Brussels, 31/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - A round table on the integrated products policy (entitled "How Green is my Kitchen?") on 28 May, brought together representatives of many industries and NGOs around the British Green MEP Caroline Lucas, Alan Knight, head of the "social responsibility" service of Kingfisher Plc and Germana Canzi of WWF. This informal debate was an opportunity to engage in joint reflection on the marketing of more ecological products.
Ms. Lucas stressed the need for more detailed methods to render the environmental policy relating to products more effective, as, she believes, it often seems "confused by a very high number of overlapping initiatives" (sixth action programme for the environment, the social responsibility of companies, etc.). Mr. Knight, who came to set out his group's good practices, detailed a three-stage approach to improve the environmental impact of the a product: - identify problems (deforestation, alteration of the ozone layer, climate change, etc.); - determine the products in question; - define the appropriate tool or means of action (label, self-labelling, training, etc.. Finally, Ms. Canzi, noted a "lack of consumer information, choice and incentives", that only a binding legislative framework could deal with. All acknowledged that an effort at communication should be made on this subject, while waiting for the Commission to publish the Green Paper that should normally come out in the summer.