Ecolabel
Encyclopedia
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labelling systems for food and consumer products. Ecolabels are often voluntary, but Green Stickers are mandated by law in North America for major appliances and automobiles. They are a form of sustainability measurement
directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement; others simply assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Usually both the precautionary principle
and the substitution principle
are used when defining the rules for what products can be ecolabelled.
Ecolabelling systems exist for both food and consumer products. Both systems were started by NGO
s but nowadays the European Union
have legislation
for the rules of ecolabelling and also have their own ecolabels, one for food and one for consumer products. At least for food, the ecolabel is nearly identical with the common NGO definition of the rules for ecolabelling. Trust in the label is an issue for consumers, as manufacturers or manufacturing associations could set up "rubber stamp" labels to greenwash
their products.
Many people believe that most food ecolabels are the same as organic labelling. This is not inaccurate, a great many certification standards with ecolabels exist, such as Rainforest Alliance, Utz coffee, cocoa and tea, GreenPalm, Marine Stewardship Council, and many more; these are aimed at sustainable food production and good social and environmental performance. These are mainstream standards aimed at improving whole sectors of the food industry, in addition there are many more of these which are business-to-business standards that do not carry consumer-facing ecolabels.
The last few years have seen a few key trends in the ecolabels space. One is the explosion in the numbers of different ecolabeling programs across the world and across business sectors, with many schemes broadening their issues to cover social, ethical and safety issues as well as just environmental. This has led to some confusion and perhaps fatigue amongst consumers and brand awareness of most labels (such as the EU Ecolabels) remains low. A second key trend is the rise in uptake of voluntary ecolabels and sustainability standards by the business-to-business sector. In this space, global firms are demanding that the standards be (a) global in nature and (b) well documented, transparent and trustworthy. This has led to the growth of a few "super standards" which have become major global brands and are likely to edge out some of the smaller standards and labels in place. Key examples are the Fairtrade label, the Forest Stewardship Council
for the forestry sector and the Marine Stewardship Council
for fish products. All have become well known consumer brands as well as key supplier filters for global buyers. This has led to the emergence of "standards for standards" whereby the organizations setting voluntary ecolabels adhere to guidelines laid down by wider stakeholder bodies such as the ISEAL Alliance.
In comparison to developing world, consumers of the developed world are more concern about the quality, safety and environmental sustainability of foods that boosts up the demand for ‘green’ foods. Now, this concern has moved towards the environmental effects of agriculture and globalisation of food production leading to ‘alternative’ and ‘sustainable food production’. Thus, globally a third food regime is becoming more apparent which allows a rise of ‘Alternative Food Networks’ which gives a new dimension to consumers demand and corporate competition. Australian Consumer Association (CHOICE) confronted their concern about the consumers growing interest from green consumption to food production, like, use of pesticides, organic production, and genetic modification etc.
Once an industry decides to get this certification, it has to provide evidences of documented proof of compliance required. In terms of ISO 14042 standard, all applicants are obligatorily respect environmental legislation with related legislation. And breaching of any laws will result taken away of its license.
Green stickers on consumer goods have been evolving since the 1970s. The main drivers have been energy and fuel consumption. These stickers first started appearing on major appliances after government agencies in the United States and Canada regulated their requirement. Manufacturers are also required to meet minimum standards of energy use. The Automobile industry in North America is required to meet a minimum emissions standard. This led to fuel efficiency labels being placed on new automobiles sold. The major appliance manufactures were required to use standard testing practices and place clear labels on products. The International Organization for Standardization
has developed standards for addressing environmental labeling with the ISO 14000
family which grew out of ISO's commitment to support the objective of sustainable development discussed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992
EnerGuide label for vehicles found on all new passenger cars, light-duty vans, pickup trucks and special purpose vehicles not exceeding a gross vehicle weight of 3855 kg (8500 lb). The label shows the city and highway fuel consumption ratings and an estimated annual fuel cost for that particular vehicle.
Federal law in Canada, under Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations,requires that the EnerGuide label be placed on all new electrical appliances manufactured in or imported into Canada and that the label indicate the amount of electricity used by that appliance. This information is determined by standardized test procedures. A third-party agency verifies that an appliance meets Canada's minimum energy performance levels.
