-Europe & waste

-Saves resources

-What is it?

• Introduction: barriers to behaviour change
• Promoting eco-labels
• Rewarding sustainable consumption choices
• Measuring progress toward a sustainable consumption behaviour
• Educating to use efficiently
• Promoting repair and reuse
• Leading by example: green public purchasing

Introduction: barriers to behaviour change

With increasing information on environmental issues, citizens demonstrate a growing environmental awareness. The so-called pioneers and trend-setters are largely responsible for the growth of the market for 'sustainable products', like renewable energy and certified organic food. Yet, the trend-followers, being the largest group of consumers, do not structurally purchase sustainable products. They may do so occasionally and/or for a limited number of products.

Consumers do not consume sustainable goods and services because:

• Sustainable products are usually more expensive than the non-sustainable alternatives due to the small market mass.
• It requires more efforts to purchase sustainable products than to buy their unsustainable equivalents. Consumers often lack the signposts to help them find more sustainable products (1).
• The image of sustainable goods and services is unfavourable compared to unsustainable products and services. For many consumers, sustainability or ecology refers to problems, limitations, scantiness and thrift, conflicting with their perception of quality of life.
• Information about the sustainability of products does not meet the specific needs of the trend-followers. (1)
  Source: MacCain Erickson, Pulse Study, in Industry as a partner for sustainable development - Advertising

Consumers don't usually have a sustainable behaviour because:

• Many consumers lack practical perspectives for sustainable patterns of action; they need clear leadership from, in order of importance: government, industry and media (2)
• Changing daily behaviour often costs a lot of effort.
• Most consumers have not internalised sustainability into their thinking.
• The public attention for environmental issues declines.
• Primary aspects of the 'quality of life' for most consumers are health, freedom of choice, safety, luxury and comfort. Environment is secondary. (2)
  Source: Industry as a partner for sustainable development - Advertising

Business, especially SMEs, lack incentives to supply sustainable goods.

A small number of businesses offer many products that are explicitly beneficial to the environment. Many more businesses do offer some sustainable products, but with little or no exposure. Reasons for this are:

• Price competition is dominant.
• Adequate information is missing or hard to get.
• Consumer demand is latent.
• Marketing strategies may not consider environmental aspects.
• SMEs are too busy surviving to be able to develop a policy with regard to sustainable product sales.
• In short, entrepreneurs may see costs and problems, but no (immediate) benefits.

Governments are short of incentives to stimulate sustainable behaviour

The different European Member State governments recognise the need for the development of new and effective instruments to stimulate citizens to change their behaviour in specific ways.
Especially since several environmental objectives are hard to attain (e.g. reduction of carbon dioxide), due to unsustainable patterns of consumption.

Supporting consumers in changing their consumption behaviour

Consumers may be ready to change, however they also need support.

Local and regional authorities can support consumers in choosing products and favouring positive behaviour in:

• identifying sustainable products by promoting eco-labels
• rewarding consumers when they choose to minimise waste
• demonstrating sustainable behaviour and supporting the development of markets for green products through green public procurements
• offering individuals to measure their progress towards sustainable consumption

Promoting eco-labels

To choose environmentally-friendly products when shopping, consumers need to be able to easily recognise these products. However the growing number of environmental claims has created confusion among consumers. Eco-labels are useful tools for LRA to support consumers in identifying and buying sustainable products. Though they exist at the national and Community level, they still suffer from a lack of visibility. LRA can contribute to the development of a market for EU eco-labeled products through:

• Preferring such products in public purchasing;
• Informing consumers and encouraging them to use their market power (vote with money) for creating a demand for EU Eco-labels.

The European Eco-label - "the Flower "
To avoid the growing confusion created by green claims associated to products, a European eco-label has been created in 1992. It aims at supporting consumers in making an informed choice and at encouraging business to market greener products. The EU Eco-label is one of the policy instruments for implementing the Integrated Product Policy (IPP).

The EU eco-label defines strict ecological and performance criteria for products at the European level. It is a reliable source of information that consumers can find across borders. Yet producers are still very reluctant to apply for the label.

The EU Flower is awarded to products that complywith strict ecological and performance criteria defined at the European level. It supports consumers in making inform choices and encourages producers in offering greener products. Using the same label around Europe ensures easy recognition across borders.

6 good reasons to prefer a product bearing the European eco-label:

• certified by an independent organisation
• easy to spot
• quality of the product guaranteed to be at least as good as equivalent products with no environmental benefits
• scientifically based
• run by public authorities
• developed in close co-operation with leading environmentalists and consumer associations

Source: European Commission, Consumer Guide info-kit

European eco-labels have been developed for a wide range of product groups:

More: EU eco-label and producing companies that have been awarded the Flower

EU energy labels for domestic appliances

The amount of energy consumed by household appliances greatly varies depending on their design. It is therefore very important to encourage consumers to consider the energy efficiency of appliances as early as the purchasing stage. Energy labels have been developed in 37 countries worldwide to inform consumers on the energy consumption of appliances and equipment.

