stakeholder (consumer) perspective

The growing global public concern for safety and preservation of the environment has given rise to the perception that consumer purchases may be somewhat influenced by environmental labels. It suggests that accuracy in label information is relevant so as to allow consumers to make an informed choice. This paper proposes that consumers can be grouped using a matrix of four different environmental positions. The results of these grouping are more likely to provide an effective profile of a green consumer, enabling marketers to segment and target these groups based on a clear understanding of consumer behaviour.

The Impact of Environmental Labelling on Consumer Preference: Negative vs. Positive Labels

Eco-labels in use today signify environmentally benign outcomes: "Choose this product, it is better for the environment than the average product." Another strategy would be to indicate negative outcomes with the purpose of trying to persuade consumers to avoid a product: "Do not choose this product, it is worse for the environment than the average product." In a computer-based experiment, it was investigated how these two types of labels affected preference for some everyday products. Individuals who had a weak or no interest in environmental issues were unaffected by either kind of label. Individuals with an intermediate interest in environmental issues were more affected by a negative label than by a positive label. Individuals with a strong interest in environmental protection were equally affected by the two kinds of labels.

Environmental labeling and consumers? choice?an empirical analysis of the effect of the Nordic Swan

Provision of information on the environmental effects of consumption is often put forward as an appealing alternative to traditional means of environmental regulation such as permits and environmental taxes. When consumers in opinion polls are asked if their purchasing decisions would be influenced by information on environmental or ethical aspects of products, the majority seem very ready to say yes. However, evidence for actual behavior along these lines is still limited. In this paper a mixed logit model is used to quantify the effect of a certified environmental label (the Nordic Swan) on consumers’ brand choices of toilet paper, paper towels and detergents, using a large Danish consumer panel with detailed information on actual purchases from the beginning of 1997 to January 2001. It is found that the Nordic Swan label has had a significant effect on consumers’ brand choices for toilet paper, corresponding to a marginal willingness to pay for the certified environmental label of 13–18% of the price and it also appears that information on environmental performance has had an effect on consumers’ choice of detergent.

Context sensitive road traffic noise impact mapping—Taking the neighborhood soundscape into account

Road traffic noise exposure contour maps are difficult to interpret by nonexperts who are familiar with neither the road traffic noise exposure measures nor their associated impacts. An alternative is to map impacts such as annoyance. However, in urban areas the noise impacts are multi-factorially determined and context sensitive. In particular people become more annoyed by a given noise level at the most exposed facade of their dwelling when their neighborhood soundscape is even noisier. A two-tiered approach makes use of contextual soundscape information in determining noise impacts and builds contiguous neighborhood sonoscapes delimiting neighborhood areas with similar noise impacts. Neighborhood sonoscape maps facilitate a more precise targeting of local noise abatement measures, and can illustrate the impacts of noise abatement measures. With appropriate classification and class labels neighborhood sonoscapes provide an environmental labeling of the expected perceived sound quality of the neighborhood for consumers, the public and planners. Neighborhood sonoscape maps may be utilized for national stratification and subsequent two-stage cluster sampling of the population. The advantage of this approach is that focused traffic counts, extended sound modeling and monitoring of noise abatement procedures, population composition, etc. can be undertaken for a limited representative set of neighborhood sonoscapes.

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS OF TEXTILE PRODUCTS FOR ISO (TYPE III) ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION

Abstract The objective of this research project was to develop technical environmental indicators of textile products for ISO Type III environmental product declaration. The standardisation of an environmental declaration for products (Type III) currently under way in the ISO offers an interesting opportunity for communicating the environmental effects of products in a global and uniform manner. The research was conducted in co-operation between the Tampere University of Technology, the Federation of Finnish Textile and Clothing Industries and the more important Finnish textile producers and sellers. This paper examines the manufacturing processes of the selected textiles by using Life Cycle Inventory Analyses (LCI) of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, and also compares the data available with the criteria for different environmental labels (EU eco-labelling and the Öko-Tex standard). As a result of this research project, a proposal is presented for the formulation of technical environmental indicators of different types of textile products, i.e., of essential environmental effects, to support the development of ISO Type III environmental declaration criteria.