All major home appliances must meet the Appliance Standards Program set by the US Department of Energy (DOE)on cooperation with the US Federal Trade Commission. Manufacturers must use standard test procedures developed by DOE to prove the energy use and efficiency of their products. Test results are printed on yellow EnergyGuide label, which manufacturers are required to display on many appliances (designed by Greenfield/Belser
). This label estimates how much energy the appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products, and lists approximate annual operating costs. Appliances that meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are eligible for the blue ENERGY STAR label. The ENERGY STAR label is also available on energy-efficient televisions, computers, audio visual equipment and electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment, and many more products. ENERGY STAR is also available on energy efficient homes and buildings in the United States. American automobile
manufacturers are required to use certified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
fuel economy
test results and cannot use any other fuel mileage results to advertise vehicle fuel efficiency. The state of California has Green Sticker licence plates issued to OHVs. California Air Resources Board is introducing Green Stickers for all new automobiles in 2009.
These criteria cover the whole life cycle of a product, from the extraction of raw materials, through manufacture, distribution, use and disposal of the product. There is a significant body of legislation that has been assembled to back up the EU Eco Label which has been periodically reviewed since 1992 to keep the text up to date and ensure that lessons learned in the implementation of ecolabel schemes are incorporated.
The EU Ecolabel is part of a broader EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy adopted by the European Commission on 16 July 2008, which also links the Flower to other EU policies such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) and Ecodesign of Energy Using products http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/ecodesign/eco_design_en.htm.
European Parliament passed first reading of mandatory labelling on food products but rejected traffic light label system used in the UK. EU Ministers have to approve the proposal before it can be enacted.
is the official ecolabel in Nordic countries. It uses a system of standards, applications for licenses, and independent verification.
standards for organic seafood are still in development.
There are a variety of dolphin safe label
s, asserting that tuna is caught in a manner that does not harm dolphin
s.
The Marine Stewardship Council
's distinctive blue ecolabel enables consumers to identify seafood that has come from a sustainable source. The MSC programme is voluntary and fisheries
that are independently assessed and meet the MSC's environmental standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. As of April 2010 it can be found on the packaging of seafood and fresh fish counters on nearly 4,000 products in over 60 countries around the world.
The MSC standard is consistent with the ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Wild Capture Fisheries
’ adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
in 2005. Any fishery that wishes to become MSC certified and use the ecolabel is assessed against the MSC standard by a third party, independent certification body that has been independently accredited to perform MSC assessments by Accreditation Services International (ASI). Chain of custody certification along the supply chain from boat to point of sale ensures that seafood sold bearing the ecolabel originated from an MSC certified fishery. The Council was founded as a result of the work of the Seafood Choices Alliance
.
At present uptake of MSC labelled products in the UK is mixed some of the more ethical supermarkets such as Sainsbury have managed to source a significant number of there fish products as MSC, whilst Tesco, lags behind.
is an founded in December 2006 to conserve marine habitat and resources by means of market incentives and specific conservation projects. It is the only scheme which certifies as sustainable, with the same seal of approval, both farmed and wild-caught products. Certified products from all continents include anchovies, caviar, clams, cuttlefish, halibut, kingfish, mackerel, mulloway, mussels, prawns, salmon, seabass, seabream, shrimps, squid, sturgeon, trout, tuna, turbot. Fishmeal, fishfeed and Omega-3 Fish oil have also been certified. Sustainable seafood, products and their origins are audited onsite by international certification bodies, against Friend of the Sea criteria. Certification bodies currently auditing against Friend of the Sea criteria are Aqa, Bureau Veritas, IFQC and SGS .
The Friend of the Sea criteria is currently the only one which follows the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) - Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries, by fulfilling Article 30 of the Guidelines which allows certification only of products from fisheries targeting stocks which are not overexploited.
, at regional and national levels labels by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
and the Malaysian Timber Certification System (both internationally recognized by PEFC) or the Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI).
The timber is tracked through the supply chain to the end product, so that consumers can choose to buy sustainably harvested wood over alternatives that may be contributing to deforestation worldwide.
program, European Union energy label
s, and the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo administrated by the Energy Saving Trust
in the United Kingdom. These labels document how much energy an appliance consumes while being used; energy input labeling
documents how much energy was used to manufacture the product, an additional consideration in the full life cycle energy use of product.
Carbon emission label
s are an alternative methodology for certification, examining impact on greenhouse gas
emissions rather than direct energy use.
Some labels are applied to the direct purchase of energy, such as from electric utilities. These include the EKOenergy
label in Finland, and the discontinued Eugene Green Energy Standard
in the European Union.
