Sustainability Labels Research Articles

Sustainable winegrowing: current perspectives

Sustainable winegrowing: current perspectives Angela Mariani,1 Antonella Vastola2 1Department of Economic and Legal Studies, University Parthenope, Naples, 2School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy Abstract: The winegrowing sector worldwide is strongly committed to improving environmental and social sustainability. The aim of this work, based on a literature review, is to highlight current sustainability perspectives and the related main issues. There is a broad consensus that the challenge to achieve a greater spread of sustainable practices is to enhance environmental and social sustainability while maintaining economic viability. From the producers' point of view, the priority is to bridge the still substantial knowledge gaps in terms of perceived environmental benefits, economic benefits, and costs. Thus, an increased research effort focusing on the costs and benefits of different winegrowing practices and technical assistance with implementation might support their diffusion. Moreover, targeted marketing strategies are needed to: enhance consumers' involvement and their attitude toward sustainable wine; improve understanding and use of sustainable labels and claims; and raise awareness of some environmental credentials of wine packaging, mainly with reference to lightweight glass bottles. Keywords: winegrower, sustainability, wine, consumer, marketing strategies

Consumers' literacy and preferences for sustainability labels: an exploratory analysis on Italian young adults

Activists and policy makers strongly encourage consumers to act as responsible citizens when purchasing everyday products. Accordingly, retailers and brands are competing on the market introducing a plethora of sustainability labels that should address increasing customer demand. Nevertheless, the usefulness of these labelling schemes in aiding consumers to make informed purchase decisions is still heavily debated. Results of a survey on Italian young consumers (N = 500) reveal low levels of individuals' familiarity with sustainability labels and highlight that several socio-demographic characteristics and food habits have a significant impact on consumers' knowledge of these labels.

Marketing Placebo Effects – From Behavioral Effects to Behavior Change?

Abstract Food decisions occur very frequently and are influenced by a variety of individual as well as contextual factors. Physical product attributes, including for example, caloric density, water content and sweetness are important drivers of food choice and preferences. However, food products are usually not evaluated solely based on their nutritional content. In addition, most products are packaged and carry abstract attributes, such as quality claims, and brand names. Critically, these product attributes, not products attributes also influence food consumption, reported consumption enjoyment, and product demand. A variety of these marketing actions were shown to alter consumption experiences of otherwise identical products, inducing a so-called marketing placebo effect (MPE). Here, we review studies providing insights into the various behavioral and neural processes underlying the response to these contextual marketing cues. An extensive amount of studies has shown impressive, sometimes peculiar and also disquieting effects of branding, logos, labels and prices on behavioral measures. We will illustrate the plethora of affected behaviors, ranging from increased taste pleasantness ratings for higher-priced wines to enhanced cognitive performance after drinking a higher-priced energy drink, compared to the identical lower-priced counterparts. Credence attributes, such as organic or social sustainability labels, have been gaining relevance in many industrialized countries, and influence product demand and consumption experience. We will therefore introduce studies that systematically investigated the effects of credence claims, elucidate possible mechanisms, and emphasize the negative consequences when misusing such claims. As children are an important and vulnerable target group for marketing actions, we will also specifically present studies conducted in children. These studies highlight the influence of marketing actions on children’s taste perception, product demand, and effort to obtain a certain product. We will shortly introduce the neurobiology of food choices, and present suggested processes underlying MPEs. Converging evidence confirms that MPEs are not a mere result of demand effects, but that they influence the neural responses to products down to a primary somatosensory level. We will show that marketing claims are very effective in influencing expectations and subsequent consumption experience. Therefore, we suggest that public policy interventions may build upon MPE research, and we will provide evidence for this supposition. Throughout this review, we present insights from a variety of different disciplines, including marketing, psychology, neuroscience and nutrition science. Albeit far from exhaustive, this non-systematic review aims at providing a joint perspective from various fields, highlighting that future research endeavor is certainly auspicious.

