Ecolabelling: Creating a Roadmap for a Comprehensive System for Product Labeling of Environmental...

Ecolabelling: Creating a Roadmap for a Comprehensive System for Product Labeling of Environmental ImpactsNRE701 Master’s Project Proposal Presentation

4/11/2005

Client: NSF InternationalAdvisor: Prof. Michael MooreCo-Advisor: Prof. Stuart Batterman

Kevin Bolon Keita Fujihira

The client National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF)

A not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, Headquartered in Ann Arbor MI. Certifies consumer products for safety.

Certified products bear an NSF Mark Accredited by the American National Standard Institute to develop American National Standards.

Deliverables Timetable & BudgetIntroduction Research Questions & Methods

Food Bottled Water Faucets

Existing LabelsDefine ecolabels as voluntary, and assigned by a third party based on widely accepted Life Cycle Analysis Methods

Type I Labels

Qualitative, within categories

26 labels are members of The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)

U.S.-GreenSeal (300 Products)

Type III Labels

Quantitative, across categories

New Label, Still under developed

8 labels are member of Global Type III Environmental Declarations Product Network (GEDnet)

None in the U.S


Problem statement

There is a demand for information

Information in the U.S is inconsistent

A lot of claims

No standard way of presenting information

Causes confusion for consumers

A plan (recommendations) for a consistent system are required


RECYCLABLE RECYCLEDvs

Is market/ infrastructure

available?

Is it technically possible?

Pre-Consumer content?

Post-Consumer content? ?

Objectives

Answer these research questions: What type of ecolabelling system has greatest chance for

success in the United States, Type I or Type III? What steps should be taken to implement that system?

And, Provide the study results to the client, companies and

certifiers.


Secondary Questions

i. What characteristics define products that can be successfully labeled?ii. What is the best way to measure environmental impacts?iii. What is the best way to present the information to consumers?iv. How will consumers respond to the information?v. What are the costs and benefits of the various systems?


Primary Question What type of label has the greatest potential for success (Type I or Type III) and

what are the main factors for success?

Research Questions

Goal: Select product categories based on their potential to be labeled successfully

What are characteristics of products that can be successfully labeled?


+ +Consumers Producers and CertifiersEnvironment

ProductAttribute

Significant Environmental Impact

Alternative products are available

Opportunity to distinguish from competitor products

Information is available to guide purchase decisions

= Potential for successful label

Secondary Research Question (i.)

Alternative products are possible

EIOLCA.net software

What are characteristics of products that can be successfully labeled?Secondary Research Question (i. cont.)

Methods Estimate Environmental Impacts by product category

Estimate the availability of Alternatives:

•Compare product content labels•Other methods?

Rank Product Categories:•Compare product content labels•Other methods?Conventional Pollutants (mtonne) (1x10-3tonne)

SO2 CO NOx VOC Lead PM102.059 13.019 2.401 2.021 0.000 1.065

Energy (TJ)

Total Elec Coal NatGas LNG LPG MotGas10.500 0.517 2.712 4.214 0.005 0.533 0.759

Diesel Fuel Kero AvFuel JetFuel LFO HFO

0.102 0.099 0.024 0.168 0.746 0.562Toxic Releases (mtonne) (1x10-3tonne)

Total AllNon-Point

Air Point Air Air ReleasesWater

ReleasesLand

Releases

0.859 0.039 0.169 0.208 0.203 0.165U'ground Releases

Total Releases

POTW Transfers

Offsite Transfers

0.023 0.599 0.047 0.213Global Warming (MT) (1x106tonne)

GWP CO2 CH4 N2O CFCs1248.744 683.471 147.246 410.456 7.572

Nondurable Goods ServicesFood … Paper Transportation

Impo

rtan

ce f

or

Env

iron

men

tal

Impo

rtan

ce f

or

Pro

duce

r

Flu

id M

ilk

Can

ned

frui

ts,

vege

tabl

es,

… New

spap

ers

Per

iodi

cals

Energy Used 1 0 +++ ++ … ++ ++Water Used 2 0 +++ +++ … +++ ++Fertilizers Used 1 0 ++ +++ … ++ +Ores Used - at least 2 0 + ++ … ++ ++Greenhouse Gases 3 0 + ++ … + +Conventional Pollutants 2 0 0 0 … 0 0Toxic Releases 3 0 ++ ++ … ++ ++Hazardous Waste 2 0 0 0 … 0 0Option to not buy 1 3 + ++ … ++ +++Lower impact Products 2 1 ++ ++ … +++ +++Green consumer Target 3 1 + 0 … 0 0

Total Environment Score 30 33 31 29Total Producer Participation Score 6 8 9 12

Pro

duct

Att

ribu

te

Env

iron

men

tal I

mpa

ct

Cho

ice

Ava

il.