Sustainability measurement
Sustainability measurement is a term that denotes the measurements used as the quantitative basis for the informed management of sustainability...
directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement; others simply assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Usually both the precautionary principle
Precautionary principle
The precautionary principle or precautionary approach states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those...
and the substitution principle
Substitution principle
The substitution principle in sustainability is the maxim that processes, services and products should, wherever possible, be replaced with alternatives which have a lower impact on the environment...
are used when defining the rules for what products can be ecolabelled.
Ecolabelling systems exist for both food and consumer products. Both systems were started by NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s but nowadays the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
have legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
for the rules of ecolabelling and also have their own ecolabels, one for food and one for consumer products. At least for food, the ecolabel is nearly identical with the common NGO definition of the rules for ecolabelling. Trust in the label is an issue for consumers, as manufacturers or manufacturing associations could set up "rubber stamp" labels to greenwash
Greenwash
Greenwashing , or "green sheen", is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly.-Usage:...
their products.
Many people believe that most food ecolabels are the same as organic labelling. This is not inaccurate, a great many certification standards with ecolabels exist, such as Rainforest Alliance, Utz coffee, cocoa and tea, GreenPalm, Marine Stewardship Council, and many more; these are aimed at sustainable food production and good social and environmental performance. These are mainstream standards aimed at improving whole sectors of the food industry, in addition there are many more of these which are business-to-business standards that do not carry consumer-facing ecolabels.
The last few years have seen a few key trends in the ecolabels space. One is the explosion in the numbers of different ecolabeling programs across the world and across business sectors, with many schemes broadening their issues to cover social, ethical and safety issues as well as just environmental. This has led to some confusion and perhaps fatigue amongst consumers and brand awareness of most labels (such as the EU Ecolabels) remains low. A second key trend is the rise in uptake of voluntary ecolabels and sustainability standards by the business-to-business sector. In this space, global firms are demanding that the standards be (a) global in nature and (b) well documented, transparent and trustworthy. This has led to the growth of a few "super standards" which have become major global brands and are likely to edge out some of the smaller standards and labels in place. Key examples are the Fairtrade label, the Forest Stewardship Council
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
for the forestry sector and the Marine Stewardship Council
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent non-profit organization with an ecolabel and fishery certification programme. Fisheries that are assessed and meet the standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. The MSC mission is to 'reward sustainable fishing practices’...
for fish products. All have become well known consumer brands as well as key supplier filters for global buyers. This has led to the emergence of "standards for standards" whereby the organizations setting voluntary ecolabels adhere to guidelines laid down by wider stakeholder bodies such as the ISEAL Alliance.
Eco-labelling and Environmental Governance
The concept of ‘environmental consumption’ helps in developing an interest in eco-labels. This is a shift away from traditional command and control measures imposed by governments towards market governance which is a self-regulatory new environmental policy instrument, eco-labelling. Taken into consideration of this eco-labels potentiality to attain sustainability, various eco-labelling schemes have been introduced since early 90’s.Eco-labelling, a tool towards sustainable development
Since United Nations ‘Earth Summit’ Conference in 1992, an international consensus has been generated to integrate environmental issues into manufacturing procedures and also in consumption patterns to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, it can be assumed that eco-labels can play a vital role here as these labels are directly linked between products and consumers. This voluntary approach is so far aimed to encourage large industries to minimise their environmental impact by using the market forces to influence the informed consumers. That is why; industries are showing interest to get this certification as part of their industrial and commercial strategies.In comparison to developing world, consumers of the developed world are more concern about the quality, safety and environmental sustainability of foods that boosts up the demand for ‘green’ foods. Now, this concern has moved towards the environmental effects of agriculture and globalisation of food production leading to ‘alternative’ and ‘sustainable food production’. Thus, globally a third food regime is becoming more apparent which allows a rise of ‘Alternative Food Networks’ which gives a new dimension to consumers demand and corporate competition. Australian Consumer Association (CHOICE) confronted their concern about the consumers growing interest from green consumption to food production, like, use of pesticides, organic production, and genetic modification etc.