Sustainability labels: a key component of food quality? Impact of food-processing information on the appreciation of bread

The environmental problem is causing growing concerns and the food industry is sometimes perceived as one of the main contributors to environmental degradation. But, at the same time, the rapidly growing world’s population requires increased food production. In addition, the industry is becoming more environmentally conscious and so food companies are looking for new processes, called “clean processes,” to reduce energy use, water consumption, CO2 emission and waste generation, as well as decreasing production cost. In parallel, consumers in a purchase situation are exposed to various types of information such as brand, price, packaging, product origin, nutritional values, etc., often mentioned by claims or labels. The question that naturally arises is: Is it necessary to communicate with consumers about the notion of clean food-processing? And if so, would this information modify their product quality perception? The aim of this study was to explore the influence of communication about foodprocessing environmental impact on the global liking of food products for French consumers and to investigate the link with their knowledge about sustainability and behavior. To address this issue, a consumer test with two different industrial breads in two conditions (one blind and one with a food-processing labelling) was carried out with 209 consumers. At the end of the test, participants were administrated a questionnaire to assess their general knowledge and behaviors related to sustainability. Results show that the most preferred product in blind condition was perceived as better when presented with a clean process label, and was not affected by an energy-consuming process label. Conversely, the least liked product was not affected by a clean process label but was depreciated by a negative one. These results suggest that the quality perceived by the consumer can be influenced by labelling products with information about sustainably.

Willingness-to-pay for sustainability-labelled chocolate: an experimental auction approach

This study evaluates young consumers' attitudes to sustainable food and analyzes the determinants of their willingness to pay (WTP) for chocolate bars with different sustainability labels. Data were collected through experimental auctions in Italy assessing respondents' (N = 80, aged between 18 and 35) WTP for chocolate bars with three selected labels (i.e. Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and Carbon Footprint). Econometric outcomes reveal that several socio-demographic factors exert a positive and statistically significant effect on WTP for all the selected chocolate bars, namely age cohort (older), gender (female) and household income (high). Respondents' lifestyles and food consumption habits also had an effect on final bids. This study offers valuable insights to policy makers and practitioners for efficiently targeting young consumers in campaigns to increase sustainability-labelled food consumption.

Consumers’ valuation of sustainability labels on meat

There are various sustainability certifications and claims for food products that focus on environmental or ethical benefits. These claims empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions that take environmental and ethical considerations into account. This paper compares consumers’ preferences for four types of sustainability claims related to organic meat, free range, animal welfare and carbon footprint. Using a choice experiment on a chicken breast product, our results show that nine in every ten Belgian consumers favor free range claims, which are also valued the most highly, attracting premiums ranging from 43% to 93%. Our study also shows that a vast majority of consumers (87%) would welcome the introduction of an EU level animal welfare label. The carbon footprint labels and the organic labels are less appealing to consumers, who have lower willingness to pay for these labels. Belgian consumers prefer the national Belgian organic food logo, certified by a private organization, to the newly-introduced EU organic food logo.

The economics of quality in the specialty coffee industry: insights from the Cup of Excellence auction programs

AbstractThis study estimates price determinants for specialty green coffee auctions using records from the 2004–2010 Cup of Excellence programs hosted by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. While some literature on coffee has focused on certifications and sustainability labels, the discussion of price determinants has been limited. This article replicates one of the first publications on price determinants and formulates a new model to more accurately describe the market. We include the necessary additional variables and estimate the model using a truncated maximum likelihood estimation technique. While sensory quality has a strong effect on price, the highest premiums stem from obtaining a top rank compared to other coffees from the same country, and North American buyers are more responsive to sensory quality than buyers in Asian and European markets.

Different Shades of Green Consciousness: The Interplay of Sustainability Labeling and Environmental Impact on Product Evaluations

The sustainability labeling on the front of a package featured in a print advertisement may influence consumers’ product evaluations and purchase decisions. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that consumers seem to evaluate the sustainability claim more favorably if the advertisement highlights the personal impact on them. Moreover, environmental involvement appears to further moderate the effects of sustainability claims and environmental impact framing. The interactions that emerged in this study suggest that sustainability labeling effects constitute a complex phenomenon that warrants future research.

