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Introduction Since the Rio Summit in 1992, there has been an international consensus on the need ... more Introduction
Since the Rio Summit in 1992, there has been an international consensus on the need to promote sustainable development and thus allow the integration of environmental issues into
manufacturing procedures as well as in consumption patterns1. Today, the environmental awareness of the public is increas- ing and this trend may lend an advantage to businesses who wish to go off the beaten track and focus on conquering the new 'green product' market.
Environmental labels and declarations are at the crossroads of environment concerns and commerce. Voluntary ecologi- cal labelling is the result of a business approach which aims to take advantage of market forces to influence the informed consumer [1] and to carve out a prime position in a poten- tially profitable market niche. Voluntary ecolabelling also serves as a means of regulation through consumer informa- tion, and thus is part of the third wave of sustainable devel- opment tools [2]. This new wave involves new means and methods. Such means include the use of model businesses, or, on the other hand, lists of businesses or sites that fail to respect mandatory environmental standards [3].
In fact, ecolabelling is attracting more and more interest on the part of large companies who see this type of labelling as an essential factor to consider as part of their industrial and com- mercial strategies. This interest takes on an even greater im- pact in the current context of the globalization of markets because product certification may well become "... both a very effective means for protecting internal markets and an increasingly essential tool for gaining outside markets [4]."
Where ecological labelling is concerned, certification and private standardization go hand in hand. Standardization may be defined as being one of the market economy's new forms of regulation which aims to impose, by means of market forces, voluntary technical specifications in order to harmonize standards related to the international production and exchange of goods and services. Recently, standardi- zation has been the subject of many analyses, both in the fields of law [5] and of political economy [6] concerning the
1 Among the principles which are set out in the Rio Declaration, principle 8 states that "in order to achieve sustainable development and a better quality of life for all nations, states must reduce or eliminate non viable production and consumption methods". As well, chapter 4 of Agenda 21 states that progress can be made in this field by reinforcing trends and positive movements within the framework of a process whose goal is to considerably modify the consumption modes of industrial enterprises, governments, households and individuals, so as to utilize resources in the most rational manner possible and to reduce waste to a minimum.
Abstract
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2004.09.180.2
Abstract. The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encourage consumers to choose prod- ucts which are the least damaging to the environment. It is clear that the involvement of product and service users is essential to the establishment of sustainable consumption patterns. For this reason, ecolabelling must necessarily limit any risks of uncer- tainty. To this end, labels must take into account all the impacts of a product's life cycle and use a reliable and verifiable evalua- tion method.
In general, the organizations in charge of ecolabelling programs claim that a multi-criteria approach is used to define the exact labelling criteria appropriate for the product categories in ques- tion. These organizations generally maintain that their approach is based on the completion of exhaustive and complete life cycle analyses, which take into account all of the impacts caused by a product throughout its life cycle. And yet, the real situation is often far less clear-cut, and these simplified approaches, which tend to reconcile economic realism and methodological coher- ence, constitute the usual procedure for criteria definition. Thus, the procedures involved in criteria development often rely on a 'semi-qualitative' approach to the life cycle which uses both qualitative and quantitative data in order to identify the product’s significant stages on the environment.
Presently, the ecolabel is a 'non-verifiable expert property' for the consumer. The ecolabel's lack of objectivity in its criteria and its lack of transparency, resulting from non standardized methods whose accuracy cannot be measured, can only damage this sustainable development tool's credibility. In effect, the pri- mary hindrance to ecolabel development lies precisely within this difficulty of finding a compromise between economic feasi- bility and the scientific and methodological rigor which are in- dispensable to the label's credibility and veracity.
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2004
Abstract The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encoura... more Abstract The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encourage consumers to choose products which are the least damaging to the environment. It is clear that the involvement of product and service users is essential to the establishment of sustainable consumption patterns. For this reason, ecolabelling must necessarily limit any risks of uncertainty. To this end, labels must take into account all the impacts of a product’s life cycle and use a reliable and verifiable evaluation method. In general, the organizations in charge of ecolabelling programs claim that a multi-criteria approach is used to define the exact labelling criteria appropriate for the product categories in question. These organizations generally maintain that their approach is based on the completion of exhaustive and complete life cycle analyses, which take into account all of the impacts caused by a product throughout its life cycle. And yet, the real situation is often far less clear-cut, and these simplified approaches, which tend to reconcile economic realism and methodological coherence, constitute the usual procedure for criteria definition. Thus, the procedures involved in criteria development often rely on a ‘semi-qualitative’ approach to the life cycle which uses both qualitative and quantitative data in order to identify the product’s significant stages on the environment. Presently, the ecolabel is a ‘non-verifiable expert property’ for the consumer. The ecolabel’s lack of objectivity in its criteria and its lack of transparency, resulting from non standardized methods whose accuracy cannot be measured, can only damage this sustainable development tool’s credibility. In effect, the primary hindrance to ecolabel development lies precisely within this difficulty of finding a compromise between economic feasibility and the scientific and methodological rigor which are indispensable to the label’s credibility and veracity.