Eco-labelling, a new form of market governance
In terms of ecological labelling, both certification and private standardization run parallel. Eco-labelling standardization is a new form of regulation of the market economy which is voluntary in nature but impose upon large companies using market forces in order to harmonise production of goods and services with environment. Lately, it turns into a new form of non-state authority in both national and international levels. Thus, it has been analysed through the prism of law and of political economy. Cited in Lavallee & Plouffe, 2004, “Jean-Christophe Graz has e this analysis as, ‘far from creating an opposition between the law and public regulation and private standardization...sets out to explore how international standardization represents a new model of ‘entrepreneurial democracy’, whose fault lines run through the opposition between the state and the market while providing several levels of a hybrid form of authority at the world level”. This new idea of ‘entrepreneurial democracy’ based on the success of the ISO 14000 standards on the management of environmental quality and the ISO 9000 standards on quality production control.Once an industry decides to get this certification, it has to provide evidences of documented proof of compliance required. In terms of ISO 14042 standard, all applicants are obligatorily respect environmental legislation with related legislation. And breaching of any laws will result taken away of its license.
History
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
has developed standards for addressing environmental labeling with the ISO 14000
ISO 14000
The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the...
family which grew out of ISO's commitment to support the objective of sustainable development discussed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992
Programs by region
Governments of many countries have environmental protection agencies. These agencies are mandated watchdogs of industry and regulate releasing chemical pollution into the environment. Some of them administer labelling standards; other set minimum requirements for manufacturers.Canada
The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) run by the Department of Natural Resources Canada regulates both the automobile and appliance manufacturers.EnerGuide label for vehicles found on all new passenger cars, light-duty vans, pickup trucks and special purpose vehicles not exceeding a gross vehicle weight of 3855 kg (8500 lb). The label shows the city and highway fuel consumption ratings and an estimated annual fuel cost for that particular vehicle.
Federal law in Canada, under Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations,requires that the EnerGuide label be placed on all new electrical appliances manufactured in or imported into Canada and that the label indicate the amount of electricity used by that appliance. This information is determined by standardized test procedures. A third-party agency verifies that an appliance meets Canada's minimum energy performance levels.
United States
Greenfield Belser
Greenfield/Belser Ltd. is a brand design firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. that focuses on professional services marketing. The firm is organized to deliver four core services: brand research and brand strategy, Web solutions, identity and collateral design and development and advertising...
). This label estimates how much energy the appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products, and lists approximate annual operating costs. Appliances that meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are eligible for the blue ENERGY STAR label. The ENERGY STAR label is also available on energy-efficient televisions, computers, audio visual equipment and electronics, office equipment, heating and cooling equipment, and many more products. ENERGY STAR is also available on energy efficient homes and buildings in the United States. American automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturers are required to use certified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
fuel economy
Fuel economy in automobiles
Fuel usage in automobiles refers to the fuel efficiency relationship between distance traveled by an automobile and the amount of fuel consumed....
test results and cannot use any other fuel mileage results to advertise vehicle fuel efficiency. The state of California has Green Sticker licence plates issued to OHVs. California Air Resources Board is introducing Green Stickers for all new automobiles in 2009.
European Union
The EU Ecolabel is a voluntary product label. It was established in 1992 to encourage businesses to market products and services that meet high standards of environmental performance and quality. The labels are awarded according to environmental criteria set by the member states of the EU with involvement of industry and consumer and environmental NGOs European Commission of Environment.These criteria cover the whole life cycle of a product, from the extraction of raw materials, through manufacture, distribution, use and disposal of the product. There is a significant body of legislation that has been assembled to back up the EU Eco Label which has been periodically reviewed since 1992 to keep the text up to date and ensure that lessons learned in the implementation of ecolabel schemes are incorporated.
The EU Ecolabel is part of a broader EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy adopted by the European Commission on 16 July 2008, which also links the Flower to other EU policies such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) and Ecodesign of Energy Using products http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/ecodesign/eco_design_en.htm.
European Parliament passed first reading of mandatory labelling on food products but rejected traffic light label system used in the UK. EU Ministers have to approve the proposal before it can be enacted.
Northern Europe
The Nordic swanNordic swan
The Nordic Ecolabel or Nordic swan is the official sustainability ecolabel for the Nordic countries, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is done by a voluntary license system where the applicant agrees to follow a certain criteria set outlined by the Nordic Ecolabelling in...
is the official ecolabel in Nordic countries. It uses a system of standards, applications for licenses, and independent verification.