Global WarmingPotential

Greenhouse Gas EmissionsLand Use

Water Use

Acidification Potential

Human Toxicity

EcoToxicity

Biodiversity

What is the best way to measure environmental impacts?Goal: Choose a set of metrics that are widely accepted for representing

the environmental impact of consumer products

Secondary Research Question (ii.)

Other?

Secondary Research Question (ii. cont.)What is the best way to measure environmental impacts?

Methods Review the current widely accepted methods

Give priority to methods used by established, accountable agencies/organizations (EPA, Peer-reviewed Journals, ISO)

Life Cycle Assessment Reports (LCA) Collect reports and count the frequency of use

Existing Labeling Systems Interview system administrators Review documents which describe measurement methods


What is the best way to present the information to consumers?Goal: Select Type I and Type III label designs for retail sales testing

that provide consumers with useful information about environmental impacts.

Environmental PerformanceEnvironmental Performance

Secondary Research Question (iii.)

Type I Type III

Methods

Review of existing designs Questionnaire

Pairwise comparison of label formats Measure effect of background knowledge Measure the important factors in decisions

What is the best way to present the information to consumers?Secondary Research Question (iii. cont.)

Human Well-being

Wildlife

ResourceUse

This product's environmental impact compared to U.S. average

www.xyxy.org

vs

vs

Type I

Type III

vs

How will consumers respond to the information?


Secondary Research Question (iv.)

Goal: Determine if people will actually change their purchase decisions if they are given information about a product’s environmental impacts

Even if consumers are provided with information about environmental impacts, other factors influence their purchase decisions.

How will consumers respond to the information?

Secondary Research Question (iv. cont.)

Methods Retail test (Conduct in Ann Arbor area)

Conduct Life Cycle Assessment to measure the environmental impacts of several products

Create Type I and Type III labels, to be applied to products Two 2 month test periods: Type I label applied, Type III label

applied During the second month of each test period, provide on-shelf

explanation of the label’s meaning. Record the sales data

What are the costs and benefits of the various systems?


Secondary Research Question (v.)

Potential Costs Certification

Time Travel Equipment

Labeling Potential Benefits

Premium Price Improved Brand Image Increased Market Share $

$

Goal: Provide the client and others with cost information to help them decide whether or not to participate in ecolabelling.

What are the costs and benefits of the various systems?Secondary Research Question (v. cont.)

Methods Estimate the time and cost required to certify products

Cost of Life Cycle Assessment Travel/Equipment Cost

Questionnaire Contingency Value (willingness-to-pay)

Ask how much consumer is willing to pay for product with information about lower environmental impact

Offer choice labeled and unlabeled gift of different value, and record the results

$$?$

Project Deliverables

A list of product categories for which ecolabels have the greatest chance of success

A list of the categories of environmental impacts that should be considered when evaluating products

A sample of an effective label presentation format A prediction of the costs to a third-party certifier. A prediction of the consumer response to the recommended labels A discussion of the potential change in overall environmental

impacts as a result of the use of labels


Schedule

Task Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

Making Product Attribute Ranking Table

Making Product Success Potential Ranking Table

Surveying the current methods of quantifying a product’s environmental impact

Consumer questionnaire

Retail test

Writing Paper

20062005


BudgetItem Amount

Subtotal $709

Subtotal $1,053

Subtotal $3,780

Subtotal $300

Subtotal $266

Subtotal $1,660

Total Expenses $7,768SNRE Project Funds 2 people x $135/person $270SNRE Travel Grants for presenting at conferences (not guaranteed) $300/group $0Rackham Discretionary Funds (not guaranteed) 2 people x max $1500/person $0Educational Foundation of America (not guaranteed) 2people x max $1500/person $0

Total Income $270

Total Support Required $7,498

Exp

ense

s

Inco

me

Res

earc

h &

Dat

a C

olle

ctio

nM

isce

llane

ous

Consumer Questionnaire

In-Store Retail Test

Product Life Cycle Analysis

Purchase of Published Reports

Copies and Printing

Dissemination


Ecolabelling: Creating a Roadmap for a Comprehensive System for Product Labeling of Environmental...

Documents

Transcript of Ecolabelling: Creating a Roadmap for a Comprehensive System for Product Labeling of Environmental...