ecolabelling.org hits 200 with Debio’s Ø-label
We break 200 with Debio, an exemplary ecolabel.

We just uploaded our 200th label (high five)! Though we still see this site as a work in progress it is a good feeling to have a decent amount of content on here.

Debio is an interesting label primarily because of its history. In the mid 1980’s two competing organic schemes, Demeter and the Norwegian Organic Farming Association, took the bold step of cooperating to form a common standard: Debio.

This is the ONLY example of two labels merging in the interests of cooperation and the consumer we have found globally so far from our research on at least 200 labels.

This initial collaboration established a collaborative culture that has continued to bear fruit (no pun intended) for Debio. They were able to successfully integrate Norwegian government and EU organic standards, as well as IFOAM global standards as these developed over time.

This spirit of adaptation and cooperation drove excellent growth: In 1986, 19 farms were inspected and processed for certification. In 2005, this figure had grown to 2496 farms. That’s over 13,000% growth in less than 20 years. If only they sold shares. Debio is now expanding into textiles, forestry and aquaculture.

Canada, in contrast, recently passed legislation enacting a national eco-label (only after pressure from the EU) but the label is voluntary. That means consumers in Canada still have a host of labels to decipher and all of the other labels continue to exist and compete for consumer attention. So much for economies of scale.

In comparison to the Canadian approach and based on our global research we feel Debio is real model for this industry and hope other ecolabels around the world will take their lesson in the power of cooperation to heart. Well done you crazy Vikings!

No Comments » | Tags: news, standards
Posted by Jacob on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | Permalink |

USDA Grass-Fed Beef Label in the Works
Everything old is moo again.

USDA Grass-Fed Beef Label in the Works

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new rules for labeling meat from grass-fed livestock. The rules stipulate that meat labeled “grass fed” must come from animals fed solely on grasses, hay and other non-grain vegetation.

This label will help consumers choose meat from ’smart pasture operations’ that are better for the environment. Unlike massive confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), these farms use sophisticated land management practices to maximize productivity without despoiling our air, water and soil.

Via Treehugger and Union of Concerned Scientists, where you can learn more about “Greener Pastures: How grass-fed beef and milk contribute to healthy eating“

No Comments » | Tags: beef, food, usda
Posted by Trevor on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | Permalink |

Kraft does organics right
News from the 'pleasantly surprised' department.

We like to give praise where it’s due, and today I’m happy to dole out my allotment to Kraft. Yes, that Kraft.

When I stumbled across the Kraft Organics promotions page, I was greeted by straightforward explanations of ‘organic’, certification, verification, labelling, and regulation.

If everyone was so clear, we’d be out of a job.

No Comments » | Tags: food, organic, retailer
Posted by Trevor on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | Permalink |

Where the rubber meets the road
European Parliament and ad agencies duke it out over car ad content.

A few weeks ago, in “Nothing for cars?“, Jacob was wondering why we still hadn’t seen an ecolabelling scheme for cars — lots of stats and studies, but no comprehensive, consistent metric of which cars are out in front on environmental performance.

According to a recent article in the IHT (An environmental warning proposed for cars in Europe | 28 October 2007), the European Parliament recently proposed a plan whereby,

…20 percent of the space or time of any auto ad would have to be set aside for information on a car’s fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions

This would expand existing information required on emissions levels and fuel consumption - and it looks like carmakers and ad agencies are keen to put the brakes on it.

According to Chris Davies, a British MEP who sponsored the plan,

The rationale is to try to get carmakers to compete on environmental information about their cars, rather than purely on power, speed and appearance…”

Advertisers, on the other hand feel it would be a disincentive for auto makers to advertise, and therefore have impacts in other parts of the media economy.

For all the effort that goes into greening brands, and consumer’s demand for green purchasing information and options, we would have hoped for a more proactive stance — a client’s green credentials are increasingly an important part of the overall brand.

Making the provision of key environmental information mandatory — and consistent — can help to:

• undermine greenwashing,
• incentivise automakers on increasing efficiency and decreasing emissions,
• satisfy consumer demand for disclosure of environmental information,
• demonstrate responsibility on the part of advertisers and their agencies.

Buckle up — we expect a long and bumpy road before we get there.

No Comments » | Tags: cars
Posted by Trevor on Monday, October 29th, 2007 | Permalink |

Home Depot’s Eco Options, Six Months In
Joel Makower (GreenBiz) + Ron Jarvis (Home Depot) = EcoOptions state of the world

Great interview by GreenBiz Executive Editor Joel Makower, speaking with Ron Jarvis, the Home Depot’s vice president of Environmental Innovation about Home Depot’s EcoOptions program.

While we’re pretty skeptical of private label certification schemes, we’re impressed by Home Depot’s focus on life cycle analysis, and recognition of the importance and value of globally recognized certification schemes like FSC and EnergyStar.

Some other highlights:

• Home Depot did more on gut feel than market research (sounds familiar)
• trust is an important issue - separating verifiable claims from marketing-speak, but price trumps all for consumers
• life cycle analysis is key
• consumer education and finding ways of facilitating decision-making is vital (no arguments here)

Listen to the interview (~10mins) at GreenBiz: Home Depot’s Eco Options, Six Months In and find some good background and questions in EcoSherpa’s “Eco Labels - 100 % Green?” post (written prior to this interview and the launch of ecolabelling.org).