ASEAN
In Asia ASEAN is moving towards adopting the ISO's TC 207 environmental management system. Can anyone can contribute verifiable sources substantiating it's adoption and implementation by member countries as this information is not easily accessible.Seafood ecolabels
There are a plethora of sustainable seafood ecolabels, many conservationists feel that the increasing number of labels is further confusing consumers in regard to what seafood is sustainable. As of 2010, ecolabels that can be found on seafood include Marine Stewardship Council, Friend of the Sea, KRAV (Sweden), Naturland (Germany), Thai Quality Shrimp, Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices standard, Label Rouge (France), among still others, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is in development. Seafood is also labeled "organic" but USDAUnited States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
standards for organic seafood are still in development.
There are a variety of dolphin safe label
Dolphin safe label
There are various dolphin safe labels used for canned tuna to imply that the fish has been caught without harming or killing dolphins. However, because there are various labels used, there are also various restrictions imposed on the capture of tuna in order for it to deserve the related dolphin...
s, asserting that tuna is caught in a manner that does not harm dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s.
Marine Stewardship Council
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent non-profit organization with an ecolabel and fishery certification programme. Fisheries that are assessed and meet the standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. The MSC mission is to 'reward sustainable fishing practices’...
's distinctive blue ecolabel enables consumers to identify seafood that has come from a sustainable source. The MSC programme is voluntary and fisheries
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
that are independently assessed and meet the MSC's environmental standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. As of April 2010 it can be found on the packaging of seafood and fresh fish counters on nearly 4,000 products in over 60 countries around the world.
The MSC standard is consistent with the ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Wild Capture Fisheries
Wild fisheries of the world
A fishery is an area with an associated fish or aquatic population which is harvested for its commercial value. Fisheries can be marine or freshwater. They can also be wild or farmed. This article is an overview of the habitats occupied by the worlds' wild fisheries, and the human impacts on those...
’ adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
in 2005. Any fishery that wishes to become MSC certified and use the ecolabel is assessed against the MSC standard by a third party, independent certification body that has been independently accredited to perform MSC assessments by Accreditation Services International (ASI). Chain of custody certification along the supply chain from boat to point of sale ensures that seafood sold bearing the ecolabel originated from an MSC certified fishery. The Council was founded as a result of the work of the Seafood Choices Alliance
Seafood Choices Alliance
The Seafood Choices Alliance is a program of the nonprofit ocean conservation organization, SeaWeb. It was established in 2001 to bring together the disparate elements and diverse approaches in a growing "seafood choices" movement in the United States and expanded into Europe in 2005...
.
At present uptake of MSC labelled products in the UK is mixed some of the more ethical supermarkets such as Sainsbury have managed to source a significant number of there fish products as MSC, whilst Tesco, lags behind.
Friend of the Sea
The Friend of the SeaFriend of the Sea
Friend of the Sea is a project for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture. It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies both wild and farmed seafood. Friend of the Sea started as a project of the Earth Island...
is an founded in December 2006 to conserve marine habitat and resources by means of market incentives and specific conservation projects. It is the only scheme which certifies as sustainable, with the same seal of approval, both farmed and wild-caught products. Certified products from all continents include anchovies, caviar, clams, cuttlefish, halibut, kingfish, mackerel, mulloway, mussels, prawns, salmon, seabass, seabream, shrimps, squid, sturgeon, trout, tuna, turbot. Fishmeal, fishfeed and Omega-3 Fish oil have also been certified. Sustainable seafood, products and their origins are audited onsite by international certification bodies, against Friend of the Sea criteria. Certification bodies currently auditing against Friend of the Sea criteria are Aqa, Bureau Veritas, IFQC and SGS .
The Friend of the Sea criteria is currently the only one which follows the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
(FAO) - Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries, by fulfilling Article 30 of the Guidelines which allows certification only of products from fisheries targeting stocks which are not overexploited.
Sustainable Timber ecolabel
Ecolabels indicating that timber in wood-based products originates from forests that are sustainably managed in compliance with internationally recognized standards include at a global level labels by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Forest Stewardship CouncilForest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
, at regional and national levels labels by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is a 'forest certification standard' and program of SFI Inc., a non-profit organization. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is the world’s largest single forest certification standard by area....
and the Malaysian Timber Certification System (both internationally recognized by PEFC) or the Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI).
The timber is tracked through the supply chain to the end product, so that consumers can choose to buy sustainably harvested wood over alternatives that may be contributing to deforestation worldwide.