Source: International Energy Agency, Energy labels and standards

Did you know? Resource consumption of domestic appliances

In the EU, European Energy Labels are developed for 7 categories of products: refrigerators, clothes dryers, clothes washers, clothes washer-dryers, dishwashers, electric ovens and lamps. The different models are ranked against a predetermined efficiency scale based on the energy consumption in kWh per year. Then the consumer can compare the energy use or efficiency among different models.

View EU Energy label

Which information do the EU energy labels give to consumers?

• Energy efficient, on a scale graduated from A - the more efficient, to G - the less efficient,
• Energy consumption in kWh / cycle
• Performance on a scale from A to G
• Characteristics: washing and spin drying performances, water consumption for washing-machines, cooling performances (number of stars) for refrigerators …
• capacity and noise.

Appliances with the EU eco-label qualify high on those criteria. 

Further to help consumers getting familiar with the Energy eco-label, public authorities may support the development of the market for eco-label products. The Walloon Region in Belgium decided to provide subsidies for the purchase of eco-efficient electrical domestic appliances: from 2004 onwards, the purchase by private households of fridges, washing machines or dishwashers with the A+, A++ or AAA labels will receive a premium of 75 Euros. The premium may amount to 200 Euros for a gas tumble dryer. Lighting is also addressed and a 5 Euros subsidy is awarded for the purchase of 2 class A light bulbs.

Energy Star: energy label for office equipment

Energy Star is a specific label for office equipment products: computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, etc.

The US EPA and the European Commission co-ordinate their respective programmes. Manufacturers participating in the US EPA programme agree to produce office equipment which switches to a low-power state when inactive, in order to reduce stand-by energy consumption. The Energy Star label is voluntary whereas the EU energy label is compulsory.

To support the development of market for Energy Star equipment, LRA should systematically require the label for the office equipment of their administrations. This could serve as an example for companies and event private households. This may also significantly decrease the municipal energy bill.

More: Energy Star

Promoting environmentally-friendly products in shops
The Brussels Region intends to promote behaviour change and waste prevention through providing consumers reliable information on products. To achieve its objective, the Brussels Institute for the Management of the Environment (IBGE-BIM), is striving for developing a structural consumer information system on eco-products and for mobilising all stakeholders through partnerships.

Good practice:

• Bruxelles: Providing consumers with reliable information on products
• Charleroi: Partnership with supermarkets to label products generating less waste

Download the good practice Promoting environmentally-friendly products in shops

Rewarding sustainable consumption choices

Considering the barriers to the change in consumer's behaviour led the municipality of Rotterdam to set up the NU-Spaar project. It aims to support consumers in adopting a daily sustainable behaviour. Each choice for a clearly identified sustainable product or behaviour is rewarded with a sustainable offer. This tends to create a virtuous circle.

Good practice:

• Rotterdam: NU-Spaar Pass, the Sustainable incentive card

Download good practice Rewarding sustainable consumption choices

Measuring progress toward a sustainable consumption behaviour

In Belgian Flanders, household consume about 40% of energy and 50% of the running water. Hence, they are a very effective lever to influence other sectors such as industry, retail and building sectors.

Yet consumers as well as producers feel powerless and left behind for shifting to more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Producers feel bound to the consumers demand. For their part, consumers believe they lack sufficient information to make the good choice. Hence, they sense their contribution as negligible compared to the scale of the challenge.

This has been the premiss for the Ecolife project. Its objective is to break this vicious circle and make consumers realise that each small action counts: that is why the motto of the project is "A Journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step"

The Ecolife method relies on scientific studies which show that people are ready to adopt more environment friendly behaviours when they have already experienced positive initiatives and experiences with clear benefits. All the campaigns developed by Ecolife aim to showing practical experiences and to supporting consumers in the development of step by step actions to achieve workable and measurable goals. A crucial element here is the quantitative approach that helps to visualise the results of the efforts taken.

Good practice:

• Flemish region: Ecolife projects

Download good practice Measuring progress toward a sustainable consumption behaviour

Did you know? Durability of products

Educating to use efficiently

The way products are used also significantly contributes to the overall environmental impact of these products. When choosing them, it is thus also important to consider how it will be used. For instance, for electronic appliances, the main impacts of the use phase relate to the consumption of energy (electricity, gas). For detergents, impacts come from the nature of the products and the quantities used.
A case-study revealed that even for a compact and supposedly energy-efficient notebook, the production was responsible for almost the same amount of resources as the use phase: 40% to 50% depending on user's behaviour.

Source: Digital Europe - Making the Net work

LRA can raise awareness of consumers on the various issues linked to the use of products. LRA can educate consumers:

• to buy resource efficient appliances: they have notably the EU energy label and the EU ecolabel at their disposal
• to use electrical appliances and related consumables efficiently.