Thermal performance of lightweight steel-framed construction systems

Lightweight steel-framed (LSF) structural elements in building construction provide a way of increasing building sustainability. These structural elements present great potential for recycling and reuse, allowing the conservation of natural resources and the environment. When compared with other materials, these construction components also provide other advantages: reduced weight with simultaneous high mechanical strength; easier prefabrication, allowing modular elements and higher quality control; shorter periods for assembling the building on-site; no dimensional variations caused by moisture; and low cost. The high thermal conductivity of steel could be a drawback, leading to thermal bridges if not well designed and executed. In the case of LSF components (e.g. walls and slabs) it is necessary to take special care with the elements’ design optimisation, with it being essential to use continuous thermal insulation. The building envelope thermal performance is crucial to provide good thermal behaviour and energy efficiency, allowing a reduction of operational energy. In this paper, the LSF construction system is analysed in order to show its main advantages and drawbacks. The assessment of embodied and operational energy is essential to perform a life cycle analysis. The reduction of both energies’ consumption is crucial to increase the sustainability label. Special focus will be given to the mitigation strategies of operational energy in LSF construction.

Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use

This study investigates the relationship between consumer motivation, understanding and use of sustainability labels on food products (both environmental and ethical labels), which are increasingly appearing on food products. Data was collected by means of an online survey implemented in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Poland, with a total sample size of 4408 respondents. Respondents expressed medium high to high levels of concern with sustainability issues at the general level, but lower levels of concern in the context of concrete food product choices. Understanding of the concept of sustainability was limited, but understanding of four selected labels (Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Carbon Footprint, and Animal Welfare) was better, as some of them seem to be self-explanatory. The results indicated a low level of use, no matter whether use was measured as self-reported use of different types of information available on food labels or as use inferred from the results of a choice-based conjoint analysis. Hierarchical regression indicated that use is related to both motivation and understanding, and that both motivation, understanding and use are affected by demographic characteristics, human values as measured by the Schwartz value domains, and country differences. The results imply that sustainability labels currently do not play a major role in consumers’ food choices, and future use of these labels will depend on the extent to which consumers’ general concern about sustainability can be turned into actual behaviour.

The Influence of Knowledge and Motivation on Sustainable Label Use

Sustainable labels are considered the best way for consumers to identify brands with environmental or social attributes on the shelves, and therefore promoted as a means to develop the so-called “ethical markets”. However, little is known about how consumers use these brands. This paper tries to offer complementary theoretical insights on the determinants of sustainable label use by drawing on the economic model of information search; in particular, it examines the influence of two factors on the purchase of such labels: motivation and knowledge. Information was gathered through a structured questionnaire in personal interviews with 289 primary buyers. The study found that education influences directly knowledge, while Motivation influences Label use both directly and indirectly, via Label knowledge. This study concludes that Motivation is the most powerful factor to explain Label use; knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Even more, consumers may not have a good understanding of sustainable labels and still use them in their purchasing decisions. This suggests that there is a dual processing mode of sustainable labels, both systematic and heuristic.

A conceptual framework for analyzing consumers' food label preferences: An exploratory study of sustainability labels in France, Quebec, Spain and the US

AbstractIn a qualitative study of 375 consumers in France, Quebec, Spain and the US, respondents are asked to choose between pairs of actual food labels and to describe the reason(s) for their choice. The food labels included sustainability labels (eco‐labels, Fair Trade, origin) as well as product attribute (e.g. quality, kosher) and health/nutrition labels. Respondents' reasons were coded in the original language using the same coding system across all four nations to examine their preferences for label message, design and source. We also examined the role of consumers' values, beliefs and experiences on their label choices. The coding system was drawn from a review of theoretical and empirical literature and provides a conceptual framework we call the Label Consumer Interaction model for evaluating consumers' food label preferences. Although this is case study, the results point to substantial differences across nations in terms of preferred labels, as well as the rationale for their choice in terms of attributes of the labels and consumer characteristics.