Energy labels
Many consumer appliances have labels indicating whether or not they are energy efficient compared to similar products. Common labels include yellow EnergyGuide tags found in North America as part of the Energy StarEnergy Star
Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. It was first created as a United States government program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted...
program, European Union energy label
European Union energy label
EU Directive 92/75/EC established an energy consumption labeling scheme. The directive was implemented by several other directives thus most white goods, light bulb packaging and cars must have an EU Energy Label clearly displayed when offered for sale or rent...
s, and the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo administrated by the Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation jointly funded by the British Government and the private sector in order to help fight climate change by promoting the sustainable use of energy, energy conservation and to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom.-Background:The Energy...
in the United Kingdom. These labels document how much energy an appliance consumes while being used; energy input labeling
Energy input labeling
The term energy input labeling involved producers of goods and services determining how much energy is used to produce their product, and then including that information on their product packaging. Energy input labeling is sometimes known by the acronym EIL...
documents how much energy was used to manufacture the product, an additional consideration in the full life cycle energy use of product.
Carbon emission label
Carbon emission label
A carbon emission label or carbon label describes the carbon dioxide emissions created as a by-product of manufacturing, transporting, or disposing of a consumer product...
s are an alternative methodology for certification, examining impact on greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions rather than direct energy use.
Some labels are applied to the direct purchase of energy, such as from electric utilities. These include the EKOenergy
EKOenergy
EKOenergy label is an international ecolabel for energy. It is managed by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation in cooperation with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation...
label in Finland, and the discontinued Eugene Green Energy Standard
Eugene Green Energy Standard
The Eugene Green Energy Standard was an international standard to which national or international green electricity labelling schemes could be accredited to confirm that they provide genuine environmental benefits...
in the European Union.
Sustainable palm oil
The RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) label is a tradmarked ecolable that can be placed on products using Palm Oil from RSPO certified farms.See also
- Blue AngelBlue Angel (certification)The Blue Angel is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects.It has been awarded since 1978 by the Jury Umweltzeichen, a group of 13 persons from environment and consumer protection groups, industry, unions, trade, media and churches.Blue Angel is...
- Display CampaignDisplay CampaignThe European Display Campaign is a voluntary scheme designed by energy experts from 20 European towns and cities. It is aimed at encouraging local authorities to publicly display the energy and environmental performances of their public buildings, using the same energy label that is used for...
- Environmental Choice New ZealandEnvironmental Choice New ZealandEnvironmental Choice New Zealand is an ecolabelling scheme in New Zealand.The Environmental Choice programme started in 1992. It is independent of the government but the label itself is owned and endorsed by the government...
- Environmental Choice ProgramEnvironmental Choice ProgramThe Environmental Choice Program is an ecolabelling scheme that was established by Environment Canada in 1988 with over 300 categories of products to help consumers identify services/products which are less harmful to the environment....
- Global Ecolabelling NetworkGlobal Ecolabelling NetworkThe Global Ecolabelling Network is a non-profit interest group composed of 25 ecolabel organisations throughout the world.It was established in 1994 and its precursor, the German Blue Angel was established in 1978...
- Green SealGreen SealGreen Seal is a non-profit, third-party certifier and standards development body in the United States. Since 1989 it has provided independent, objective, science-based guidance to the marketplace and to consumers...
- GREENGUARD Environmental InstituteGREENGUARD Environmental Institute-GREENGUARD Environmental Institute:The is an industry-independent organization that aims to protect human health and improve quality of life by enhancing indoor air quality and reducing people’s exposure to chemicals and other pollutants...
Certification Program - ISO 14000ISO 14000The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the...
- Nordic swanNordic swanThe Nordic Ecolabel or Nordic swan is the official sustainability ecolabel for the Nordic countries, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is done by a voluntary license system where the applicant agrees to follow a certain criteria set outlined by the Nordic Ecolabelling in...
- Planet PositivePlanet PositivePlanet Positive is an international environmental Ecolabel certification mark operating in the United Kingdom and United States. Planet Positive, an international environmental organization, states their aim as being the creation of a positive outlook towards sustainability whilst creating...
(in the UK and the US)
External links
- Ecolabelling.org The independent global directory of ecolabels.
- wikiPPP.org, A wiki-label initiative (Product, People, Planet)
- Ministry of Economic Development - Ecolabels in use in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- Video segment from 'Connected Life', msn.com
- USA Household Appliance Energy Guide label
- US EPA green vehicle guide
- Belgian Ecolabel