What is Ecolabelling?

"The objective of ecolabelling is to reduce damage to the environment by promoting products with the least environmental impact."

"Ecolabelling (or environmental labelling) is a guide for consumers to choose products and services that cause less damage to the environment."

"Ecolabelling makes a positive statement that identifies products and services as less harmful to the environment than similar products or services used for a specific function."

"Ecolabelling is fundamentally different from the setting of minimum product standards or requirements. The key difference is that ecolabelling is intended to reward environmental leadership."

"The purpose of eco-labelling is to highlight those products which have a reduced environmental impact thereby enhancing that product's marketing appeal. In principle, ecolabelling follows a comprehensive, multi-criteria and life-cycle approach with a view to informing consumers about the environmental impact of the product. In practice there are different types of eco-labels which have different criteria and the approach to ecolabelling varies widely between countries."

Ecolabelling schemes were first introduced in Europe in the late 1970s. A number of important product groups has been identified for possible consideration under the ecolabelling scheme by the European Union (EU) . In addition, some EU countries have their own separate labels. Ecolabelling schemes also exist in countries such as Japan, the United States, Canada, India, New Zealand, Korea and Singapore.

An Environmental Choice Australia education and labelling program was launched by the Australian Government in 1991. Unfortunately, this attracted widespread criticism, found little support and no longer exists. However, the packaging industry in Australia has developed its own Environmental Code of Practice and the food industry has established a "Code of Conduct for the Provision of Information on Food Products".

Ecolabelling schemes have many difficulties to overcome before they will gain widespread acceptance. Without the active support and involvement of companies, ecolabelling schemes will founder. They need to be convinced of the necessity for ecological labelling on environmental grounds. In addition, the evaluation criteria for awarding environmental labels remains a contentious issue with many stakeholders.