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Ecolabel is a label which identifies overall environmental preference of a product (i.e. good or service) within a product category based on life cycle considerations. In contrast to a self-styled environmental symbol or claim statement developed by a manufacturer or service provider, an ecolabel is awarded by an impartial third party to products that meet established environmental leadership criteria.
As has been identified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the overall goal of environmental labels and declarations relating to products (i.e. goods and services) is:
| "...through communication of verifiable and accurate information, that is not misleading, on environmental aspects of products and services, to encourage the demand for and supply of those products and services that cause less stress on the environment, thereby stimulating the potential for market-driven continuous environmental improvement". |
The ISO has undertaken efforts to attempt to standardise the principles, practices and key characteristics relating to three major voluntary product-related environmental labelling types -- Type I - environmental labelling (i.e. ecolabels), Type II - self-declaration claims and Type III - environmental declarations (e.g. report cards/information labels).
| Type I - | a voluntary, multiple-criteria based, third party program that awards a license which authorises the use of environmental labels on products indicating overall environmental preferability of a product within a product category based on life cycle considerations |
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| Type II - | informative environmental self-declaration claims | | |
| Type III - | voluntary programs that provide quantified environmental data of a product, under pre-set categories of parameters set by a qualified third party and based on life cycle assessment, and verified by that or another qualified third party
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Unlike Type III environmental declarations, ecolabels reflect a determination and recognition of a products' environmental performance leadership characteristics rather than simply a presentation of quantified environmental data. In this respect, the ecolabels "flag" leadership products in the marketplace rather than requiring consumers to undertake their own comparative analyses.
The origins of ecolabelling can be found in the growing global concern for environmental protection on the part of governments, businesses and the general public. Initially, and mostly in developed countries, as commercial enterprises recognised that environmental concerns could be translated into a market advantage for certain products, a number of environmental declarations and claims emerged on and in association with certain products. These included labels with such claims as "recyclable", "eco-friendly", "low energy", and "recycled content".
Such labelling of the products attracted consumers who were looking for ways to reduce adverse environmental impacts through their purchasing choices. However, these labels also threatened to confuse consumers. Without guiding standards and investigation by an independent third party, consumers could not be certain that the companies' assertions guaranteed that each labelled product was an environmentally preferable alternative.
Around the world, there are many other third-party labelling systems in place, or being developed, which are "hybrids" of ecolabelling because they have narrower focuses than a normal ecolabelling program. These alternative programs focus on a single sector (e.g. the forestry industry, the chemical industry, etc.), and/or address only one environmental issue (e.g. air quality, energy conservation, etc.), and/or consider only a single life cycle phase in their applications (e.g. product use, product disposal/recycling, etc.). Of further note, some other "Type I" programs have been designed and implemented to address and recognise more than simply environmental performance aspects.
In a typical ecolabelling program, product categories and ecolabelling criteria are determined by an independent organisation with assistance from a complementary technical advisory group. Generally, once a category is chosen, some form of life cycle review is conducted. This review may include raw material extraction, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. The differentiating parameters (e.g. energy use, toxicity, etc.) are then used as the basis for criteria development.
Companies which want to participate in an ecolabelling program make application and submit their products for third party compliance testing and/or verification. If approved, the companies pay licensing fees for permission to use the program's distinctive ecolabel symbol for a specified period. Use of the ecolabel is restricted to the approved product(s), and is usually monitored by the managing agency.
GLOBAL ECOLABELLING NETWORK (GEN) INFORMATION PAPER:
INTRODUCTION TO ECOLABELLING
Prepared August 2004
For Public Use |
