Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC
Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC
Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC
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C<strong>on</strong>sumer Informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>about</strong> PCF<br />
accounted for in LCA / PCF since they require a functi<strong>on</strong>ing informati<strong>on</strong> system which is not<br />
yet in place. As for the calculati<strong>on</strong> rules, there are still methodological questi<strong>on</strong>s to be solved<br />
and c<strong>on</strong>sensus to be found am<strong>on</strong>g different existing approaches (see chapter above).<br />
C<strong>on</strong>cerning the differences between different products from the same product group PCF<br />
results may show <strong>on</strong>ly small deviati<strong>on</strong>s similar to that of LCA results. LCA as well as PCF<br />
cannot eliminate uncertainty. Due to these uncertainties (e.g. parameter or model<br />
uncertainty) PCF results will always have a restricted precisi<strong>on</strong>. Therefore the display of a<br />
single CO2e figure <strong>on</strong> a product is misleading.<br />
Current CO2 labels neglect c<strong>on</strong>sumer comprehensibility, benchmarks and indicati<strong>on</strong><br />
of excellence<br />
In order to be useful to c<strong>on</strong>sumers a CO2 label would have to<br />
• be comprehensible, e.g. by a well structured display, aggregati<strong>on</strong> of the informati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
c<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the gist. Additi<strong>on</strong>ally, have a standardised look thus enabling<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sumers to quickly comprehend the informati<strong>on</strong>, compare different products and<br />
include the informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the climate impact in their purchasing decisi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
• include a rating scheme, enabling c<strong>on</strong>sumers to recognise if the products’ Carb<strong>on</strong><br />
Footprint represents a relatively low greenhouse gas emissi<strong>on</strong> for the respective<br />
product group or a relatively high emissi<strong>on</strong>. It must be possible for c<strong>on</strong>sumers to<br />
recognise excellent products. Only then an effective reducti<strong>on</strong> of the climate impact<br />
due to “the right” purchasing decisi<strong>on</strong> can be achieved. C<strong>on</strong>sumers are already well<br />
acquainted with the A-G labelling scheme of the EU energy label, so this could be a<br />
promising starting point.<br />
• be third party certified. As credibility is of high importance for c<strong>on</strong>sumers, it is crucial<br />
that a third party review should be requested for the PCF when used in product-related<br />
communicati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
• be backed-up by easy to access and transparent documentati<strong>on</strong> of the PCF study the<br />
label is basing <strong>on</strong>. This includes the motivati<strong>on</strong> for calculating a PCF and assumpti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
and quantifiers used in the calculati<strong>on</strong>s. Any publicati<strong>on</strong> of the data must be clear,<br />
understandable, c<strong>on</strong>clusive and open to scrutiny. It should ne noted to what extent<br />
PCF calculati<strong>on</strong>s are reliable and/or uncertain and whether other important<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>mental impacts have been taken into c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Single number CO2 labels make no sense<br />
A static PCF stand-al<strong>on</strong>e label providing a total CO2 footprint <strong>on</strong> products does not make<br />
sense and is not very relevant for c<strong>on</strong>sumer decisi<strong>on</strong> making. Although c<strong>on</strong>sumers are<br />
increasingly aware of the relevance of climate impacts resulting from their purchasing<br />
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