§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing eco-labelling; and what her policy on it is. [103827]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 19 March 2003]The Government asked the Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment (ACCPE) to look at environmental labelling as one of its first tasks when it was set up in 1999. Two studies were commissioned to look at the effectiveness of different labelling approaches—these were "Environmental Labelling of Consumer Products: Lessons for the UK market from existing schemes" (carried out by Ernst & Young and Atlantic Consulting) and an in-depth study of the innovative "TerraChoice" scheme in Canada (carried out by the IEMA and BSI).
ACCPE's recommendations on this subject were included in its first report, "Choosing Green" (available on the Department's website). The Committee concluded that it would not be worthwhile setting up a national ecolabelling award scheme for the UK, alongside the existing EU ecolabelling scheme. They considered that the Government should focus its labelling "award" efforts on the EU scheme, but should also develop other approaches for improving the environmental information on products. The other approaches recommended included promoting awareness of the various good quality labelling schemes on the market; raising the standard of self-declared 'green claims' by business; and making full use of the internet. The 2W Government accepted the advice of the Committee and have been following up the detail of these recommendations.
Our policy recognises that environmental labelling has a significant part to play in raising consumers' awareness of the environmental impacts of products and in helping them to make informed choices. We have actively supported the EU ecolabelling scheme (having invested over £5 million to date in running and promoting it) and are committed to improving it as a market instrument. We have also actively supported the EU energy label and its extension to an increasing range of products in the single market, as well as looking at the scope for using it in other applications in the UK market, for example on cars and homes.
We are also keen to promote awareness of other reliable labelling schemes which target a specific issue or sector, such as the FSC label for sustainable timber and comparative labels for the VOC content of paints. Our consumer information leaflet "Hi I'm Green" contains information about these and other common labels, and a new pocket-sized "shopper's guide" to green labels will be published soon.
The Government are also working to improve the quality and quantity of self-declared environmental claims. These are a major source of information for consumers about the environmental impacts of products, so it is important that such claims are clear and helpful. We continue to promote the "Green Claims Code", which advises businesses on good practice in making green claims, and more detailed guidance is now being prepared in consultation with the relevant business sectors.
We are also exploring some more novel approaches to information for purchasers. One of ACCPE's recommendations was for a new Internet information service, perhaps targeted initially on public procurement, and proposals for this are being developed.