ECOLABELLING

Green marketing is the current trend due to the growing demand for environment-friendly
products, from eco-bags down to apparel. The concept of ecolabelling emerged from this
marketing strategy (Rex et.al, 2007).

Ecolabels are seals of approval given to products that are deemed to have fewer impacts on the
environment than similar products in the market. Overall environmental impact is determined
through a life-cycle assessment of a product. The primary goal of ecolabelling is to promote
sustainable management of natural resources (OECD 1991 p.12). The next sections will briefly
discuss the legal basis and important aspects of ecolabelling.

What is Ecolabelling?

Just like any invention or a new concept, ecolabelling was born out of necessity as consumers
sought information on the quality of products in the markets and made decisions based on
acquired information. Ecolabelling is currently a voluntary process for environmental
performance certification and labeling that is being practiced around the world.

When

Objectives and Role. Its primary objective is to “communicate verifiable and accurate
information, that is not misleading, on environmental aspects of products and services”,
according to the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). It also aims to further
promote environmentally sustainable products for continuous environmental improvement. The
purpose of ecolabelling according to Schumacher (2010) can be summarized into three: product
differentiation, reliable labeling, informational asymmetries reduction.

In general, ecolabelling is supportive of the following Sustainable Development Goals: Quality

Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure,
Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Partnerships for
the Goals.

Guiding Principles. As part of the global thrust towards sustainable development, stakeholders
agreed to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and identified the need to develop
and adopt effective and objective information tools in relation to sustainable consumption and
production.

Legal Basis. The ISO has identified three major types of Environmental Labelling and
Information Schemes (ELIS): Type I (environmental labelling, i.e. ecolabels), Type II (self-
declaration claims), and Type III (environmental declarations, e.g. report cards/information
labels). On the other hand, Type II labels emanate from the evaluation of manufacturers of their
own products, using their own set of requirements and standards. Type III labels are voluntary
programs that provide quantified environmental data of a product (Network 2004). Among these
three, the first type is the most helpful for consumers who would want to know about a product
in one glance. The table below shows a comparison among the three types of product labels.

Table 2. Comparison of Three Types of Product Labels According to ISO 14020

Label Type TYPE I TYPE II TYPE III

Characteristics (ISO 14024) (ISO 14021) (ISO 14025)

Criteria Areas / Metrics multiple single multiple

Life Cycle Consideration yes no yes
Selectivity yes no no
Third Party Verification/ Certification yes preferred yes
Source: Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) information paper: introduction to ecolabelling

However, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recognized
that the ISO typology failed to cover the full diversity of ELIS and released a 12-criteria OECD
categorisation and their examples.
Table 3.

Source:

Institutional aspects. There are several components to the institutional aspects of ecolabelling
processes: scope of the certification process, cost of certification, standards for accreditation of
the certifier, procedures to ensure the chain of custody, standards for the certification process,
and accountability of certifiers.

Process of ecolabelling.
 Criteria.

Commonly used ecolabels. The table below lists some of the internationally-recognized certifiers
across sectors.

Table 1.

Sector Third Party Certifying Body Examples

Fisheries Marine Stewardship Council „dolphin-safe‟ tuna label
Agriculture
Electronics
Source:

Implications of ecolabelling.

On trade.

Challenges in the implementation. There is still a need to address some gaps in the
implementation of ecolabelling especially since the standards are being set by the certifying
body, unlike with other existing environmental laws.

Costs. The practice of ecolabelling could pose as a hurdle in the flourishing of smaller
firms because of costs associated with the process of certification, chain of custody, and
inventories, among others. There might be additional expenses for changes in
management systems, as necessary (Roheim & Wessells 2001)

In addition, the production costs of eco-labelled products will be passed down to the
consumers. This strategy may have several implications to the consumers‟ demand for
those products including product substitution, which may defeat the original purpose of
ecolabelling.

Growth of ecolabelling programmes.

Ecolabelling in the Philippines. Ecolabelling started in the Philippines in 2002. National

Ecolabelling Programme of the Philippines – Green Choice Philippines (NELP-GCP) is a
Philippine-owned ecolabel. It was established in 2000 with ISO 14024 as its guiding principle. A
product that has been certified under this ecolabel means that it has complied with
environmentally-sound policies and social aspects among all segments of Philippine society.

Conclusion

The outcomes of ecolabelling as an environmental initiative still vary for every sector and
region. Some studies point out that the ecolabelling policy will be more effective if standardized
labeling will be enforced across sectors. The voluntary nature of the labeling scheme means that
there are still informational gaps in the side of the consumer, which addressing it is one of the
primary objectives of ecolabelling. At the end of the day, the scheme could encourage the
expansion of an environmentally conscious market, which is consistent with its purpose. On the
other hand, it could act as a barrier to trade especially for small and up-and-starting producers
from developing countries who wish to enter the international market.

Government to subsidize firms applying for ecolabelling, particularly on basic sectors.

References:

Network, G. E. (2004). Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) information paper: introduction to

ecolabelling. Ottawa, Canada: Global Ecolabelling Network.

Rex, E., & Baumann, H. (2007). Beyond ecolabels: what green marketing can learn from
conventional marketing. Journal of cleaner production, 15(6), 567-576.

Roheim, C. A., & Wessells, C. R. (2001). Product certification and ecolabelling for fisheries
sustainability (No. 422). Food & Agriculture Org..

Schumacher, Ingmar. "Ecolabeling, consumers' preferences and taxation." Ecological Economics

69.11 (2010): 2202-2212.

United Nations Environment Programme. https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-

topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/responsible-industry/eco-labelling. Accessed 19 Nov.
2020.