Can household consumers save the wild fish? Lessons from a sustainable seafood advisory

Conservation organizations seeking to reduce over-fishing and promote better fishing practices have increasingly turned to market-based mechanisms such as environmental sustainability labels (eco-labels) in order to shift patterns of household consumption. This paper presents an analysis of consumer response to an advisory for sustainable seafood adopted by a regional supermarket in the United States. The advisory consisted of a label in which one of three traffic light colors was placed on each fresh seafood product to inform consumers about its relative environmental sustainability. Green meant “best” choice, yellow meant “proceed with caution,” and red meant “worst choice”. Using a unique product-level panel scanner data set of weekly sales and taking advantage of the random phase-in of the advisory by the retailer, we apply a difference-in-differences identification strategy to estimate the effect of the advisory on overall seafood sales as well as the heterogeneous impact of the advisory by label color and whether the seafood met additional health-related criteria. We find evidence that the advisory led to a statistically significant 15.3% decline in overall seafood sales, a statistically significant 34.9% decline in the sale of yellow labeled seafood, and a statistically significant 41.3% decline in the sale of yellow labeled seafood on a mercury safe list. We find no statistically significant difference in sales of green or red labeled seafood.

Evaluating the sustainable performance of an urban district: measured score or reflexive governance?

How to evaluate the sustainable performance of a complex urban system remains a much debated subject. In this sense, urban planning questions present many characteristics of the confusing decision contexts that arise with the management of sustainable development. Recent tools for assessing the sustainable performance of urban neighbourhoods have focussed on delivering a distinct score, obviously for reasons of benchmarking, communicative impact or marketing. However, these unequivocal scores partially hide or even confuse the complex quantitative–qualitative trade-offs that are needed to arrive at a judgement. This paper describes an alternative approach whereby quantitative measuring and qualitative assessments are combined. The resulting evaluation is primarily intended as a compass for refl exive governance, rather than as a sustainability label. The methodological basis for the instrument is derived from the theory of modal aspects, as formulated by the Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd. An indicator set and corresponding value functions are created, taking into account the expertise that can be found in many existing indicator systems. Performance thresholds, a new type of radar diagram and an argumentation are added to complete the assessment. Two instances of application are subsequently discussed. This allows observing the utility of the tool in a given context of both data and policy uncertainties. It appears that, even with many such uncertainties remaining, a useful strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis can be performed. The necessity of properly addressing sustainable functioning from the very early planning stages is thereby confi rmed.

Competition and Sustainability: The Impact of Consumer Awareness

ABSTRACTSustainability, a broad concept that includes numerous environmental and social dimensions, has emerged as an important product evaluation criterion for consumers. We suggest the impact of sustainability on consumer behavior depends on two factors—each individual consumer's unique level of concern about sustainability, and the general level of awareness regarding the sustainability of competing products—that together determine the level of heterogeneity among consumer attitudes toward sustainability. We incorporate sustainability concern and awareness into a model of horizontal competition in a duopoly, where one firm's product is more sustainable than the other's. Our results suggest that marginal increases in awareness can benefit all firms, including the less sustainable one, when awareness is sufficiently high (the explicit goal of recent sustainability labeling initiatives). In several model extensions, we provide additional insights for the following cases: the sustainable firm controls the extent of its sustainability advantage, the sustainable firm can directly influence the general level of awareness, and the distribution of sustainability concern across consumers is nonuniform. Our results enable us to suggest several new insights for managers, both those whose products enjoy a sustainability advantage and those whose products do not.

