Brussels, 09/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - In order to give rise to a true single market for green products, it is necessary to navigate through the maize of green labels that lead only to confusion in the minds of consumers, the European Commission states. It adds that it is also necessary to help the most successful companies to highlight the environmental performance of their most resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly products at the least cost and via reference methods. Resolved to take action, the Commission adopted, on Tuesday 9 April, a communication on the setting in place of a single market for green products and a recommendation on methods to measure the environmental performance of products and organisations, to be used on a voluntary basis by member states, businesses, private organisations and the financial community. The European Commission trusts this will make it possible to have reliable and comparable environmental information and, on that basis, to build confidence for consumers, business partners, investors and other company stakeholders.
Addressing the press, Janez Potocnik said (our translation): “It is difficult to be a 'green' consumer in Europe. Hundreds of labels and devices are used to convince us that the products are environmentally-friendly. But such profusion causes confusion and growing cynicism among consumers, 48% of whom do not trust the environmental claims, according to the latest Eurobarometer on green products. It is also difficult to be a 'green' producer as the labels and different methods recommended by the governments and private initiatives generate pointless cost and administrative charges. The result is that those who produce the best products are not rewarded on the market. Business federations are so weary of this situation that they are now calling on us”. Convinced that green products are a powerful engine for long-term growth in Europe and for competitiveness, he added: “We have a common framework. It will also be necessary to have specific rules for certain products and sectors. We are launching a three-year pilot phase to develop them and, in coming weeks, we shall make an international appeal for voluntary participation”.
The communication presents two methods for measuring environmental performance throughout the life cycle, namely the product environmental footprint (PEF) and the organisation environmental footprint (OEF). It establishes principles for communicating environmental performance, such as transparency, reliability, completeness, comparability and clarity. It also recommends support for international efforts for more coordination in methodological development and data availability. Rules for groups of products and specific sectors will be developed with the stakeholders. The organisations that use other methods will have the possibility to have them assessed. The call for volunteers will be published by the Commission on the web portals of the PED and OEF initiatives in order to invite businesses, industrial organisations and other stakeholder organisations, within the EU and beyond, to participate. (AN/transl.jl)