Relations Internationales, 2004
Introduction Since the Rio Summit in 1992, there has been an international consensus on the need ... more Introduction
Since the Rio Summit in 1992, there has been an international consensus on the need to promote sustainable development and thus allow the integration of environmental issues into
manufacturing procedures as well as in consumption patterns1. Today, the environmental awareness of the public is increas- ing and this trend may lend an advantage to businesses who wish to go off the beaten track and focus on conquering the new 'green product' market.
Environmental labels and declarations are at the crossroads of environment concerns and commerce. Voluntary ecologi- cal labelling is the result of a business approach which aims to take advantage of market forces to influence the informed consumer [1] and to carve out a prime position in a poten- tially profitable market niche. Voluntary ecolabelling also serves as a means of regulation through consumer informa- tion, and thus is part of the third wave of sustainable devel- opment tools [2]. This new wave involves new means and methods. Such means include the use of model businesses, or, on the other hand, lists of businesses or sites that fail to respect mandatory environmental standards [3].
In fact, ecolabelling is attracting more and more interest on the part of large companies who see this type of labelling as an essential factor to consider as part of their industrial and com- mercial strategies. This interest takes on an even greater im- pact in the current context of the globalization of markets because product certification may well become "... both a very effective means for protecting internal markets and an increasingly essential tool for gaining outside markets [4]."
Where ecological labelling is concerned, certification and private standardization go hand in hand. Standardization may be defined as being one of the market economy's new forms of regulation which aims to impose, by means of market forces, voluntary technical specifications in order to harmonize standards related to the international production and exchange of goods and services. Recently, standardi- zation has been the subject of many analyses, both in the fields of law [5] and of political economy [6] concerning the
1 Among the principles which are set out in the Rio Declaration, principle 8 states that "in order to achieve sustainable development and a better quality of life for all nations, states must reduce or eliminate non viable production and consumption methods". As well, chapter 4 of Agenda 21 states that progress can be made in this field by reinforcing trends and positive movements within the framework of a process whose goal is to considerably modify the consumption modes of industrial enterprises, governments, households and individuals, so as to utilize resources in the most rational manner possible and to reduce waste to a minimum.
Abstract
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2004.09.180.2
Abstract. The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encourage consumers to choose prod- ucts which are the least damaging to the environment. It is clear that the involvement of product and service users is essential to the establishment of sustainable consumption patterns. For this reason, ecolabelling must necessarily limit any risks of uncer- tainty. To this end, labels must take into account all the impacts of a product's life cycle and use a reliable and verifiable evalua- tion method.
In general, the organizations in charge of ecolabelling programs claim that a multi-criteria approach is used to define the exact labelling criteria appropriate for the product categories in ques- tion. These organizations generally maintain that their approach is based on the completion of exhaustive and complete life cycle analyses, which take into account all of the impacts caused by a product throughout its life cycle. And yet, the real situation is often far less clear-cut, and these simplified approaches, which tend to reconcile economic realism and methodological coher- ence, constitute the usual procedure for criteria definition. Thus, the procedures involved in criteria development often rely on a 'semi-qualitative' approach to the life cycle which uses both qualitative and quantitative data in order to identify the product’s significant stages on the environment.
Presently, the ecolabel is a 'non-verifiable expert property' for the consumer. The ecolabel's lack of objectivity in its criteria and its lack of transparency, resulting from non standardized methods whose accuracy cannot be measured, can only damage this sustainable development tool's credibility. In effect, the pri- mary hindrance to ecolabel development lies precisely within this difficulty of finding a compromise between economic feasi- bility and the scientific and methodological rigor which are in- dispensable to the label's credibility and veracity.
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2004
Abstract The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encoura... more Abstract The goal of the different national and supranational ecolabelling programs is to encourage consumers to choose products which are the least damaging to the environment. It is clear that the involvement of product and service users is essential to the establishment of sustainable consumption patterns. For this reason, ecolabelling must necessarily limit any risks of uncertainty. To this end, labels must take into account all the impacts of a product’s life cycle and use a reliable and verifiable evaluation method. In general, the organizations in charge of ecolabelling programs claim that a multi-criteria approach is used to define the exact labelling criteria appropriate for the product categories in question. These organizations generally maintain that their approach is based on the completion of exhaustive and complete life cycle analyses, which take into account all of the impacts caused by a product throughout its life cycle. And yet, the real situation is often far less clear-cut, and these simplified approaches, which tend to reconcile economic realism and methodological coherence, constitute the usual procedure for criteria definition. Thus, the procedures involved in criteria development often rely on a ‘semi-qualitative’ approach to the life cycle which uses both qualitative and quantitative data in order to identify the product’s significant stages on the environment. Presently, the ecolabel is a ‘non-verifiable expert property’ for the consumer. The ecolabel’s lack of objectivity in its criteria and its lack of transparency, resulting from non standardized methods whose accuracy cannot be measured, can only damage this sustainable development tool’s credibility. In effect, the primary hindrance to ecolabel development lies precisely within this difficulty of finding a compromise between economic feasibility and the scientific and methodological rigor which are indispensable to the label’s credibility and veracity.
Relations Internationales, 2004