Promote efficient energy use
A large number of public institutions across Europe (local and regional management energy agencies and national energy agencies) are very active in informing consumers on how to use energy efficiently (e.g. national, regional and local energy agencies).
For instance they promote the use of compact fluorescent bulbs where lights are on more than 3 hours a day. These bulbs are more sustainable because:

• they use roughly 75% less electricity than an incandescent bulb.
• they contain a small amount of mercury => they must not be put in the regular bins
• they are more costly but last much longer: an average of 10,000 hours vs. 800 to 1,000 hours for traditional bulbs.

In November 2001, the Energy Foundation Schleswig-Holstein in Germany carried out an information campaign to raise the profile of energy-saving bulbs. Its aim was to convince users that a range of prejudices are today no longer applicable against energy-savings-lamps, since it has undergone new developments like more diverse forms and colours, and better technology (higher switch-reliability). The main advertising events ran from November 2001 until February 2002, but other activities, like information spreading through the trade or in the framework of the energy-advice of the consumer-headquarters, are still running.

Source: Energiestiftung Schleswig-Holstein

More information:
Compare the electricity consumption for equivalent bulbs in terms of light
Energy agencies

Raising awareness on the hidden energy consumption
Brown goods have very often stand-by mode, which allows be switched off and on with a remote control (indicated by a little light on the appliance). Energy is consumed even if the appliance is not used for its primary purpose. This significantly increases energy consumption.

Source: UNEP Industry and Environment, January -June 1997, Facts and Figures: products, consumers and design, Paris

Examples of products with hidden energy consumption are: Hi-Fi systems, televisions and video recorders, answering machines, computers, water boilers, microwaves with built-in clocks, coffee machines with plate warmers, halogen lights …

To reduce stand-by energy losses there are 2 solutions:

• unplugging the device - this is however not always possible, for instance when there is an electronic clock included
• choosing appliances with low energy-consumption in stand-by mode (see Energy Star).

The Federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (D) started a campaign on the unnecessary electric power consumption through idle losses due to electronic appliances (especially the communication - and conversation - electronics) remaining on the "stand by" position. The campaign was entitled "Aus. Wirklich aus ?".

Source: German Federal Environment Minister

Did you know? Stand-by consumption

Educating to reducing the use of cleaning products
The detergent industry carries out an information campaign to educate consumers on how best to use their washing-machines and detergents in order to protect the environment.
Wash-right campaign

In addition to purchasing green cleaning products, the municipality of Kolding set a protocole for the cleaning employees to minimize the quantities of product used and to reduce environmental and health impacts of these products.

Good practice:

• Kolding: Using cleaning agents sparingly
• Brussels: Dematerialisation - a special feature of the Third Waste Management Plan

Download good practice Kolding: Using cleaning agents sparingly
Download good practice Brussels: Dematerialisation - a special feature of the Third Waste Management Plan

Promoting repair and reuse

In our consumer-oriented societies, a lot of products lose their appeal before their "natural" life expires. Extending their useful life through repairing and reusing them can highly contribute to save resources. This approach presents several advantages:

• it contributes to waste reduction,
• it maintains local craftsmanship,
• it allows access to products at lower cost.

Many cities promote the second-hand and repairing sectors as part of their waste prevention strategy. Munich in Germany and Vienna in Austria are forerunners in these fields.

Good practice :

• Munich's guide, repairwork day and flea-markets
• Vienna's campaigns and Internet exchange platform

Download the good practice Promoting repair and reuse

Leading by example: green public purchasing

Public bodies are not only regulators, legislators or policy-makers. They are also consumers. Public purchases are estimated to represent some 14% of the EU's GDP (about 1,000 billion Euros per year). This significant share of consumption gives specific power to LRA: through their consumption choices, they can be a driver for market change. Public demand for green products may increase market shares for existing products and stimulate the offer for new "green" products.

To seize this opportunity while ensuring free movement of goods, respect of public procurement legislation, etc. green public procurements are addressed at the EU level. An interpretative communication of the European Commission clarifies how the current Community law offers numerous possibilities to public purchasers who wish to integrate environmental considerations into public procurement procedures. A practical handbook for local authorities will be published in the coming future.

Buying green is also an example of sustainable behaviour for citizens. A few pioneer cities have already realised that asking to their inhabitants to adopt an ecological consumer behaviour will only work if the city itself was consuming in an environmentally-friendly way. This is notably the case of Barcelona, in Spain and Kölding in Denmark.

Good practice:

• Barcelona: a sustainable city consumes green
• Kolding: a forerunner in greening public procurements

Download good practice Leading by example

More: European Commission - Interpretative Communication on public procurement and the environment

The Green Purchasing Network (GPN) - Purchasing guidelines
Created in Japan in 1996, GPN aims at promoting green purchasing among consumers, companies and public organizations. Green purchasing is an efficient way of promoting the development of environment conscious products from the demand side. Its members are corporations, local autonomous bodies, consumer groups, environmental NGOs, and cooperative associations.

More: Green Purchasing Network