Environmental labeling and consumers’ choice—an empirical analysis of the effect of the Nordic Swan

Provision of information on the environmental effects of consumption is often put forward as an appealing alternative to traditional means of environmental regulation such as permits and environmental taxes. When consumers in opinion polls are asked if their purchasing decisions would be influenced by information on environmental or ethical aspects of products, the majority seem very ready to say yes. However, evidence for actual behavior along these lines is still limited. In this paper a mixed logit model is used to quantify the effect of a certified environmental label (the Nordic Swan) on consumers’ brand choices of toilet paper, paper towels and detergents, using a large Danish consumer panel with detailed information on actual purchases from the beginning of 1997 to January 2001. It is found that the Nordic Swan label has had a significant effect on consumers’ brand choices for toilet paper, corresponding to a marginal willingness to pay for the certified environmental label of 13–18% of the price and it also appears that information on environmental performance has had an effect on consumers’ choice of detergent.

03/01761 Environmental labelling of electricity delivery contracts in Sweden: Kåberger, T. Energy Policy, 2003, 31, (7), 633–640

03/01761 Environmental labelling of electricity delivery contracts in Sweden: Kåberger, T. Energy Policy, 2003, 31, (7), 633–640

The purpose of LCA in environmental labels and concepts of products

This very interesting Discussion Forum showed the different points of view of basic science and applied science in practice concerning environmental labeling and the lacking comparability between them. Practitioners and consumers stated the large amount of labels. At this point environmental key-parameter models like the one presented for green electricity could be an option. For LCA-researchers it was clear that environmental labeling ought to be connected to an LCA or a comparable environmental valuation method. ISO offers four types of labels and if every label on the market would be ISO-conform and declared as such, comparisons would be much easier. Practitioners from companies stated that a lot of environmental data about there products gained from LCA or similar methods is available, but that the consumer is not yet interested in this kind of information. But in any case their companies will go on issuing environmental declarations for products, hoping that in the long run consumer’s interest and choice will include environmental performance. The discussion in the panel also showed that social aspects are not preferably integrated in an environmental declaration but separate in a social declaration because the evaluation methods are totally different. In any case, the interest of the consumer in the social circumstances of the production of goods is steadily increasing.

Environmental Sustainability of Steel Active Corrosion Protection Processes

The Integrated Product Policy (IPP), one of the most recent initiatives of the European Commission in the field of sustainable products and services development, considers Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as natural tool to provide environmental product declarations and verified environmental labels. The need of transparency of environmental performance is getting more importance also in the field of corrosion protection technology. First results of a Life Cycle Assessment on a ‘hot-dip zinc galvanising process’ for generic steel products are here reported to present a set of environmental sustainability indicators of that industrial sector and to support the preparation of a document with an environmental declaration. The study has been carried out according to ISO 14040 standard and the system referred to an average process resulting from two Italian medium-size plants (about 12.000 metric tons of galvanised steel per year each). Different frameworks such as poles and pylons for energy transportation have been considered from a cradle-to-grave (eco-profile) point of view, adding up to energy and environmental results also on the basis of the steel product service life within different corrosion scenarios.

전과정 목록분석 정보망의 역할 및 활용극대화 방안

LCI database is indispensable to conducting LCA for Type III Environmental Labelling and eco-design. Currently, LCI database is usually used by companies who want to get EDP(Environmental Declaration of Products) certification or develop eco-design software. And it is also available when conducting LCA or eco-design to improve environmental preferability of products, establishing Type I or Type III Environmental Labelling certification criteria and conducting studies regarding environmental impact assessment, risk assessment, etc. This paper mentions the point at issue and solution about LCI database network management and the role of LCI database network in order to enhance the environmental performance of product and relevant programs.

Environmental labelling of electricity delivery contracts in Sweden

Competition in the electricity market allows customers to choose between suppliers. As a consequence, customers may demand electricity from specified sources of energy. In Sweden, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), operates a system of environmental labelling of electricity delivery contracts since 1996. Labelling is available for suppliers offering electricity from renewable sources of energy with some additional criteria. Companies may acquire a licence to use the label by showing ability to deliver such electricity and by agreeing to be audited. The system is private independent. It is operating on the bases of credibility earned by the SSNC during 90 years as an environmental organisation and 10 years as operator of environmental labelling of consumer products. The system is market oriented, compatible with WTO and EU market principles, and independent of governmental environmental restrictions, subsidy or quota systems. It is relying on voluntary agreements. The results are desirable if only a few by electricity under labelled contracts as well as if every customer do so. The market is growing. A majority of the suppliers have a license and may offer labelled contracts. In the year 2000, 7% of all electricity sold to final consumers was sold under labelled contracts.