No Comments » | Tags: retailer
Posted by Trevor on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 | Permalink |

Shares in Ecolabelled Products Just Went Up
New UN Report says Earth is 28% over budget. Oops.

Why? Because according to a UNEP report released today “Efficient use of resources and reducing waste now are among the greatest challenges at the beginning in of 21st century.”

According to the International Herald Tribune the GEO 4 report involved 388 scientists. That report states that our demand on the planet’s resources is now 21.9 hectares per person while it can only provide about 15.7. That means we are about 28% over budget with no other planets to borrow from. We can’t refinance the Earth people. There’s no declaring bankruptcy.

What to do? Simple. Think about the planet’s purse strings and look for the ecolabelled products found in your neighbourhood and in this database that will help meet this challenge. Let’s all put a premium on planetary efficiency.

No Comments » | Tags: consumerism
Posted by Jacob on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 | Permalink |

Apples, Milk, Peanuts, Potatoes, Ketchup
NY Times nominates the organic big five.

Great post on the NY Times Blog today about five products to look for in organic. We are currently showing 45 ecolabels around the World for food, have a look for the ones in your country and keep an eye out the next time you hit the grocery store.

No Comments » | Tags: organic
Posted by Jacob on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 | Permalink |

What’s in a name?
Fairtrade names are all over the map.

We’ve been discussing how best to build naming conventions around the labels in this site. Particularly in the retail goods type this can be a challenge. Some labels have the country integrated into their name (Fair Flower Program Germany) others do not (Environmentally Friendly Label (Croatia)). Where the name is not in the title we decided to add it in brackets to make it easier for people using our site.

Here’s another pickle presented by Fairtrade, which seems caught between Fairtrade, Max Havelaar, and Transfair as well as between Mark and Label:

Fairtrade Austria
Max Havelaar Belgium
Transfair Canada
Max Havelaar Denmark
Max Havelaar France
TransFair Germany
Fairtrade Foundation UK
TransFair Italy
Fairtrade Mark Ireland
Fairtrade Label Japan

While we welcome diversity there are times when standardisation is useful. From a consumer and directory building perspective, we’re leaning toward the standards are useful end of the spectrum with regard to label names.

No Comments » | Tags: fairtrade, standards
Posted by Jacob on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 | Permalink |

Under the same roof
Are green building schemes a dysfunctional family?

Following Jacob’s post on cement, I’m doing some research on green building schemes - specifically Built Green. I don’t mean to pick on them - but it’s a classic example of the state of ecolabels.

It’s a messy family tree - there are a lot of children running around, but it’s not obvious who the parents are. Build Green Washington seems pretty mature, but the county level Built Green schemes all left home, and got new logos. Kids. Then there’s the distant cousins that moved to Canada (but really only settled in BC in Alberta).

Of course, the proud grandparents live in Colorado (Built Green Colorado), where we find the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, which still holds the keys to the Prius in the energy efficient garage - and the Built Green trademark.

It feels a bit like beating my head against a brick wall - I don’t care that it’s reclaimed brick - it still hurts.

I have a feeling LEED’s not much better. One of our goals with ecolabelling.org is to help make this all a bit clearer — but I think schemes could really do with getting their houses in order too. How about some discipline around here - everyone in the Built Green family wears the same logos, and everyone plays by the same rules.

No Comments » | Tags: buildings
Posted by Trevor on Monday, October 22nd, 2007 | Permalink |

Clean cement deserves a label
The case for recognising good practice in a dirty industry.

“In booming economies, cement is crucial for growth but an enemy of green” (IHT, 21 October 2007) outlines a major environmental issue: cement. According to the article, cement is now responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions. The article also notes that the greenest cement technologies only reduce emissions by 20%.

While the rapid growth in absolute amounts of cement being produced represents a major environmental problem, discounting the benefits of greener cement is a mistake. 20% less emissions is 20% less emissions. In lieu of substitution for another building material green cement is the next best option and it should be encouraged.

Along those lines the article references the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a project of the WBCSD (an industry group based in Geneva). Their agenda for action contains an extensive list of industry commitments set for publishing in 2006. Some of the key ones are:

1. baseline data on CO2 emissions and targets;
2. emissions targets;
3. rehabilitation plans for quarries;
4. statements of ethics.

According to an email from the CSI regarding this blog, the companies have further agreed to independent third party verification of their CO2 emissions, and beginning in 2007, the same treatment for plant safety indicators.

On 19 March 2007 the CSI launched an 8 page brief (PDF | 257kb), that outlines aggregate CO2 emissions for 40% of the industry. The brief notes that a full report outlining a five year plan of action is forthcoming this year.

So far ecolabelling.org contains 13 labels under the type - buildings. There is nothing for cement. The success of Home Depot’s Eco-options label demonstrates demand at the retail level for green products. Our informal conversations with procurement officials, along with initiatives like NAGPI in North America, indicate similar demand at the institutional level. We therefore urge the CSI to work with its members and industry label leaders like LEED to establish an ecolabel for cement.

Those companies making the extra effort to produce a green product deserve to be recognized in the market for it.

No Comments » | Tags: buildings, cement, global warming
Posted by Jacob on Sunday, October 21st, 2007 | Permalink |