Consumers' perceptions of individual and combined sustainable food labels: a UK pilot investigation

AbstractConsumers are faced with an increasing number of sustainable food labels. These different labels may be complementary or add to the increasing competition of product information in consumers' minds. We investigate: (1) the perceptions that consumers in the UK have about sustainable labels vs. other labels, such as origin or nutrition labels; and (2) consumers' reactions to combinations of different sustainable labels. Overall, the findings from two focus groups conducted in the UK indicate that consumers have positive perceptions of organic and fair trade labels but tend to be sceptical about unfamiliar labels and general claims such as ‘climate friendly’. The results also indicate the importance of familiarity, trust and fit between combinations of labels as well as between associating a label with a brand. While the combination of certain labels can enhance the value of a food product, this study also indicates that other label combinations (e.g. private and sustainable label) can detract from a label's value. Implications and recommendations are suggested for managers to counter the image of greenwashing, and for policy makers to facilitate sustainable food choices.

Classifying carbon credit buyers according to their attitudes towards and involvement in CDM sustainability labels

Carbon markets are increasingly conscious of the social and environmental ‘quality’ of credits delivered by CDM projects. Consequently carbon credits are no longer viewed as a homogenous good and buyers now differentiate between credits supplied by different types of CDM project. The objective of this paper is to classify CER buyers according to their attitudes towards and preferences for CDM sustainability labels. K-means clustering was used to segment a sample of buyers into two clusters. The results indicate that two clear clusters exist with distinct profile patterns. Moreover, the results of discriminant analysis confirmed that the two-cluster solution was valid. Finally, the results of the chi-square analysis and a cross-tabulation showed that these two clusters were significantly different in: organization type; level of paid up capital; perception of sustainable development benefits; perception of return on investment; perception of image of the sustainability labeling; participation in the voluntary market; the project priority; knowledge in the sustainability label; attitude towards the host country's duty; and their willingness to pay.

The effects of institutional design in program performance

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the effects on implementation and performance of different designs of public programs to promote sustainability goals.Design/methodology/approachThe study selects eight local sustainability programs in Portugal using two different program designs and compares several indicators of performance in terms of program implementation, outputs, and outcomes.FindingsCities using the top‐down approach to programmatic intervention are more successful in accomplishing sustainability goals than cities engaging in the bottom‐up approach. The second program design produced more visible physical outputs, whereas the first effectively achieved sustainability goals.Practical implicationsThe main policy implication of the study is that program design and structure are decisive to achieve sustainability goals. In the case of Programmatic contracts run by general‐purpose local governments, the incentive structure facilitates the appropriation of goals for electoral purposes by local officials. The Programmatic contracts are administered by local government officials who are primarily concerned with economic revitalization and delivering tangible infrastructure. The sustainability label should be removed from these initiatives.Originality/valueThe paper shows that the incentive structure created by program design features influences the achievement of sustainability goals by local communities.

Does Local Labeling Complement or Compete with Other Sustainable Labels? A Conjoint Analysis of Direct and Joint Values for Fresh Produce Claim

As a way to explore the increasing use of sustainability labels in the marketplace, this study analyzes the differential values and interactive effects of sustainable production claims (organic, fair trade, and carbon footprint) and location claims through a conjoint choice experiment included in a 2008 U.S. survey. Locally grown is the highest valued claim, and its value is further enhanced with fair trade certification, but carbon‐intensive local products are discounted more severely than those sourced from other locations. Some negatively valued claims (imports and carbon footprint) can be mitigated by combining them with other claims (organic and fair trade).

Toward a Sustainability Label for Food Products: An Analysis of Experts' and Consumers' Acceptance

The recent proliferation of standards and labels for organic, fair-trade, locally produced, and healthy food products risks creating confusion among consumers. This study presents a standardized approach to developing a comprehensive sustainability label that incorporates ecological, economic, and social values. The methodology is based on an extension of modular life-cycle assessment to non-environmental sustainability criteria. Interviews with a wide range of experts (n = 65) and a consumer survey (n = 233) were conducted to analyze the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the approach. Responses indicated that a comprehensive sustainability label could considerably influence consumption patterns and facilitate cross-product comparisons.