Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC

Consumer Information about PCF
in brochures, advertisements etc. => Therefore cars were chosen as another product
example.
The third most important product field concerning greenhouse gas emissions is food with a
contribution of about 20% to the overall greenhouse gas emissions of a household. Moreover,
food is the product group for which by far most of the carbon labels are being
developed at the moment. => Therefore food was chosen as product example.
Household appliances are responsible for about 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions and
are the main consumers of electricity in households. Furthermore, a mandatory energy label
for household appliances already exists. => Accordingly, household appliances were also
chosen as product example.
In the product group information & communication, paper with an overall share of 3,2% is a
significant contributor. => Therefore paper was also chosen as product example.
The product group clothing does not show up with a significant contribution. As the data base
for textiles is incomplete, however, the figures seem to be uncertain. Additionally it is a
product group where carbon labels already exist (see EarthPositive 2009) and where it can
be assumed that consumers are interested in.
For the sake of completeness, in the following figure the share of the greenhouse gas
emissions of the private households in the eight product fields are compared with other
environmental impact categories (Quack and Rüdenauer 2007). One can see that the overall
significance of the product fields does not change much: mobility changes place with building
& housing for being most important concerning eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation
and the overall environmental burden. Third most important is still food.
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