Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC

Consumer Information about PCF
• Criteria are chosen by the companies themselves and are not necessarily agreed upon
on a broader level (e.g. industry associations). A broad stakeholder involvement is not
necessary.
• A third party certification does not take place. The credibility of the labels is therefore
restricted.
Carbon footprints or CO2e emissions increasingly play a role in type II labels including the
aspect of CO2e compensation. The above described Casino Carbon Index is one example of
such a label. There is a proliferation of such labels that make it confusing for consumers to
try to integrate climate reduction in their purchasing decision. At large, the variety of labels
bears the risk that consumers lose confidence, mix up their purchase decisions or even loose
interest in considering climate impact in their purchase decisions at all.
It may be generally concluded that for type II labels
• it is problematic that companies can pick one specific aspect – in this case CO2e
emissions / the climate change issue – which is then addressed by the label.
Concerning other environmental impacts, the performance of that specific product may
be significantly worse or the focus on CO2e emission may actually be counterproductive.
It even may not be the most relevant environmental impact of the product in
question at all;
• there is, besides that, no democratic stakeholder involvement foreseen.
Type III Environmental Product Declarations (ISO 14025)
• EPDs base on the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (ISO 14040) and give information
on the environmental impacts of a product over its whole life cycle together with
technical information on the product. Concerning the restrictions of this approach see
Prakash et al. (2008) and chapter 5.1 of this study.
• The covered impacts include the classical impact categories of LCA supplemented by
additional information on specific aspects of the particular product (e.g. radioactive
radiation, leaching behaviour etc.).
• This complex set of information is given preferably to professional customers (B2B),
communication to consumers is not yet very relevant.
• The definition of Product Category Rules, which is necessary before generating an
EPD includes stakeholder involvement.
• Third party certification is obligatory if communication (B2C) is intended.
The information on CO2e emissions is included in an EPD as standard category among
other impact categories and parameters. As the development of ISO standards for the
quantification of PCF is still ongoing, it is unclear whether the greenhouse gas emissions
calculated in a “traditional” EPD directly correspond to a specific PCF value calculated
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