Environmental labelling in The Netherlands: a framework for integrated farming

This article compares four Dutch environmental certification schemes for agricultural food crops, analysing their methodology and the completeness of their criteria on five aspects: pesticide use, nutrient use, water management, energy and materials consumption, and habitat management. The least stringent of the labels, the MBT (‘Environmentally Aware Cultivation’) certificate, serves mainly to increase farmers' awareness of nutrient and pesticide use. With regard to both administrative obligations and actual management practices, the MBT label largely mirrors the terms of standing Dutch legislation. The CC (‘Controlled Cultivation’) and AMK (‘Agro-Environmental’) labels comprise more and more stringent criteria. With their restrictions on nutrient and pesticide use, these two labels serve as the two principal labels in the field of integrated agriculture. There is little difference between the two and it is recommended that they be merged, on the basis of a standardised definition of integrated agriculture. The EKO (‘Organic Agriculture’) label proceeds from different principles, but as a minimum should also comply with Dutch legislation without exception. For both integrated and organic agriculture, in addition to criteria on pesticide and nutrient use, criteria should also be developed for water management, energy and materials use and habitat management. The relationship between the criteria and their respective thresholds and Dutch legislation is also addressed. Existing criteria are frequently specified in such a way that the environmental benefits cannot be ascertained. This is a serious drawback for the parties further down the chain: auctioneers, retailers and consumers. It is recommended to develop qualitative guidelines for an Agricultural Stewardship Council at international level, like the Forest Stewardship Council, and a separate label for integrated agriculture per country comprising quantitative criteria for all relevant aspects of farming operations.

Environmental labelling of timber-framed dwellings and their building components

Demands by customers for environmentally better products produced under economically sound conditions are increasing steadily. Wood has a lower environmental impact than most of the competing materials used in the building sector. However, for reliable customer information, environmental impact verification methods for timber-frame houses are needed. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a forest certification scheme operating at a global level. It relies upon a performancebased standard that includes specific performance measures that can be used as a basis for product labelling; minimizing the environmental impact is covered by one of the FSC's ten principles. A case study of a customized timber-frame house illustrates the possibility of using the FSC percentage-based volume criteria as an environmental labelling, ensuring criteria that the wood products come from well-managed forests. The case study demonstrates not only the simplicity, but also the drawbacks of applying the FSC labelling to complex wood products such as houses, and an analysis of a proposed model gives insights into how the FSC labelling can be extended for houses by incorporating building functional and service-life criteria. Les consommateurs demandent de plus en plus de produits qui soient meilleurs pour l'environnement et qui sont fabriqués dans de bonnes conditions économiques. L'impact du bois sur l'environnement est plus faible que celui de la plupart des matériaux qui le concurrencent et qui sont utilisés dans le secteur de la construction. Toutefois, pour que les informations fournies aux consommateurs soient fiables, il faut avoir recours à des méthodes de vérification de l'impact des maisons à charpente en bois sur l'environnement. Le FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) est un organisme d'homologation forestier présent dans le monde entier. Il s'appuie sur une norme basée sur les performances qui inclut des mesures de performances spécifiques pouvant servir de base à l'étiquetage des produits ; la réduction de l'impact sur l'environnement est couverte par l'un des dix principes du FSC. Une étude de cas portant sur une maison à charpente en bois « sur mesure » illustre les possibilités d'utilisation des critères de volume du FSC (pourcentages) en tant qu'étiquette environnementale, ces critères garantissant que les produits du bois proviennent de forêts bien gérées. Cette étude de cas fait non seulement la preuve de la simplicité mais expose aussi les inconvénients de l'application de l'étiquetage FSC à des produits en bois complexes tels que les maisons; l'analyse d'un modèle proposé donne des éléments informatifs sur la possibilité d'étendre l'étiquetage FSC à des maisons en incorporant des critères fonctionnels et de service.

