Konichiwa Greenguard!
Sake all around as Greenguard goes to Japan.

A recent PR Wire release announces Greenguard has its first Japanese certification. Okamura furniture will carry the Greenguard label, noting the decision to go with the label was based on the quality of their certification and verification methods.

No Comments » | Tags:
Posted by Jacob on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 | Permalink |

ecolabelling.org — looking behind the labels
What's green? And who says so?

(a guest post from Olga Orda)

Ecolabels are everywhere from Wal-Mart’s “seafood aisle” to my local grocery store. But, at the end of day, what do these labels really mean? Who’s behind them? And, most importantly, can I rely on them to make my certified no-rainforests-were-destroyed-in-the-making-of-this-latte latte? Ecolabelling.org – your source on the background of over 285 ecolabels around the world – makes it easier to answer these questions and more by sharing a global database of who’s deciding what’s green.

Big Room Inc. launched ecolabelling.org for as a resource for consumers, environmental professionals and procurers to learn the source of each ecolabel and what it actually means.

That means: one less consumer paralysed in indecision under the florescent lights of the natural foods aisle and one more green procurer who can sift through nearly 100 food ecolabels with the click of a mouse.

So far, ecolabelling.org has tracked down over 285 ecolabels or green certification systems that exist worldwide and estimate that close to 400,000 companies and nearly 500,000 products have gained a green label or valid certification. The database is a platform that will grow, so they look forward to hearing from eco-labels and certification schemes worldwide. Are they missing your favourite ecolabel? Let them know!

1 Comment » | Tags:
Posted by Trevor on Monday, January 28th, 2008 | Permalink |

BEST Battery Ecolabel
A little less lead.

According to an Indian newspaper article the IFC has supported development of an ecolabel for batteries called “Better Environmental Sustainability Targets” or BEST. The World Health Organization estimates that 120 million people worldwide are overexposed to lead, with 99 percent of them residing in developing countries. Our research indicates less than 20% of ecolabels are developing country based.

This looks like a great initiative. International donor partnering with an NGO to develop a standard for a product sorely in need of one.

No Comments » | Tags: news, standards
Posted by Jacob on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 | Permalink |

Radioactive Man to Save Planet from Global Warming
Quickly Fallout Boy...the polar bears are drowning!

According to this World Nuclear News article, Finland and Sweden have a new ecolabel for carbon free power. Called “Fortum Carbon Free” the label was put together by Fortum, a nuclear energy company.

No Comments » | Tags: carbon, energy
Posted by Jacob on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 | Permalink |

Global Ecolabel Survey 2008
Launching a weather balloon.

This week we launched the latest piece of our outreach to the ecolabelling community — the Global Ecolabel Survey 2008.

If your label is listed in ecolabelling.org, but you didn’t receive a survey (or at least it didn’t come to you), get in touch at survey at ecolabelling.org.

If your favourite ecolabel isn’t listed on the site at all yet, then you can send us the basics from the Add ecolabel page. Once it’s in the system, we’ll send out the more extensive survey to you.

…and last but certainly not least — if you received the survey — please complete it. You can help us create a useful resource, and we can help you tell the story of what you do and how you do it.  Thanks.

No Comments » | Tags:
Posted by Trevor on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 | Permalink |

Daily links

• Stuck on you
  Review from The Observer (UK) on how useful ecolabels are for average shoppers.
  (tags: commentary)

No Comments » | Tags:
Posted by Jeff Vader on Thursday, January 17th, 2008 | Permalink |

Big market, big benefits
Big government, smaller footprint

EPEAT was launched in July 2006, and already the Fed’s are mandating it for their own purchasing. The so called ‘Bible’ of  federal purchasing in the US (the Federal Acquisition Regulations) recently integrated the requirement to use the EPEAT label in purchasing. This means that fully 95% or more of all computers they purchase will be qualified under the EPEAT green computer purchasing standard. How’s that for a big market?!

EPEAT is also cool, in our opinion, because they have a “benefits calculator”. This was designed so purchasers using the standard can see what goodies they have created (well, to be precise, it actually measures what baddies were avoided).

For example, the Green Electronics Council (who run EPEAT) calculates that since its launch in July of 2006 purchasing EPEAT products saved a whopping 13.7 billion kWh of electricity. In other words, that was enough energy saved to power 1.2 million U.S. homes for a year. Just think how many homes in Sweden that would have powered!

No Comments » | Tags: computers, environment, purchasing, US
Posted by Anastasia on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 | Permalink |