Environmental labelling of green electricity with LCA key parameter models

Since the opening of European electricity markets, companies are launching green electricity products. In Switzerland the privately initiated eco-label “naturemade star” ensures the environmental and ecological quality of electricity from renewable energy sources on a local scale and from a life cycle perspective. For the life cycle perspective, a simplified and partly site-specific life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied using the Eco-indicator 99 (Hierachist perspective) impact assessment method. In a first step, detailed LCAs case studies are made for power plants and technologies that are candidates for the „naturemade star“ label. They allow identifying technology-specific parameters that dominate the outcome of the LCA and for which data are available for the owner or operator of the power plant at issue. Based on this knowledge, key parameter models for photovoltaic, wind and hydroelectric power and electricity from biogas have been established on a spreadsheet-basis. With the help of the parameter models, operators of power plants can carry out the required LCA within a few hours. At the same time, they can check whether the plant fulfils the “naturemade star” threshold or not, which has been set to 50% of the environmental impact of a gas combined cycle power plant. Within a few months since the introduction of the labelling scheme, companies successfully applied the parameter models on nearly 50 photovoltaic and on several hydroelectric power plants. LCA is, in combination with other tools, a useful method for the definition of standards for environmental labelling of green electricity. Introduction Since the opening of European electricity markets, companies are launching so called “green” electricity products. Therefore, in several countries different criteria exist how to define and label “green electricity”, as the product itself has no specific green characteristics. In Switzerland, the privately initiated eco-label “naturemade star” ensures the environmental and ecological quality of electricity from renewable energy sources on a local and regional scale as well as from a life cycle perspective. Method Global and local criteria are used within the certification scheme for electricity from renewable resources with the level naturemade star. Local criteria are specific for every type of electricity production. Hydro power plants, i.e. have to fulfil certain ecological criteria for the amount of by-passed water. The global criterion, with one threshold for all systems, is based on life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies. Fig. 1 shows the decision tree for the labelling of electricity and the role of LCA in this scheme. A second, less stringent label is naturemade basic that is used for all types of electricity production with the main criterion that it is based on renewable energy carriers. 1 See information for the “Verein fur Umweltgerechte Elektrizitat (VUE)” (Association for environmental sound electricity) on http://www.naturemade.org for details. The association is formed by representatives of electricity companies and environmental NGO’s. Key parameter models 2 local critera fulfilled? global criteron fulfilled? Data input: Plant parameters LCI data & impact assessment methods Ecoindicator 99 Points (H) Examination of plant-specific, local criteria

Environmental Labeling and Incomplete Consumer Information in Laboratory Markets

Survey evidence suggests that consumers care about the environment and are willing to pay a higher price for a product that generates less environmental harm. We induce buyer preferences over quality in a laboratory posted offer market to study sellers' incentives to offer products of differing quality. Buyers are unaware of the product quality before purchase, as is often the case for goods with differing environmental quality. We first document the market failure that arises from incomplete information when no signaling or reputations are possible. We then study various treatments that could remedy this failure. Seller reputations and unverified “cheap talk” signals sometimes increase the number of higher-valued “green” goods. The only reliable way to improve product quality in the experiment, however, is to use a third party that charges a fee to certify product quality claims.

Eco-labeling of electricity—strategies and tradeoffs in the definition of environmental standards

The liberalization of electricity markets opens up new opportunities for electricity providers to differentiate their products along environmental characteristics. Due to considerable search and evaluation costs for the consumer, the success of green power products depends to a large degree on a professional communication strategy. Besides professional marketing, instruments like environmental labeling have attracted considerable attention. The present paper analyzes the fundamentals of voluntary, third-party eco-labeling of electricity products and compares different labeling approaches, which have been developed in Europe and in the US recently. We distinguish six major dimensions along which labeling schemes can differ and identify two main strategies to deal with the basic tradeoffs, correspondingly. Labeling concepts may either be simple, require low or medium environmental standards and strive for the support of at least one stakeholder group. Alternatively, eco-labels may judge a broad range of environmental impacts and integrate several stakeholder groups with opposing interests. Experiences show that labels of the first type can be set up quickly and have the advantage to set a standard early in the market. In the medium and long term, however, public awareness and potential criticisms may rise and rather simple eco-labeling schemes will have to be adapted. The paper finally discusses the prospects for a common European eco-labeling strategy.

Environmental Labelling

Environmental Labelling